Deviance and Crime (Unit 5) Flashcards
Trends in Crime
The ways that crime is affected by events in history, and how past trends in crime will affect future trends in crime
Social Control
observing the ways that social mechanisms, patterns, and pressure maintains order
Labeling Theory
A theory that states that the way a person acts (and reacts to things) is based on the way that society groups them into a negative stereotype/labels them
Retribution
The way that society punishes people–such as prison
Rehabilitation
Taking someone unfit for society and training them to be a functional member of society, making sure that they are set up for success
Recidivism
A previous felon falling back into the cycle of crime and prison
“White-Collar Crime”
A crime done that involves money, typically done by those who wish to achieve a higher social status and is also typically nonviolent (Ex: Ponzi Scheme)
Violent Crime
A crime committed that harm the victim physically–The FBI breaks violent crime into the four categories of sexual assault/rape, robbery, manslaughter/murder, and aggravated assault
Crime
Deviation from society’s moral standards that are enforced by laws
Internalization
Making society’s morals, values, priorities, and norms your own subconsciously
Sanctions
A threat that indicates a group’s reactions to deviance and straying from the common morality (ex: the death penalty to encourage people to not commit horrible crimes)
Stigma
A part of someone’s identity becoming inescapable and polarizing (ex: sex offender)
Deviance
Straying from society’s view of ‘correct behavior’ or social norms
Primary Deviance
An act of deviance committed by someone who is usually socially conforming (or is always acting ‘correct’), such as someone stealing a candy bar when they would usually never steal
Secondary Deviance
The repetition of deviance, making it something a bit more expected of a person
Differential Association
A theory that states that someone who commits a crime most likely did it because they had someone in their life commit crimes and it became a learned behavior
Cultural Transmission
How the elements of a culture are passed down throughout generations, and therefore a culture of deviance can become prominent
Strain Theory
A theory that claims that when people are struggling to achieve what society wants from them, they can often turn to deviance and crime to meet that expectation
Innovation
The implementation of a new process or system that can be applied to a society to achieve an overall sense of betterment and well-being
Retreatism
The attitude/idea of abandonment of an original idea that a goal is achievable
Rebellion
An individual replacing socially acceptable goals with socially unacceptable goals/means of achieving that goal
Ritualism
When someone continues an activity because it is a social norm even if said activity doesn’t align with the individual’s personal goals (ex: working 9-5 to make a livable wage even when you really want to work as a freelance wedding painter)
Control Theory
The idea that there are always two forces working against our temptation to deviate–outer forces and inner forces
Attachment
The extent that we care about what others think of us
Commitment
When an individual makes a goal and follows through with a series of strenuous activity to achieve that goal
