ALL NOTES Flashcards
List the definitions of deviance (5)
1) Statistical
2) Absolutist
3) Reactivist
4) Normative
5) Legalist
Statistical Definition and its problem
- deviance is any behaviour/condition that varies from the majority/ average expectations; deviants from mean (avg); mode (score most people have); median (middle)
- too inclusive
Absolutist Definition and its problem
- any variance from a certain set of standards (religious/psychiatric authority)
- sin is deviant; DM4 psych bible tells you what is psych and whats not
problem:
- disagreement of over absolute standards; if a standard is true doesn’t tell us anything about the social org of deviants
- absolute truth–> only in the hands of tiny minority–> non-followers= deviant
Reactivist Definition and its problem
-deviant behaviour is that which is labelled as deviant ie) mental health act (people are deviant because their named deviant)
Problem
- unobserved behaviour cannot be deviant (self-labelling not a big part of the theory)
- label deviant has nothing to do with the behaviour itself; only the process
-(sociologist #1)
Normative Definition and its problem
- most popular sociological definition
- deviance= violation of a norm
- norm=socially shared standard of conduct (come from religion-> most don’t)
- social properties–>suggests how people should behave
Problems
norms vague–> hard to talk about deviance without talking about the norms
Legalist Definition and its problem
-deviance=act that breaks the law
Problem
- not all deviant acts are illegal ie) alcoholism
- not all illegal acts are deviant ie) J walking in Ottawa (expected)
What does the SES stand for? 4 main points.
-socio economic standing
Differential Opportunities for Deviance:
-poor vs rich kids different crimes ie) rich kids=wealthy crime= business crimes not going to sell crack
Differential application of deviant labels
- substance abuse–> poor=jail
- substance abuse–>rich= rehab
Poor labelled criminal and mentally ill more
Norms vary with SES
-expectations of normal behaviour differs btw the rich and poor
List the various methods for collecting crime stats.
Uniform Criminal Reports
Victimization Surveys
Self-Report Surveys
Uniform Criminal Reports
- official stats (National)
- calgary–> stats from CPS and rural from RCMP; stats Canada is the only police because crime has to be reported
Uniform Criminal Reports
Advantages
Consistency
- tells us what police know–> doesnt tell us how much crime their actually is
- know police activity
Uniform Criminal Reports
Disadvantages
- low rates of reporting
- lower reporting of the theft <5000 than sexual assault
- 100% Police awareness besides murder= car theft
Victimization Surveys
-canada only done biyearly, people like it; they want to share
Victimization Surveys
Advantages
-find out how much crime is
Victimization Surveys
Disadvantages
- not national in Canada
- rely on victim’s memory and interpretation of criminal law
ie) jail= remand pretrial <1 year prison= 1+ years after conviction - robbery= violent crime with weapon
Self-Report Surveys
- most effective way of tabulating crime
- includes victimless & white collar crimes
- crimes arent always known by police or the victims
