Lec 1-2

Question 1

Conformity or normality

Answer 1

Acts that are statically common

Harmless

Acts that society respond to with positive emotions

Acts that correspond to societal norms

Acts that dominant moral codes say are acceptable

Question 2

Deviance

Answer 2

When acts violate or contradict the dominant moral codes

A person, behaviour, or characteristic that is socially typed as deviant and subjected to measures of social control

Question 3

Types of deviance

Answer 3

Positive

Negative

Question 4

Social norms

Answer 4

Expectations of conduct in particular situations

Norm violations usually result in reactions or sanctions

They change from time to time and place to place

Question 5

Objectivist views

Answer 5

Deviance as a quality

Question 6

Subjectivist views

Answer 6

Deviance as a process

Question 7

The common trait that deviance is

Answer 7

Rarity
Harm
Negative societal reaction
Normative violation

Question 8

EG of deviance, stastical rarity

Answer 8

Most people do not commit crimes

Most people do not smoke

Few people have green hair

Few people belong to white nationalist groups

Question 9

Criteria for rare is

Answer 9

Ambiguous (could be 49 percent, 20? 2?)

Question 10

Limitations of statistical rarity

Answer 10

Criteria for rare are ambiguous

Common acts may be considered unacceptable (ie underage drinking is common but not allowed)

Rare acts may be considered acceptable (heroic acts, sports prodigies)

Question 11

Harm

Answer 11

Can be physical, emotional, social, or ontological

Question 12

Limitations of harm idea of deviance

Answer 12

Perceptions of harm vary over time (ie. homosexuality, cannabis use)

Perceptions of harm are subjective (eg. feminists, drug prohibition)

Question 13

Negative social reaction

Answer 13

Feeling fear in response

Surveys, opinion polls, elected officials can all shape what we think is negative

Question 14

Negative social reaction idea limitations

Answer 14

Criteria for determining “masses” are unclear (eg. what if 51 percent of people dislike a certain behaviour)

Some people’s reactions have a greater impact (ie scientist vs students)

Public opinion often matters less than other factors (ie. Political party incentives create uniformity among members)

Question 15

Normative violation

Changing views of norms

Answer 15

Absolutist views (universally accepted) of norms have become culturally specific views of norms

Question 16

Absolutist view of norms

Answer 16

Behaviour or characteristic is inherently and universally deviant

Absolute moral order

Some norms should be followed in all cultures at all times

Question 17

Culturally specific views of norms

Answer 17

Norms are culturally specific

No absolute moral order

Question 18

Normative violations idea limitations

Answer 18

Lack of consensus over norms (Society is made of many social groups, with varied expectations for behaviour)

Does the criminal law reflect consensus (Consensual versus conflict versus interactionist views)

High consensus vs low consensus deviance

Question 19

Subjectivism

Answer 19

Deviance is socially constructed

Deviance is not a quality but rather a process (people learn what is deemed deviance through socialization)

Some moral codes attain positions of dominance (powerful people have deemed things as deviant)

Question 20

Subjectivity and the “social construction” of deviance

Levels of social construction

Answer 20

Individual

Interactional

Institutional

Sociocultural

Global

Question 21

The objective-subjective continuum

Answer 21

Absolute moral order (Objective)—- Radical constructionism (Subjective)

Question 22

Studying deviance

2 approaches

Answer 22

Objective approach: studying the act

Subjective approach: studying social processes

Question 23

Objective end of the continuum

Answer 23

Focus on deviant acts

Those acts have an inherently deviant quality

eg. why do people join white nationalist groups if they know that racism violates Canadian norms

Question 24

Studying social processes

Subjective end of the continuum

Answer 24

Focus on our perceptions of an relations to the act

Emphasis on the deviance dance (debate on what is deviant and what isn’t)

Importance of power relations (moral entrepreneurs)

Question 25

Moral entrepreneurs

Answer 25

People that try to make other people adopt their social norms

Question 26

The role of power in moral code of society

Answer 26

Some individuals have more power than others (eg a billionaire versus a person who is homeless)

Some groups have more power than others

Power also lies in social institutions (Government, science, religion, media, commercial enterprise)

Question 27

The social typing process

Answer 27

Process by which a person, behaviour, or characteristic is deviantized

Question 28

Social typing process three components

Answer 28

Description (the label)

Evaluation (the judgment)

Prescription (social control)

Question 29

Forms of social control

Answer 29

Formal vs informal

Retroactive vs preventative

Control of others vs control of self

Question 30

Formal vs informal

Answer 30

Formal is intervention done by the state such as police

Informal is social control learned by parents

Question 31

Retroactive vs preventative social control

Answer 31

Retroactive- Treating a known deviant in a certain way

Preventative- Preventing deviance

Question 32

Control of others vs control of self

Answer 32

Control of others- Controlling the behaviours of others

Control of self- controlling self behaviours to fit in

Question 33

Resistance to the social typing process

Answer 33

Occurs at the macro level and micro level

Varies across cultures and over time

Takes many forms (protests, art, naming of people and places)