Deviance and Crime Flashcards
Social Structure
the regular, predictable, repeated forms of social relations in operation most the time
Deviance
behaviour that contradicts normal social structures or values to a degree that leads others to condemn or punish it
Examples of criminal deviance
theft, murder, racism
Examples of non criminal deviance
unusual appearance, mental illness and alternative lifestyles
Conformity
adjustment of individual behaviour, attitudes, and beliefs so as to meet social norms and the expectations within your society
Social Stigma
Personal characteristic that sharply distinguished an individual from ‘norm’ in the eyes of society and leads them being viewed as lesser
Erving Goffman explored what set of characteristics?
Deviance and stigmatised
Primary Deviance
the basic act of deviating from the norm or committing an often minor crime, without identifying oneself as deviant
Secondary Deviance
the (willing or unwilling) incorporation of deviancy into a sense of self and gradual identification as a deviant
Anomie
Durkheim’s term for ‘normlessness’ or ‘lawlessness’ – a state in which social norms that normally regulate us are weaker and less binding.
Durkheim sees anomie as a major source of social problems:
In Division of Labour in Society
the modern economy is insufficiently regulated
Durkheim sees anomie as a major source of social problems:
In Suicide
the economy had lack of such social bonds may be a major social cause of suicide
differential association theory
explanation of crime by looking at how we learn from peers how to become criminals
Edwin Sutherland
argued that people may become criminals if their group has more favourable definitions of deviance than unfavourable ones.
Social controlled theory
explains crime as a result of weak bonds betwen parents and children, including disciplinary
Travis Hirschi
leading representative of social control theory – the modern equivalent of Durkheim’s anomie
Strain theory
society applies pressure on individuals to achieve certain goals , but doesnt provide adequate means to all people
Robert Merton
uses Durkheim’s anomie to explain youth crime amongst socially-excluded groups.
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Victimology
the study of what sort of people become victims and under what circumstances
routine activity theory
becoming a victim mostly depends on where and how you routinely spend time
Lifestyle theory
engaging in high-risk activities puts you at the greatest risk of becoming a victim
Deviant Place theory
victims are those who venture in to high-risk places; if you hangout in a dangerous part of town, you are likely to be a victim
Vicitim precipitation theory
something about the victim may (actively or passively) ‘incite’ the criminal. regardless of intent
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Recidivism
repeating criminal offences after conviction and punishment for a previous crime
Priosnization
process of re-socialization into subculture of prison life when entering penitentiary
Donald Clemmer
suggests humiliating, controlling nature of prison regimes is at fault
Repressive (criminal) law
consists of prohibitions and injunctions; punishes by inflicting harm on offender
Restitutive (civil) law
consists of regulations on contracts; punishes by restoring situations laid out in contact
criminalization
the social, legal, and political processes by which previously-tolerated acts or behaviours come to be seen as criminal-like
Edwin Schur
argues that there are many victimless crimes- acts that are punished as crimes, despite not harming anyone
Labelling Theory
Beckers theory explaining criminality as a product of the labels that society applies to certain acts, and not as the result of any intrinsic character flaw of deviant
great confinement
foucaults term for the mid-17th century movement to confine or lock up vagrant , the mad.
Michel Foucault
Focuses on the way some people and forms of behaviour are classified as normal and other as deviant
Hierarchical Observation
the subject is under constant observation by an unseen power
Discipline
Foucault’s term describe the training of humans to meet standards of supposed normality instead of deviating
