ch.7 deviance, crime, social control Flashcards
What is social control?
They are techniques and strategies employed for preventing deviant human behavior in any society
Where does social control occur?
It occurs at all levels of society
What are important agents of social control?
Formal and informal norms (parents, peer groups, companies, government)
How does social control happen?
When groups, institutions and individuals expect from u proper behavior
What do the “expectations” carry with it?
It carries with it sanctions, if we fail to comply with norms we may face informal/formal norms
What are sanctions?
Penalties and rewards for conduct concerning a social norm
Examples for sanctions
- Fear and ridicule (informal sanctions)
- Fines and imprisonment (formal sanctions)
- Death penalty (ultimate formal sanction)
What is the challenge to effective social control?
People get competing messages about how to behave
Example for a challenge to effective social control?
Expectations of our peers may be different from that of authorities
What was the Milgram experiment ?
- An experimenter instructed people to administer increasingly painful electric shocks to a subject
- Two thirds of participants fell into category of obedient subjects
What is conformity?
Going along with peers who have no special right to direct behavior (related to peer influence)
What is obedience?
Compliance with higher authorities in a hierarchical structure (influence of authorities)
What is informal social control?
Its used casually to enforce norms
Examples for informal social control
- Smiles, laughter, raised eyebrows, ridicule
- Many cultures accept spanking children as appropriate social control even though it is illegal in many western societies
What is formal social control?
Its carried out by authorized agents
When is formal social control used?
Its sometimes used as a last resort when socialization and informal social control fails
How can informal social control undermine formal social control?
By encouraging people to violate social norms
When norms are so important to a society what happens?
They become formalized into laws
How did black define law?
It can be defined as governmental social control
How did Schur define law?
Its not a static body of rules that passes from one generation to the next Its a social process that reflects continuous change of standards of conduct in a given society
What do sociologists argue about law and society?
They argue that the legal order reflects values of those in a position to exercise authority
How are some laws controversial?
- Employment of irregular immigrants
- Use of marijuana for medical purposes
- Prohibition of alcohol
When is it difficult to enforce laws?
If there exists little consensus supporting the norm
What is the primary source of conformity and obedience?
Socialization where we internalize norms as valid and desirable
What is the control theory?
Its the connection to members of society that leads people to systematically conform to society’s norms
We usually conform without much conscious thought to what?
To sanctions
What is deviance?
Its a behavior that violates the standards of conduct or expectations of a group or society
Deviance does not mean what?
It does not mean perversion
Deviance involves?
Involves violation of group norms which may or may not be formalized into law
Deviance is subject to?
To social definition within a particular society and at a particular time
How is deviance not objective?
Its subjective to social definition which can change throughout space and time
What is deviant can change how?
It can change from society to society and from era to era
Examples of deviance?
Smoking, homosexuality, child rearing
What is stigma?
Labels society uses to devalue members of certain social groups
Who coined the term stigma?
Erving Goffman
How do functionalists see deviance?
They see it as a common part of human existence that can have positive consequences
According to functionalists deviance can define?
It can define the limits of proper behavior as well as negative consequences
According to Durkheim punishments established within a culture help define?
They help define acceptable behavior and contribute to stability
During anomie what increases?
Crime rates increase
What is Merton’s theory of deviance?
He adapted Durkheim’s notion of anomie to explain deviance
What is the anomie theory of deviance?
It has 5 basic forms of adaptation 1- Conformist 2- Innovator 3- Ritualist 4- Retreatist 5- Rebel
What is the interactionist perspective on deviance?
- Cultural transmission theory
- Labeling theory
What is cultural transmission?
Where humans learn how to behave in social situations whether properly or improperly
What is differential association?
A process through which exposure to attitudes favorable to criminal acts leads to the violation of rules
What is the labelling theory?
It is an attempt to explain why some people are viewed as deviants while others are not
Labelling theory is also known as
Societal- reaction approach
What is societal-reaction approach?
Its a response to an act, not the behavior, determines deviance
Agents of social control focus on?
They focus on people who violate norms
Labeling of social control focus on?
Focus on police, probation, officers, psychiatrists, judges, teachers, employers, school officials,
What is the social constructionist perspective?
Where deviance is the product of the culture we live in
What is the conflict perspective on deviance?
People with power protect their own interests and define deviance to suit their needs
How do people with power protect their own interests and define deviance to suit their needs?
The entire criminal justice system treats suspects differently based on their racial, ethnic, or social class
What is differential justice?
Difference in ways social control is exercised over different groups
What is the feminist perspective on deviance?
Adler and Chesney-Lind suggest existing approaches to deviance and crime developed with men in mind (rape within marriage was not defined as such)
What is crime?
Violation of criminal law for which governmental authority applies formal penalties
What are 6 types of crime differentiated by sociologists?
1- Victimless 2- Professional 3- Organized 4- White-collar and technology-based 5- Hate crimes 6- Transnational crime
What are victimless crimes?
A willing exchange among adults of widely desired, but illegal, goods and services
What is professional crime?
Committed by a professional criminal (a person who pursues crime as a day-to-day occupation
What is organized crime?
Is crime committed by groups that regulate relations between various criminal enterprises involved in illegal activities
Organized crime dominates what type of world?
It dominates world of illegal business just as large corporations dominate conventional businesses
Organized crime serves as means for what?
Serves as means of upward mobility for groups of people struggling to escape poverty
What is White-collar and technology-based crime?
- White collar crime= illegal acts committed in the course of business activities
- Computer crime= use of high technology to carry out embezzlement or electronic fraud
- Corporate crime= any act by a corporation that is punishable by the government
What is hate crime?
Where an offender is motivated to choose a victim based on religion, ethnic group, national origin, or sexual orientation, and when evidence shows that hatred prompted offender to commit the crime
What is transnational crime?
Crime that occurs across multiple national borders
