#64-90 for Final Exam: Deviance, Crime, and Social Control Flashcards
What are norms? What do the two camps of norms mean: Mores? Folkways?
Norms are things that are seen as typical, usual , or standard. When applied socially, it’s the standard pattern of social behavior that is expected of ppl in society.
The 2 camps of norms:
Mores - social norms that are really enforced and based on morality or ethics, which distinguishes between what’s considered right and wrong; it’s more strict than folkways because violating a more norm can cause more social disapproval (ex/ Wearing black to a funeral as a sign of respect; if one were to wear any other color, like pink, they would get clocked lol)
Folkways - these social norms are more informal and causal, usually relating to routine interaction or etiquette (ex/ greetings, table manners, etc); violating a folkway norm would probably lead to social awkwardness, but not anything more severe than that
What are deviances?
Social behaviors that depart from the usual expected norms set up in society
What is a minor deviance?
Behaviors that kinda violate social norms or rules, but aren’t really serious enough to be considered crimes or major violations (ex/ showing up to work late, swearing in a fancy setting)
What is a lesser crime?
It’s a criminal act that’s committed as part of a larger crime, where the elements of the smaller crime are included in the elements of the larger crime. But it alone is seen as a smaller offense (ex/ theft is a lesser crime of robbery, because robbery includes the act of theft)
What is a consensus crime?
Refers to the idea that criminal laws and behaviors are determined by a collective agreement among ppl in society about what makes something a crime. So, a consensus crime example would be murder; most ppl agree that killing another person is morally wrong and whoever commits it should be punished
How does the social theory, structural functionalism interpret/ analyze deviance?
What four functions does crime serve according to Durkheim?
Structural functionalism, because it sees society as having elements that all work together to achieve harmony and function, it sees deviance as a way to re-affirm what the rules and norms are in society. According to Durkeim, the four functions crime serve include the following:
-Deviances affirm cultural values and norms
-Responding to deviance clarifies moral boundaries
-Responding to deviance brings ppl together
-Deviance encourages social change
How does the social theory, conflict theory, interpret/ analyze deviance?
How does the prefix “white collar” impact our understanding of crime?
What is an occupational crime?
What is a corporate crime?
Conflict theory looks at the power and class inequalities in society when it comes to the ppl in a position of wealth and power, and those in a position of poverty and marginalization. The dominant norms and customs in society are created by the rich ppl in power, so deviance would be seen more as resistance or non-conformity to the oppressive power that enforced the laws in the first place (aka, rebelling against system).
White collar crimes are non-violent, financially-motivated crimes that done by individuals in professional or administrative positions. it helps shape our understanding because it shows us the crimes that involve more breach of trust, manipulation, deception, and abuse of institutional power and how – because they don’t involve violence and it’s done by ppl in power – these crimes get let off the hook more.
There’s 2 types of white collar crimes:
Occupational - crimes committed by individuals within the context of their professional occupations done for their own financial gain
Corporate - these crimes are also done for financial gain, but it’s more for the benefit of a collective corporation rather than one’s own benefit
How does the social theory, symbolic interactionism, interpret/ analyze deviance? What is stigma?
Symbolic interactionism is about the meanings we assign to objects, events, behaviors in society, so deviance is seen through the lens of this social theory as not an inherent act, but one that’s created through social construction and processes, and that leads to the process of labelling; when someone performs a deviant behavior, the individual is stigmatized (the label of being negatively perceived by society), influencing how society views them and how they view themselves
How do the social theory, feminism, interpret/ analyze deviance?
Feminism sees deviance as norms and laws giving more privilege to men to maintain the patriarchy. So when men commit deviant acts (sexual assault, harassment) they’re more likely to get away w/ it if no/ not enough proof is present
What types of people are labelled as “other”? What are examples of othering?
What are the implications?
Ppl labelled as other are identified as being fundamentally diff from–and inferior to– more perceived dominant groups.
Examples:
- So, like w/ race, the ppl seen as “other” would be ppl of color, compared to the dominant group of white ppl
-W/ gender and sex, ppl in the LGBTQ+ community would be seen as the “other” ppl while heterosexuality is the more dominant group; also ppl w/ other gender identities like non-binary, non-conforming, trans, queer, are the “others” while cisgendered men and women are seen as more dominant in society
- w/ status and class, the poor and marginalized are the “others” that are cared less about while the rich and wealthy as seen as more important
Who was a key thinker of moral panics?
Stanley Cohen; he developed the term, which refers to a situation where a person, group, or situation is exaggeratedly portrayed as a big threat to societal values and orders more than they actually are.
How did Donald Trump use the Muslim Ban as a form of moral panic?
- Throughout his campaign, Trump always linked Muslim communities w/ the threat of terrorism. By emphasizing this, it framed the communities as inherently dangerous despite the actual truth of the matter; the language he used as well, things like “radical Islam” and “terrorism infiltration” created a lot fear in the public of the United States being at risk
-From that he was able to rally a good portion of ppl on his side that (including media) that helped push the idea more of the safety measures and policies that “need” to be implemented to protect nation from Muslims
-The result led to a series of policies aimed at restricting immigration from mostly Muslim communities, making them more stigmatized
How does strain theory explain criminal behavior?
It’s the idea that when one wants to achieve success in society (because it’s pushed so much that hard work will get you there) but there’s not a fair and equal way for everyone to get there (“strain” between culturally-defined goals and means to get there), so ppl tend to turn alternative methods, like criminal activity, in order to achieve it.
How does subculture theory explain criminal behavior? What is a learning theory?
- The theory argues that criminal behavior comes mainly from ppl w/ cultures and lifestyles that differ from the mainstream (subcultures) like goths or emo ppl for example. so according to the theory, by examining their values and norms, criminal behavior can be understood better
-Learning theory posits that criminal behavior is not innate, but learned through social interaction w/ others and observing what others do who commit crimes regularly.
How does labelling theory explain criminal behavior? What’s primary and secondary deviance?
Labelling theory explains that deviance is applied to someone (labelled) by someone else. From there the person labelled could further internalize it and actually become it and start committing criminal acts.
-Primary deviance - regular deviant behavior; when someone commits deviant acts w/ out it leading to a big change of how that person sees their self-image
- Secondary deviance - occurs when a person has internalized a deviant label and starts to act in line w/ that label, engaging in more and more deviant acts
How does social control theory explain criminal behavior?
It explains that social bonds (a shared value or belief in social norms) make a person less likely to engage in criminal behaviors, because bonds control our social behaviors and impose indirect psychological control to social conventions. It does this through the 4 types of bonds: attachment (affection and sensitivity to others), involvement (being busy; restricted opportunities for crime-committing), belief (degree to which person feels they behave the law), and commitment (investment in conventional society or stake in conformity); so according to the theory, weak social bonds in society may lead to more criminal activity being committed
What is the Rosenhan experiment?
- The experiment tested how diagnostic labels and institutional contexts shaped our perceptions of sanity and insanity
- perfectly healthy participants got admitted into some psychiatric hospitals by feigning mental illness symptoms; once they were in, they stopped faking and acted normally, taking note of the ward life
-None of the staff suspected they were they were normal, they saw acts such as asking for magazines and taking notes as a part of their supposed mental illnesses
-The experiment showed the power and biases of psychiatric labels; once they were labelled “schizophrenic” everything they did was seen through that lens
-also showed how reality is constructed through social definitions and interactions (symbolic interactionism); labels create a “master” status that overrides individual identity.
What is a punishment?
Penalty inflicted on someone for committing serious wrongdoing or crime; usually includes denial of privileges, abilities, or rights meaning fines, community service, incarceration
What is retribution?
The idea that a punishment should be comparable to the suffering caused by the crime (aka “eye for an eye”)
What is deterrence?
the process of convincing individuals not to commit future wrongdoings by making the cost of punishment outweigh the benefit of the crime (ex/ the tv show “Scared Straight”)
What is rehabilitation?
The process of trying to heal or reform a criminal rather than just punishing them
ex/ Earlier release for constant good behavior, parole (letting them back into the community under certain conditions)
