Chapter 2: Explaining Deviance Flashcards
Objective Interests = Positivist Approach
Study the deviant person, behavior or characteristic
Subjective Interests = Interpretive and Critical Approachs
Study perceptions of and reactions to the act
Positivist Approaches
Functionalist Theories, Learning Theories, Control Theories
Functionalist Theories
Social structures fulfill manifest and latent functions
Deviance occurs when there is social change and a social institution is no longer functioning
Society is based on consensus
Manifest Function
The intention of the social institution
Latent Function
Unintended things that you learn through the social institutions
Durkheim’s Anomie Theory
Deviance increases social solidarity and tests moral boundaries
A certain level of deviance is functional for society because it can bring people together
Anomie
The breakdown of social norms caused by rapid social change
Mechanical Solidarity
Consensus of similar values and beliefs
Unity in rural areas
Organic Solidarity
Reliance on other people
Unity in urban areas
Merton’s Anomie and Strain Theory
There is discrepancy between the American Dream and the means to reach it so this created deviance
Anomie is created when the goals become more important than the means
Conformity
They believed in the American Dream and used legitimate means to get there
Innovation
They believe in the American Dream but they use illegitimate means to achieve it
They turn to criminality to make money
Ritualism
They have abandoned the idea of the American Dream but they use legitimate means to achieve their own dream
Retreatism
They have given up on both the American Dream and the means
They have withdrawn themselves from society
Rebellion
They try to change the goals and replace them with their own goals and means to achieve it
They are against the status quo
Cloward and Ohlin Differential Opportunity Theory
Argued that the reason that people deviate is because of opportunities
Some neighborhoods have more access to legitimate means to achieve the American Dream
Agnew’s Strain Theory
The most commonly used theory
Strain creates negative affect or negative emotion
Social structures create strain and influences the coping strategies used
General Strain Theory Coping Strategies: Emotional Strategies
Reducing the negative emotions
General Strain Theory Coping Strategies: Cognitive Strategies
Thinking about the strain differently
Reinterpreting the strain to offset the negative emotions
General Strain Theory Coping Strategies: Behavioral Strategies
Change the source of the strain or eliminate the strain itself
Limitations of Functionalist Theories
Focuses more on the purpose of the institutions rather than why the institutions need to meet certain societal goals
There is needless repetition of ideas
Inherently supportive of the status quo
Deviance is identified as a lower class phenomenon
Developed largely based on male experience
Learning Theories Assumptions
Deviance is learned
Edwin Sutherland’s Differential Association Theory
Rather than society as a whole, deviance is learned through small groups
Through these groups, individuals learn skills and motives for certain kinds of behaviors
