Ch 6: Deviance Flashcards
Deviance
Any transgression of established social norms.
Statistical approach
Statistical minority is what is considered deviant
Legalistic approach
Law breaking is deviant
Normative approach
Mores, folkways, or any collectively disapproved act is deviant
Sanctions
Punishments or penalties for deviance
relativist perspective
acts aren’t inherently deviant but deviant if society considers them so
absolutist perspecive
certain behaviors and acts are objectively, inherently deviant
ethnocentrism
occurs when people evaluate other cultures based on their own
conflict/critical perspective of deviance
emphasizes how social power determines what is considered deviant. used as a weapon against the vulnerable and used to preserve dominance of powerful groups.
lombros
father of modern criminology who assosciated crime and deviance with avatism.
functionalism
thinks a certaid amount of deviance is function and contributes to social cohension by enhancing sense of what is right and wrong
anomie
a state in which society’s norms fail to regulate behavior. norms become unclear and fail to constrain deviant behavior in the face of rapid social changes.
durkheims normative theory of sucicide
a societies integration and regulation create a spectrum which encourages or lessens suicide.
Merton
asserted that people share a common understanding of goals and a legitimate mean for acheiving those goals.
STRAIN THEORY
when a gap exists between cultural goals for success and means available to achieve them, deviance is high.
conformists
accept goals of society and means of achieving them
innovators
accept goals of society but look for innovative means of achieving them
ritualists
not interested in the goals of society but accept the means of achieving them
retreatists
don’t accept the goals or the means of achieving those goals
rebels
don’t accept the goals or the means and create their own goals using new means
opportunity theory
people differ in motivation to engage in deviant acts as well as opportunity to do so
control theory
deviance arises from lack of social bonds and connections to others
moral entrepeneurs
people who seek to change norms to align with their moral worldview
class-dominant theory (conflict)
dominant class interests determine what is labeled deviant or criminal
feminist perspective deviance
majority of research is done by and about males so female behavior which doesn’t align with that standardized by men is strigmatized
symbolic interaction
the deviant label given after primary deviance leads to the internalization of the deviant label and results in secondary deviant behavior
differential assosciation theory
deviant and criminal behaviors result from assosciating people with attitudes favorable to deviant or criminal behavior
factors affecting differential assosciation theory
frequency, intensity, length, and chronology (of relationships)
informal social control of deviance
unofficial means of sanctioning deviance in everyday interactions
formal social control
attempts to officially sanction certain behaviors and visibly punish others
rising prison population
crime isnt rising but prison populations are. 3 reasons: madatory minimum sentencing, “three strikes” laws, war on drugs.
descrimination
more whites arrested for crimes but poc more likely to serve time in prison or jail
moral panic
exaggerated, widespread fear of public morality. typically blames a specific group, called “folk devils”
5 techniques of neutralization which deviants use to maintain a positive self concept
- denial of responsibility
- denial of injury
- denial of victim
- condemning the condemners
- appealing to higher loyaltis
denial of responsibility
offenders cope by claiming they are not to blame
denial of injury
cope by saying the act did no harm or they had no intention of doing harm
denial of victim
acknowledge their act was harmful but refuse to acknowledge a victim making it less of a burden on their conscience
condemning the condemners
offenders direct attention to those judging them instead of reflecting on their own behaviors
appealing to higher loyalities
offenders claim their act was necessary to honor their group/ organization
