CH 7 Deviance and Criminology Flashcards

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1
Q

define crime

A

deviance that breaks the law

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2
Q

true or false: in a sociological perspective, everyone is deviant in one way or another

A

true

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3
Q

informal vs formal punishment

A

informal: some kind of gesture that indicates someone feels someone else did something deviant (shaming, raising eyebrows, stigmatization)
formal: being penalized for breaking a law

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4
Q

3 varying criteria of deviance and crime

A
  1. severity of social response
  2. perceived harmfulness
  3. degree of public agreement as to whether an act should be considered deviant or criminal
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5
Q

4 types of deviance and crime

A

social diversions
social deviations
conflict crimes
consensus crimes

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6
Q

social diversions

A

minor acts of deviance that are usually perceived as harmless, usually only evoke a mild societal reaction

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7
Q

social deviations

A

more serious acts usually considered somehow harmful by at least 1 large group of people (think about how some people’s thoughts on gender identity)

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8
Q

conflict crimes

A

acts that are deemed illegal but whose definition is controversial in the wider society (think marijuana legalization)

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9
Q

consensus crimes

A

little controversy surrounding the seriousness of the crime, majority agree there should be punishment

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10
Q

stigmatization

A

the act of describing someone as disgraceful or disapproving

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11
Q

victimless crimes

A

violations of the law in which no victim is identified/no one steps forward as a victim

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12
Q

2 shortcomings of crime statistics

A

-much crime is not reported to police (victimless)
-wider public and cops decides which acts to report and ignore

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13
Q

how are self-report surveys useful in crime stats?

A

allow respondents to anonymously indicate their involvement in criminal activity

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14
Q

victimization rates in canada since 2004

A

have declined; a fifth of the population says they’ve been a victim of crime in the past year

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15
Q

Uniform crime reporting survey generates which 2 official estimates of crime in Canada

A

police-reported crime rate and crime severity index

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16
Q

what does the crime severity index do

A

gives more weight to more serioius crimes

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17
Q

4 explanations for long term decline in crime rate since 1992 in canada

A
  1. increasing number of better trained cops
  2. number of young people in canada is declining and young men are most prone to crime
  3. better economic conditions than in the past (unemployment rate is strongly correlated with crime rate; less unemployment today)
  4. legalization of abortion (there were more “unwanted” children being brought into the world before legalization and kids with less parental supervision were more prone to committing crimes)
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18
Q

which gender and age commit the most crimes?

A

men and 15-24 yr olds

19
Q

4 explanations for overrepresentation of Indigenous peoples in canadian prisons

A
  1. large number of Indigenous people live in poverty
  2. Indigenous people commit more street crimes which are supposedly easier to detect than white collar crimes
  3. discrimination
  4. Western culture has disrupted Indigenous people’s social life
20
Q

true or false: research suggests that claims about the criminal justice system being discriminatory are credible

A

TRUE

21
Q

Becker’s main idea about deviance and its theory

A

becoming a criminal is learned through being taught the ways of the life by other deviants; symbolic interactionism

22
Q

delinquent youths will learn types of deviance roles depending on what?

A

the different types of deviants in their neighborhood

23
Q

labelling theory and what type of theory it is

A

says that deviance results from the response of others who label the person a deviant; variant of symbolic interactionism

24
Q

functionalists emphasize that what leads to deviant behavior?

A

social dysfunctions

25
Q

Durkheim’s controversial view on deviance and crime

A

says that society benefits from them because when someone breaks a rule it gives others the opportunity to condemn or punish the behavior, reinforcing social solidarity

26
Q

Durkheim says deviance and crime can help promote social change how?

A

crimes committed by civil rights activists in the past have lead to social change (ex: MLK Jr)

27
Q

Merton’s strain theory and what type of theory it is

A

says that a discrepancy b/w cultural ideals and reality leads to strain which increases a person’s likelihood of turning to deviance; functionalism

28
Q

Merton says the act of forcing oneself to follow social norms is called what?

A

conformity

29
Q

gang members strongly _________ deviance w/in the subculture

A

discourage

30
Q

what do conflict theorists say about the rich and powerful in terms of deviance?

A

these people impose deviant labels on others who try to defy the existing social order; and they are usually able to escape their own wrongdoings by using their money and influence

31
Q

why are the rich and powerful less likely to be convicted and reported for crimes?

A

they can afford to hire legal experts and bc most white collar crimes occur in private rather than in public

32
Q

control theory and what type of theory it is

A

says that everyone would probably engage in crime/deviance if we could get away with it

33
Q

adolescents most inclined to deviance likely lack 4 types of social control:

A

attachments to parents/teachers/role models
lack opportunities for education and work
lack involvement in conventional institutions
lack strong beliefs in values and morality

34
Q

when did the narrative about crimes against women start to change?

A

when women started becoming more powerful

35
Q

political economy

A

the way wealth influences power and vice versa

36
Q

main topic of interest of political economy

A

climate change and energy policy

37
Q

goal of social movements

A

to challenge laws with with a goal of creating change in the way wealth is distributed

38
Q

discuss satisfaction with democracy by annual income

A

the higher the income, the more satisfied citizens are with their government. people with more wealth are more likely to vote, run for office, be elected, etc. than the less wealthy

39
Q

citizen control in different types of governments/states

A

authoritarian: citizen control is restricted
totalitarian: control is virtually nonexistent
democracy: relatively high degree of control
liberal democracy: highest level of citizen influence over the state

40
Q

when does political change occur?

A

as the power of a population category (class, region) increases/decreases

41
Q

how are political systems characterized?

A

-type of authority
-degree that citizens influence the government

42
Q

how has the number of good vs bad jobs changed in canada?

A

number of good jobs is growing but number of bad jobs is growing faster

43
Q

automation

A

the use of machinery verus humans; automatic

44
Q

populists

A

anti immigration, pro capitalist and authoritarian, favor a society that is white and christian