SOC212 - 2. Theory I Flashcards
Socialization
indivs do not automatically learn social behavior
acquired process developed through socialization
modify behavior in response to demands + expectations
Behavior is a product of social interaction
Socialization
Deviants may be viewed as being hypocritical because they violate some norms while conforming to others.
deviant in 1 aspect of life may not be deviant in all aspects
cheating on taxes but not on wife
deviance has no moral connotation
Social Roles
perform a variety of roles
represent behavior society expects from person in a given position or certain status within a particular group (Mother, father, daughter, son, dentist, judge, student, lawyer)
Social Roles
learn to perform the deviant roles through socialization:
Drug user, burglar, murder, alcoholic, or thief
Social Roles
Role playing + role taking not only socializes an individual during childhood but this process continues throughout life
role playing: learn other ppl’s roles
Introduction
Individualistic Theories: Focus on internal reasons for deviance
Structural Theories: Focus on the relationship of deviance to certain structural conditions in society
Addresses the epidemiology of deviance: lower SES
across time + space
Introduction
Process-Based Theories: Emphasizes how indivs come to commit crimes
Addresses the etiology of deviance: causes
conditions that lead ppl to commiting crime
Post-Modern Theories: combinations, context specific
feminist theory
Theory & Deviance
Sociological theories of deviance focus on that underlie deviance:
social conditions
How society defines it
Theory & Deviance
How group + subcultural influences relate to it
How deviants come to occupy their roles
Why deviance is distributed in time and space
How others react to deviations from norms
Individualistic Theories
Focus on how individuals become deviant and
understanding the meanings for those acts.
Focus on evaluating conditions/circumstances that affect individuals
Individualistic Theories
Biological Explanations
Psychological Explanations
Rational Choice Theory
Biological Explanations
Physical anomalies, body chemistry compositions or hereditary characteristics
Biological Explanations
Biologists claim that inherited traits may include:
Alcoholism, crime, drug addiction, certain types of
mental disorders, and certain sexual deviations.
Biological Explanations
Lombroso: believed criminality was inherited, identified by physical deviance or bodily features
evolutionary throwback to subhuman type of persons - looked like neanderthals
incompatible with modern civilized society
sloping forhead, asymmetrical face, weird ears, long arms
Biology & Crime
Biology could influence the origins of crime in many ways:
Genetically inherited traits, Hormones, Body type
•Neuropsychological (brain) factors
•Chemical composition of body tissues
•Variety of other physical dimensions
Critique – Biological Approaches
Inheritance: Cannot determine deviant behaviour because culture and social norms cannot be transmitted biologically
Social norms + forms of deviance learned through
social interactions
Psychiatric Explanations
symptom of psychological illness
product of some fault within the individual
Psychiatric Explanations
Emphasize every person at birth feels inherent, basic needs
Deprivations during early childhood lead individuals to develop abnormal personality patterns
not having needs met has consequences which lead to deviant personalities
Psychoanalytic Explanations
Explain deviance through analysis of unconscious mind.
•Three personality components:
•Id – a buried reservoir of unconscious, instinctual animal
tendencies or drives.
Psychoanalytic Explanations
•Ego – conscious part of the mind which operates body
Superego – mediates conflict betw Id + Ego. The superego also defines the social self based on the principles of social norms and culture.
Psychoanalytic Explanations
Psychoanalysts attribute deviance to unconscious attempts to satisfy unresolved infantile desires
type of crime a person commits + types of objects involved
Psychoanalytic Explanations
Identified many personality traits associated behavior:
Aggressive or submissive, emotional or unresponsive
Suspicious, Self-centered, Withdrawn, etc
Psychological Approaches
Have applied dozens of personality tests, rating scales to try to distinguish deviants from non-deviants.
explain forms of delinquent and criminal behavior as products of abnormalities in the psychological structures of individual deviants
Psychological Approaches
personality differences between offenders and non-offenders (unsuccessfully).
deviant personality type as a criminal psychopath or a psychopathic personality
Critique – Psychological Approaches
Human behavior results primarily from socialization + socially determined roles rather than static conditions.
cannot isolate the effects of societal reactions to deviant behavior
Rational Choice Theory
Deviance as deliberate, purposeful behavior:
action represents a choice made to behave in a certain way, to think in a certain way/live certain kind of lifestyle
Rational Choice Theory
Individuals have choices in all behaviors.
Why do alcoholics choose to drink?
makes specific decisions or choices about
Rational Choice
whether or not to engage in crime based on rationality.
Pros and Cons
understand the context of the decision and the factors that brought people to that decision.
Critique – Rational Choice
deviants do not choose to be deviant
Everyone makes choices, but some people have better options to choose from
Critique – Rational Choice
Choices can be limited
can be constrained by biology society
Structural Theories: Anomie Theory
result of certain social structural strains that pressure individuals to become deviant.
Modern societies create strains upon individuals by emphasizing cultural goals, while simultaneously limiting institutional access for certain groups
Structural Theories: Anomie Theory
Anomie develops as result between disjuncture between valued cultural goals of success + legitimate institutionalized means by which a society allows one to
achieve those goals
Structural Theories: Anomie Theory
effect on the person
material success, family, university - social norms lead us to desire
Common Cultural Goal = Financial Success
Structural Theories: Anomie Theory
Cultural assumptions generally expect members to achieve goals through legitimate means: Conventional, full time employment Well-paid occupations with benefits Higher education
Structural Theories: Anomie Theory
Limited options. Many with lower SES or racialized
communities don’t have access to these means.
Anomie is social condition that results from emphasizing success goals more strongly than acceptable means by which people might achieve them
Structural Theories: Anomie Theory
opportunities are controled by system
by design excludes lower class
meet goals through deviant means
society can only afford to keep few rich
Merton’s Strain Theory
5 ways of contending with strain in an anomic society •Conformity •Ritualism •Rebellion •Innovation •Retreatism
Conformity
Conformists accept both cultural goals + institutionalized means by which to attain them
People access to good education/jobs
Accepts Goals / Accept Means
Do not become deviant
Ritualism
conform to society’s norms with no expectation of achieving its goals
know that they will never achieve ‘American Dream’ but work everyday to get by.
Reject Goals / Accept Means
Innovation
contend with anomie by working towards attaining culturally prescribed goals of success through illegitimate
means such as theft, burglary, robbery, organized crime, or prostitution
Innovation
Accept Goals / Reject Means
merton says this is a fair choice in an anomic society
functional reaction to how society is structured
Retreatism
after internalizing cultural goals, finds them unobtainable.
Internalized pressures prevent them from adapting through innovation
feel defeated and withdraw from conventional roles
Retreatism
individuals may retreat through:
Drugs, Alcohol, Gambling
Reject Goals / Reject Means
in some cases leads to suicide
Rebellion
Individuals who contend with anomie by going against
conventional cultural goals that they feel unable to achieve.
try to set up new goals + procedures that change social structure instead of achieving goals established by society.
New Goals / New Means
Adaptation to Strain
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Critiques – Anomie Theory
Assumption of Universality: assumes universal standards of
pursuing legitimate vs. illegitimate means.
assumption is invalid as deviance is a relative term that varies by culture and society
Critiques – Anomie Theory
Class Bias: assumes that deviant behavior concentrates primarily in lower classes. studied middle class teen males so not generalizable occurs regardless of social class, upper class just don’t get labeled deviant
Critiques – Anomie Theory
Trouble with Retreatism: oversimplifies a very complex
process
insensitive and inaccurate
Conflict Theory
origins of rules/norms rather than source of behaviour that violates established standards
stresses differentiation of groups in society + distribution of power among these groups
Conflict Theory
focus on why act is deviant, not why are they deviant
focus on what than why or how
results in a collection of groups with competing interests
in conflict with one another
Conflict Theory
focuses on social power: Individuals with social power create rules and norms for interest of that group
behavior that conflicts with the standards of segments of society with the power to shape public opinion + social policy
Conflict Theory
moral entrepeneurs
conflicts about race can actually be more about economic marginalization
Marxism & Deviance
society as the outcome of a continuing struggle between social classes Definitions of deviance emerge from class conflict betw powerful + less powerful groups
Marxism & Deviance
capitalist society as relationship between 2 groups of economic interests: competing social norms
Bourgeoisie: Society’s ruling class – the factory owners
Proletariat: ruled members of society – the workers whose labour power is exploited
Marxism & Deviance
state does NOT act as a neutral party. mainly protects ruling class against threats from ruled masses Laws prohibit certain acts that threaten ruling class
Marxism & Deviance
Laws legitimize intervention by society’s agents of
social control
Criminal law tends to side with the upper classes against the lower classes
Marxism & Deviance
law as tool to protect property lower classes do not have
minimizes political threats focus on diff in social power
elite + powerless as having diff interests
frames crime as a rational act
Critiques – Conflict Theories
Explanations of Rules or Behavior: little info about the process by which an individual comes to commit crime
Origins of laws and norms, not individual actions
Ignores socialization.
Critiques – Conflict Theories
Who Benefits?: doubt that one particular group devises + enforces all laws for its sole advantage certain laws that don’t seem to benefit upper class like drugs Victims?
Critiques – Conflict Theories
Law and the Causes of Behavior: Conflict perspectives hold that criminal law causes criminal behavior by defining specific acts as crimes
Motivation?
More Critiques
Powerful Groups and Social Rules
Conflict theories rely on an overly broad assumption that powerful groups dictate:
Laws contents
More Critiques
Rule-making processes
Enforcement
Yet a variety of groups contribute to law making
common law originated from lower class
