SOC212 - 3. Theory Part II Flashcards
Labelling Theory
emphasize process through which society defines acts as deviant
focus on role of negative social sanctions in influencing individuals to engage in subsequent deviant acts
Labelling Theory
focus shifted from individuals + their actions to social definitions that label acts and people as deviant.
Deviance as Reaction
Becker’s (1973) definition of deviance may have become the best known in labeling definitions: “deviant is one to whom the label has successfully been applied; deviant behavior is behavior that people so label” (1973: 9).
Deviance as Reaction
reactivist + theory of secondary deviance
behaviour/conditions labeled as deviant by other
determine deviance, not by reference to norms, but by reference to the reactions (notably sanctions) of act’s social audience
Labels Create Deviants
shifted interest from the origin of the deviant behavior to:
(1) characteristics of societal reactions experienced by labeled individuals
(2) consequences of label for further deviation by those individuals
Labels Create Deviants
subtle + long process: central to person’s identity (race, gender)
can lead to more deviance when they accept label
Labels Create Deviants
labels can have effects throughout life course
do the fight it, embrace it, change it?
can change how they view behaviour
Labels Create Deviants
Tertiary Deviance: attempts to neutralize the label, change what the label means
prostitution change to sex word
Who’s got the power?
Labeling theorists focus nature of deviant labels:
Who creates the rules that define deviance.
How society singles out certain individuals + groups for labeling
Who’s got the power?
Schur (1980) sees deviance in terms of stigma contests betw different groups who promote competing rules + definitions of deviance
Society’s classifications of deviant behavior always reflects relative power of these groups
Who’s got the power?
similar to conflict theory
power of definition of social norms, thus deviance + crime
Critiques
Where Is the Behavior?
ignores the first deviant act + basis for society’s reaction to it
Critiques
Who or What Labels?
•3 groups could conceivably label deviants: agents of social control (police, judges), society at large, or immediate group they belong
Critiques
How Much of a Label?
What constitutes an effective label?
Formal, informal sanctions?
Critiques
Who Is Deviant?: Behaviors that trigger labels occur far more frequently in lower classes/low SES than in other groups
glosses over social norms
competing norms from diff groups
Cooley’s Looking Glass Self
identity grows out of society’s interpersonal interactions + perceptions of others
shape their sense of self based upon their perception of how others see them.
Cooley’s Looking Glass Self
imagine how we must appear to others
imagine or react to what we feel their judgement of that appearance must be
develop our self through the judgement of others
Cooley’s Looking Glass Self
begins with socialization
interpretations stop us from being deviant
diff ppl see you diff
value you put on what someone closer to you thinks
Critiques
Overlooks the differences between in groups + out groups
more of an us vs them
Our interpretation of other’s perceptions (and the value we attach to it)
will vary by group status + relationship type
Control Theory
Control theorists argue deviance is a result of absence of social control
Control Theory
propose various reasons for lack of control, but assert
that reductions in control will generate more deviance by freeing people to follow “natural” inclinations.
Hobbes vs Rousseau
Hobbes thought in nature, there is no morality, violent
state of constant fear - gov meant to control, prevent war
protect ppl from themselves
keeps ppl in line
Hobbes vs Rousseau
rousseau: ppl in natural state, free and equal
society that corrupts them
bring ppl into harmony
ppl make society, not institution
Durkheim & Control
Control theory originated from the work of Emile Durkheim
focused on methods of maintaining social order in complex societies with a division of labor and social differentiation.
Durkheim & Control
focused on social integration + strength of bonds that develop between individuals + larger social groups.
Suicide & Religious Group: catholics created more cohesion than protestants so it insulated them from suicide
Durkheim & Control
as society gets larger, ppl start to specialize
start to become more interdependent
leads to social cohesion
Some Basics
Deviance as the default: assumed everyone has urge to commit crime
act on natural motivations because released from restraint that holds everyone in check
Some Basics
Conformity as problematic
Motivation as a non-issue
Weak social control is the cause
Hirschi’s Four Components: Attachment
extent to which a person feels bound to specific groups through affection, respect + socialization to group social
norms
Hirschi’s Four Components: Involvement
Refers to non-deviant physical activities.
Continued involvement in conventional activities strengthens commitment
Hirschi’s Four Components: Commitment
degree to which adherence to social norms is
important to an individual + group.
Acts of deviance are seen as putting other, more valued
conditions and activities in jeopardy
Hirschi’s Four Components: Belief
personal allegiance to dominant value system of a
group (personal belief in social norms).
values may become moral imperatives for individual, rendering violations unthinkable acts
Hirschi’s Four Components
decrease in social control creates + allows deviance
deviant behaviour will stop when 4 components become stronger
Critiques
Where Is Deviant Motivation?
Control theorists contend that everyone has equal motivation to commit deviant acts yet some are able to control conduct
intentions vary, some are more motivated (SES)
Critiques
Disagreement Among Theorists
Control theory predicts highest rates of deviance in groups with least effective social controls but no strong relationship
Critiques
Assumption of a Central Value System
Most modern industrial societies have variations, which condone certain acts considered deviant in others
Learning/Socialization Theory
Deviant behaviors learned + developed according to the same basic processes through which nondeviants learn conformity
Learning/Socialization Theory
Deviance results from learned
acquisition of deviant norms and
values, particularly those learned
within subcultures and among peers
Sutherland’s Differential Association
Sutherland argued that deviant group behavior resulted from normative conflict
Sutherland’s Differential Association
Conflict among norms affects deviance through differential
social organization, determined by neighborhood structures, peer group relationships, and family organization.
Nine Propositions of Differential Association
- Criminal/deviant behaviour is learned.
- This behaviour through interactions with others in a process of communication.
primary learning of deviant behavior occurs within intimate personal groups.
Nine Propositions of Differential Association
- behavior deviants learn includes:
Techniques of committing the crime, which range from the very complicated to the simple
Nine Propositions of Differential Association
- Specific direction of motives, drives, rationalizations, and attitudes that characterizes the particular form of deviance.
- deviant learns specific direction of motives + drives from definitions of norms as favorable/unfavorable standards
Nine Propositions of Differential Association
- becomes deviant because definitions that favor violating norms exceed definitions that favor conforming to norms
- Differential associations may vary in frequency, duration, priority, and intensity
Nine Propositions of Differential Association
- learns deviant behavior by association with deviant + non-deviant patterns involving all of mechanisms involved in any other learning.
Nine Propositions of Differential Association
- While deviant behavior expresses general needs + values, those general needs + values do not fully explain it, since non-deviant behavior is expression of same needs and values
Critiques
Learning/socialization theories have established wide acceptance among sociologists
Critiques
seems to be an over-socialized conception of human beings, with insufficient attention to differential responses in regards to motivations and rational actions
Critiques
Problems of logic – circular reasoning
Glosses over biological + psychological
elements
Feminist Theory
Notes that all other theories based on male model of offending
Women & Girls have a different structural position which affect pathways to crime + deviance
Feminist Theory
- Patriarchy
- Explanations of crime and deviance need to be aware of patriarchal context
- Social Control agents – reinforce woman’s place in society
