Crime and Deviance Flashcards
Three types of rule-breaking:
- Consensus crime(serious by most members of a society. Characterized by high social agreement, response)
- Conflict crime(crime in capitalist societies cannot be adequately understood without a recognition that such societies are dominated by a wealthy elite whose continuing dominance requires the economic exploitation of others)
- Social deviations(any behavior, belief, or appearance that violates prevailing social norms.)
Conformity vs non comformity
Conformity refers to the act of matching behaviours, attitudes and beliefs to like-minded people, group norms or politics. On the other hand, non-conformity refers to a deviation from a standard, a specification or an exemption.
Social control and be :
Formal: based on laws.
Informal: reactions of individuals and groups that bring about conformity to norms and laws
Deviance =
Non conformity + negative social reaction + social control
Deviance is relative because:
It varies in relation to “time” & “social context”
Functionalist view on Crime and Deviance
4 Functions:
-Affirms cultural values and norms (morality
-Clarifies moral boundaries (social control)
-Promotes social unity (integration)
-Encourages social change
Emile Durkheim
Social Conflict theory view on Crime and Deviance
Deviance and crime, and the responses to them, reflect the social inequalities in society
ex: White-collar crimes vs other
Symbolic interaction theory and Crime and Devian
- Deviance is created by society – by the “reaction” to certain actions
- No ‘act’ or ‘actor’ is inherently deviant. The society creates the rules and boundaries between what is and is not deviant
- This perspective focuses on the ‘process’ of someone being ‘defined’ as deviant
Labeling Theory:
Centred on the idea that deviance is relative, and that it is the reaction of others that is central (how others respond to the act)
Focuses on the ‘reactors’, and why certain people are viewed as deviant and others less so
Societal reactions to ‘primary deviance’ produce ‘secondary deviance’ in accordance with how the ‘actor’ is labeled
Labels can become part of the ‘self-concept’ of the person assigned a deviant label
Primary vs Secondary Deviance
Primary deviance refers to the violation of a norm or rule that does not result in the violator’s being stigmatized as deviant, but secondary deviance refers to a deviant behaviour that is a result of being publicly labelled as deviant and treated as an outsider
Stigma
Relating to the labels that society uses to devalue individuals and members of certain groups
Serves to create a “spoiled identity”
Definition of labeling theory:
labeling theory the idea that deviance and conformity result not so much from what people do as from how others respond to those action
Medicalization of deviance
the transformation of moral and legal deviance into a medical condition
Fundamental justice
The criminal justice system
must guarantee procedural fairness and operate according to law.
