Crime And Deviance Flashcards
What is the definition of crime?
Actions that break the formal written rules of society. An act that breaks the law.
What is the definition of defiance?
Actions that do not conform to the dominant norms and values of a specific society.
What is white collar crime?
Crime committed by middle and upper class individuals, often in course of their work.
What is occupational crime?
Crime carried out in work (theft and fraud)
What is corporate crime?
Crime carried out by directors (increase profit)
What is computer crime?
Crime committed through a computer (illegal transfer)
What does Anomie mean?
The breakdown of norms governing accepted social behaviour
What is status frustration?
The theory of Albert Cohen that describes how working class people seek the same social goals of wider society but dont have the means of achieving them.
What is a misdemeanour?
A minor wrongdoing
What does material deprivation mean?
Lacking the ability purchase basic essentials necessary to live
What are perpetrators?
People who carry out a harmful or illegal activity
What is embezzlement?
Use of funds for a different purpose than they were intended for use - producing receipts or bills for activities that didn’t occur (hiding money)
What is miscarriage of judgement?
A failure in the crime justice system
What is the functionalist perspective of crime?
That people turn to crime to reach goals in society that they can’t reach through ethical means - Cohen describes it as status frustration
What Marxist explanation of crime?
That working class crimes are overly represented compared to middle class crime, mainly due to police focus and media amplification
What is the Interactionalist explanation of crime?
Labelling theory - applied to working class more than middle class
What is the definition of retribution?
To punish a criminal for their wrong-doing
What is rehabilitation?
To change and improve a criminal and ensure they turn away from crime
What is the definition of protection?
Ensuring that the public are protected from dangerous criminals and crime
What is vindication?
Justification for having the law in the first place
What does reparation mean?
Paying back the harm/damage done (community service)
What does deterrence mean?
To discourage others from crime, often through a harsh undesirable punishment (fear)
What is the ‘Hypodermic needle theory’?
This is the theory that we are ‘drip fed’ messages through the media that over time influence the way we think and understand society. It suggests that the audience are passive and are likely to be influenced by famous people who become their role models on television.
What is the definition of mass media?
Communication - whether written, broadcasted, or spoken - that reaches a large audience. This includes television, radio, advertising, movies, the internet, newspapers and magazines.
