Chapter 2: Deviance Flashcards
Deviance
Behavior that violates social norms but it not prohibited by law (budding line, cutting off a driver)
Deviance varies in 3 ways, how so!
The severity of public response
The perceived harmfulness
The degree of public agreement
Severity of public response
Public’s reaction to the act, ranging from minor disapproval to severe jail time
Perceived harmfulness
The amount of harm the perpetrator is thought to have created through the deviant act
Degree of public agreement
The extent to which the public agrees the act is deviant or criminal
Social construction states that when we _____________, we reinforce our common knowledge of ______ as well as our understanding of how _______ should be
Interact with others
Reality
Society
Our ideas about ________ are socially constructed. This means the norms we define as important are _________ and look different in other societies and cultures.
Deviance
Always changing
What we label as _____ changes when societies norms and values change
Deviant
Durkhiem believed that crime and deviance served a function for ________, as they affirmed cultural _____ and _______
Human societies
Values and norms
Durkheim argued that _____ and ______ will never go away or be eliminated as it’s an important part for society
Crime and Deviance
According to Durkheim, crime serves four main functions. What are they?
1) it affirms cultural values and norms (It teahces people the rules)
2) societies response to deviance and crime teach individuals what’s right and wrong
3) responding to deviance and crime unites societies
4) deviance and crime spur social change
Crimes take on two variables that depend on their severity. First is _____, which varies with time and location, second is ______ which are characteristics of crime that can change, taking different forms over time
How relative the crime is
How evolutive the crime is
Crime is _____________. There are no universally condemned acts, such as ____________________.
Socially defined
Killing in war vs killing in streets
Deviance involves the violation of _______,________, or _________. However these vary across societies and groups
Rules, regulations, or laws
Four major types of crime
Consensus crime
Conflict crime
Social deviations
Social diversions
Consensus crime
Activities that are generally considered very harmful
Strong support for prisons and controlling them
Conflict crimes
Activities that are not universally considered crimes, although they are legally defined as such
Abortion laws, Dr assisted suicide
Social deviations
Behaviours that are considered disreputable in certain social settings
Social diversions
Minor forms of deviance
Since crimes are __________ the rules can change. The distinction between _____ and ________ is thus ambiguous
Socially defined
Criminal and non criminal
All groups have _____; society can not function without them. Most of the time, most of us conform to the ______ of our group
Rules
Norms
Informal rules, aka ______, govern much of our conduct
Folkways
Some informal rules become more formal regulations or ____. This is called ________
Laws
Legalization
Why people are deviant?
Some individual level explanations focus on the deviant or criminals ________ or even ________
Character
Biology
Strain theory
When an individuals goal and opportunities for success do not match, then they turn to deviant or criminal behavior
(No money to go to school, even after saving up, teen robs bank to afford it)
Subcultural theory
Focusses on the role of culture in explaining criminal and deviant behavior in human societies (Black people ‘defending my brother”
Learning theory is an extension of _____ and ______ theories. Basically, different environments provide opportunities to learn __________________________
Strain and subcultural
How to engage in deviance and crime (Best place to learn how to be a criminal is in prison)
If people interact with and are exploded to criminals, they learn to engage in _____________
Criminal behaviours
Control theory
Weak social control in society may lead individuals to commit criminal or deviant acts
Individuals might have weak beliefs in traditional values or lack employment or educational activities
Basically they have nothing stopping them from committing crimes
Labelling theory
Stigmatization or labeling that takes place at status degradation ceremonies
In easy terms, having a court say you’re a murderer is down grading and puts the label on you that you’re bad
(Part of labelling theory)
Primary deviation
The offender commits deviant acts Infrequently, is never caught
Secondary deviation
Perp is caught and labelled as deviant
Deviance becomes a way of life
Social explanations generally advocate for ____________ and _____________
Rehabilitative punishments and crime prevention
Punishment
Penalty inflicted on someone for committing a transgression or a criminal nature
Usually results in the denial of certain privileges, abilities, or rights
Drink driving? No access to USA
Functions of punishment in human societies
Retribution Deterrence Rehabilitation Parole Probation
Retribution
Punishment should be comparable to the suffering caused by crime (eye for an eye)
Murder someone? Death penalty for you
Deterrence
Process of convincing individuals to not commit crimes again or commit them in the first place
If you rape someone you will get 25 years
Rehabilitation
Trying to heal or reform a criminal as opposed to solely punishing them
Parole
Early release of a prisoner for things such as good behavior
Probation
Releasing a prisoner into the community under certain conditions
Crime rates
Offences described in the Canadian criminal code that are typically a starting point for measurement of crime in Canada
Crime static’s issues:
Accounts only crimes known to police
Only shows the worst crime they committed (break in and entry than rape, only rape shows)
Majority of crimes aren’t accounted in stats as they are not reported
Uniform crime report
Crime startistcs available to the public
Dark figure of crime
Amount of crime not reported to the police and therefore, not reflected in the UCR (roughly 2/3 of crime)
lesser crimes
Crimes such as speeding or petty theft
______ people commit more crimes
Younger
_____ commit more crimes then _____< although Crime by _____ is going down and crime by _____ is going up
men, women
men, women
_______ and ________ are especially seen in prison
Aboriginals and blacks
