crime and deviance introduction

Question 1

Downes and Rock - definition of deviance

Answer 1

‘deviance may be considered as banned or controlled behaviour which is likely to attract punishment or disapproval, eg breaking social norms’

Question 2

crime definition

Answer 2

breaking the law

Question 3

social control definition

Answer 3

various methods that cause individuals to conform to society’s mainstream norms and values

Question 4

formal social control

Answer 4

carried out by agencies specifically set up to ensure people conform to social norms (eg law, police courts, prisons etc)

Question 5

informal social control

Answer 5

carried out by institutions whose primary purpose is not just to control individuals (eg family, education, workplace, religion, mass media, peer groups etc)

Question 6

social construction of deviance

Answer 6

deviance is socially constructed in how it varies in context, both historically and culturally; some crimes are not considered deviant as most people do them (eg underage drinking, speeding etc)

Question 7

deviance variations over time

Answer 7

eg smoking in public places used to be common but is now illegal

Question 8

deviance variations in place and context

Answer 8

eg having sex at home is fine but in public it is deviant

Question 9

Plummer - 2 aspects of deviance

Answer 9

• societal deviance
• situational deviance

Question 10

societal deviance (Plummer)

Answer 10

acts that most members of society view as deviant (eg paedophilia, murder etc)

Question 11

situational deviance (Plummer)

Answer 11

acts that are only deviant in particular situations (eg sex, nudity etc)

Question 12

Newburn - social construction of crime

Answer 12

some but not all crimes are deviant and crime is breaking the law, and as the nature of what is criminal varies historically and culturally this indicates that crime is socially constructed

Question 13

physiological theory of crime and deviance

Answer 13

suggest that some individuals are more prone towards deviance because of their genetic makeup
- Lombroso argued criminals are more similar earlier, primitive forms of human being
- occasionally men have an extra Y chromosome and there are a high number of these in prisons
- men could be more aggressive due to high levels of testosterone

Question 14

psychological theory of crime and deviance

Answer 14

see deviant behaviour as the result of abnormal mental processes rather than physical differences
- Bowlby - affectionless psychopathy (lack of empathy) is due to maternal deprivation
- Eysenck - individuals with extroverted personalities were more likely to be criminal