intro to crime and deviance

Question 1

what is crime

Answer 1

behaviour which breaks laws and is punished by the legal system

Question 2

what is deviance

Answer 2

Behaviour which goes against the norms, values and expectations of a social group or society

Question 3

michel foucault on crime and deviance

Answer 3

• wrote how definitions of criminal deviance, sexual deviance and madness have changed throughout history
• e.g, 120 years ago in the uk it was deviant for women to wear trousers, but today its the norm.

Question 4

what does deviance change with

Answer 4

changes with time and place as values, norms and social expectations change. - social construct

Question 5

situational deviance - plummer

Answer 5

• acts which can be defined as deviant or normal depending on the circumstances,
• like being naked in your own home, deviant on the high street.

Question 6

plummer 1979

Answer 6

• made a distinction between situational deviance and societal deviance

Question 7

societal deviance - plummer

Answer 7

means acts which are seen by most of society as deviant, in most situations
- kicking a dog

Question 8

subcultures and deviance

Answer 8

What is deviant for some group groups in society is conformity for others
- subcultures have different norms to mainstream society

Question 9

what is cultural relativism

Answer 9

an action or behaviour that is criminal?deviant in one place but not in another place

Question 10

examples of cultural relativism

Answer 10

• homophobia - same sex relationships in uk is legal however in iran, yemen, sudan being in a same sex relationship is punishable by death