Identify the 7 key points of social disorganization theory and briefly describe each

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

• Social disorganization Crime stems from certain community or neighborhood characteristics, such as poverty, dilapidated housing, high density, high mobility, and high rates of unemployment. Concentric zone theory is a variation that argues that crime increases toward the inner city area.
• Strain/anomie Cultural norms of "success" emphasize such goals as money, status, and power, while the means to obtain such success are not equally distributed; as a result of blocked opportunities many among the disadvantaged resort to illegal means, which are more readily available.
• Cultural deviance Certain subcultures, including a gang subculture, exist within poor communities, which contain values, attitudes, beliefs, norms, and so on that are often counter to the prevailing middle class culture; an important feature of this culture is the absence of fathers, thus resulting in female-headed households, which tend to be poorer; youths get exposed to this subculture early in life and become embedded in it.
• Control/social bond Delinquency persists when a youth's bonds, or ties, to society are weak or broken, especially bonds with family, school, and other institutions; when this occurs, a youth is apt to seek bonds with other groups, including gangs, in order to get his or her needs met.
• Learning Delinquency is learned through association with others, especially gang members, over a period of time. This involves a process that includes the acquisition of attitudes and values, the instigation of a criminal act based on certain stimuli, and the maintenance or perpetuation of such behavior over time.
• Labeling Definitions of delinquency and crime stem from differences in power and status in the larger society, and those without power are the most likely to have their behaviors labeled as "delinquency"; delinquency may be generated, and especially perpetuated, through negative labeling by significant others and by the judicial system; one may associate with others similarly labeled, such as gangs.
• Rational choice People freely choose to commit crime based on self-interest because they are goal oriented and want to maximize their pleasure and minimize their pain. A variation is known as routine activities theory, which suggests that criminals plan very carefully by selecting specific targets based on such things as vulnerability (e.g., elderly citizens, unguarded premises, lack of police presence) and commit their crimes accordingly. However, choices are often not based on pure reason and rationality.
• Critical/Marxist Gangs are inevitable products of social (and racial) inequality brought about by capitalism itself; power is unequally distributed, and those without power often resort to criminal means to survive.