Ch. 1 - Determining Deviance Flashcards
How do dictionaries define deviance?
Straying from objective norms.
What are the issues with using dictionary definitions of deviance?
How far do you have to stray to be qualified as deviant? Where do objective norms come from?
What are the two traditional types of definitions of deviance?
Objective and subjective.
What does the objective approach to deviance focus on?
The act of deviance; including why people do deviant things and how we should respond.
How is deviance objectively defined?
Deviance is defined by a common characteristic and we know it when we see it.
What does the subjective approach to deviance focus on?
The perceptions of and reactions to deviance.
How is deviance subjectively defined?
Deviance is not associated with a particular characteristic, but is instead socially defined. We are taught what is deviant.
What four objective criteria are available for labelling something as deviant?
Statistical rarity, harm, societal reaction, and normative violation.
What is the issue with the statistical rarity criteria for deviance?
How is “rare” defined?; some behaviours are not rare but deviant; many behaviours are rare but not deviant.
What is an example of an action that is rare but not deviant?
Homosexuality.
What is an example of an action that is not rare but still deviant?
Underage drinking.
What is the harm criteria of objective deviance?
Something is deviant if it causes harm.
What is ideological harm?
Any threat to the dominant worldview.
What are some problems with the harm criteria?
Perceptions of harm are subjective and can change over time.
What is one merit to the harm criteria?
It can point society in the direction of something where harm must be minimized, but can’t provide any solutions.
When does the harm criteria backfire?
When the reaction to the deviance causes more harm than the deviant act itself. E.g., the criminalization of drug use.
What are the problems with the societal reaction criteria?
Some people’s reactions count more than others, such as politicians; who many negative reactions are necessary to qualify something as deviant?
What is the main issue with the normative violation criteria?
Not all norms are the same.
What are the 3 different types of norms?
Folkways, mores, and laws.
What are folkways?
Informal norms, everyday customs, society’s expectations around etiquette.