MIDTERM 1 Flashcards
Objective Perspective
Certain acts are inherently moral or immoral. Deviance is a trait in a person/B that is considered deviant. It is a COMMON trait
What is Deviance Objectively?
Statistically rare, harmful, violation of norms, societally reactive. problem is all of these are subjective
Objective theories explaining deviance
Most helpful ones is where it’s focused on the deviant act itself. There is something that differentiates deviants from non deviants
Subjective Perspective
Deviance is based off perception. It is a PROCESS: what groups with influence have told us what is decided. It has NO COMMON trait and MORAL CODES change over time. Does NOT focus on the act
Strict Social Construction
Deviance is a creation of a certain society at a specific time in history, no objective reality. There is no essential reality outside our experience of it (endless relativism
Contextual Social Construction
Emphasis on the context to why something is deviant. What was the historical context that could’ve made something deviant?
Social Constructionism as a Process
Important is in its place in the social order, the roles assigned to those exhibiting that deviance, and the meanings attached to it
Norms are…
- subject to change
- culturally specific
- circumstance specific
- subject to social control
Informal and Formal Social Regulation
Approving/disproving smiles VS criminal charges
Retroactive or Preventative social regulation
Treating a deviant a certain way VS trying to prevent deviance
Social Typing
Description: Labelling
Evaluation: Describes label in adjectives
Prescription: How we respond in behaviour
Moral Entrepreneurs by Becker
Identifying a social problem, usually be members of upper class, often have to rely on social media
Strain Theory
Merton, Functionalist
-society is in anomie
- imbalance between institutionalized goals and the means of achieving them
- strain is the distance and blocked opportunity between goals and achieving
Strain Theory and 5 ways of seeing goals and means
conformity accepts both
innovation accepts goals rejects means
ritualism rejects goals accepts means
retreatism rejects both
rebellion accepts and rejects both
Differential Opportunity Theory
Cloward and Ohlin
Why do individuals adapt to strain in different ways?
Differential Illegitimate Opportunity. some people in a low state lack both legitimate and illegitimate means so they resort to deviance
Institutional Anomie
Messner, Rosenfeld
Thought strain theory was too focused on the economy
Economy impacts institutions like family political and others
But, the institutional balance of power is tilted toward the economy
General Strain Theory
Agnew
Strain theory was too focused on the economy as the only strain
more strains caused negative emotions leading to cope with delinquency
Strain results from
1. being blocked from any positive goal
2. actual or anticipated loss of something valuable
3. actual or anticipated presentation of noxious stimuli
Status Frustration Theory
the structure of society is recreated in the classroom
lower class boys will engage in
mutual status frustration: cause to join together with others
reaction formation: established set of oppositional standards for the group
Conflict: Code on the Streets
Code is the willingness to use violence, governing choices they make. Work for respect with little self respect. Lack of trust in institutions
Differential Association Theory
Sutherland
We learn how to engage in crime by interacting with criminals in face to face groups. Learned the disregard for legal code
Neutralization Theory
denial of….
responsibility
injury
victim
condemnation of condemners
appealing to higher loyalties
Social Bonds Theory
Hirschi
One might restrict their deviance because
attachment
commitment
involvement
belief
Self Control Theory and its determination
Hirschi and Gottsfredson
Self control is
determined by parenting in early life
remains stable though time
Criticism: children who don’t trust authority can’t be compared
Subjective Perspective on Deviance
Deviance is changing with use and legitimization of power, and the less powerful can resist with negotiations that cause change like the tobacco lawsuits
DEVIANCE IS VIOLATION OF DOMINANT MORAL CODES DETERMINED BY THE POWERFUL
Instrumental Marxism
The state, legal and political institutions are a direct instrument of the interest of the ruling class, protecting capitalists
Structural Marxism
State institutions function in interest of capitalism and to keep it that way
The state and its institutions have RELATIVE AUTONOMY
Feminist Theory
Gendered nature of norms and dominant moral codes determine what’s deviant
Power reflective Theories
Focus on the intertwining of power and knowledge
Power determines which claims to knowledge and come to be legitimized
Like masturbation being a sin or normal
Foucault
merged analysis of power and knowledge with the analysis of social control mechanisms (panoptical society)
Status Degredation
Tagging (deviant)
Defining (thief)
Describing (stole xyz)
Segregating (Imprisonment
The looking glass self
Horton
We imagine how we are perceived by others, how they’d evaluate us based on how we are seen and develop impressions about ourselves based on how they see and evaluate
Stigma, Master Status
Goffman
Powerfully negative label that greatly changes a persons self concept and social identity
Avoiding Stigma
concealment
selective disclosure
selective affiliation
activism
Claims makers
Use compelling stats and emotional examples and link a problem to one already in the public agenda
typify the seriousness and character of the threat posed by the behaviour
Critique of Social Learning Theories
Differential association: hard to tally associations in life. does the parenting or emotional attachment to deviant peers take precedence?
Neutralization: neutralization is actually not used prior to the act
Objective Theories
Strain, Conflict, Social Learning and Control
Subjective Theories
Power-Reflective, Feminist, Interpretive
How are psychological theories inadequate to explain marijuana use
Not all have the traits considered to cause the behaviour
Difficulty accounting for variability over time with their behaviour with reference to the drug
