Social construction of crime and deviance, non sociological theories

Question 1

Social control definition

Answer 1

refers to the various methods used to persuade or force individuals to conform to the dominant social norms and values of a society or group

Question 2

Deviance definition

Answer 2

refers to the rule-breaking behaviour of some kind, which fails to conform to the norms and expectations of a particular society or social group

Question 3

Crime definition

Answer 3

the term used to describe behaviour which is against the criminal law - law-breaking

Question 4

The social construction of crime - Newburn (2007)

Answer 4

• suggests that crime is a label attached to certain forms of behaviour which are prohibited by the state and have some legal penalty against them
• an act only becomes a ‘crime’ when it is labelled as a crime by the police and criminal justice agencies
• similar acts can be labelled differently based on the circumstances - eg killing someone in war is fine but elsewhere it is murder
• flexible terms used in criminal law such as ‘reasonable force’
• points out that varying criminal law between countries shows that crime is a social construction
• vast range of acts included under criminal law make it difficult to develop explanations for crime

Question 5

Social construction of deviance - Downes and Rock (2007)

Answer 5

• difficult to define what members of a society or group regard as deviant
• suggest that ambiguity is a key feature of rule-breaking, as people are unsure whether an act is deviant or what deviance is
• judgement on if something’s deviant depends on circumstances and context - eg swearing among friends vs at a teacher

Question 6

Societal deviance definition (Plummer)

Answer 6

refers to acts which are seen by most members of a society as deviant

Question 7

Situational deviance definition (Plummer)

Answer 7

refers to acts which are only defined as deviant in particular conexts

Question 8

Societal and situational deviance - Plummer (1979)

Answer 8

• societal deviance refers to acts which are seen as deviant by the majority eg murder
• situational deviance refers to acts which may be seen as deviant based on context
• these concepts show that there can be varying interpretations of ‘deviant’ acts
• deviance is a social construction - some crimes aren’t seen as deviant (speeding etc), definitions of deviance change over time (eg smoking - illegal indoors in public buildings since 2007 or homosexuality - legalised in 1967), society or cultural differences in interpretations (eg alcohol), social group (age, ethnicity etc), place and context

Question 9

Biological theories of crime and deviance

Answer 9

• suggest that genetic makeup can make people more disposed to committing crimes
• Lombroso (19th century) suggested that criminals have abnormal features eg large jaw and cheekbones - features associated with humans from an earlier stage of evolution
• Phrenology (popular in victorian times, founded by Gall) suggested that personality could be explained by skull shape and that this could identify criminals

Question 10

Psychological theories of crime and deviance

Answer 10

• linked criminal behaviour to genetically based personality characteristics eg an extra Y-chromosome creating neurotic extroverts who are less rational and more risk-taking, aggressive, impulsive and thrill-seeking
• current technology such as PET scans have shown that psychopaths often have brain abnormalities
• modern studies suggest that childhood experiences can have long-term psychological effects which may lead to maladjusted personalities and potential crime

Question 11

Criticisms of biological and psychological theories of crime and deviance

Answer 11

• they fail to recognise that the meanings of crime and deviance are created by social and cultural factors, and no act in itself is ever always regarded as criminal or deviant
• difficult to show that some people have a biological or psychological predisposition to crime and deviance when behaviour against socially defined rules change over time and vary between cultures
• suggesting that criminals are different fails to recognise that many people commit act of deviance and crime undetected
• many theories are based on an unrepresentative samples of criminals who have been caught and labelled as criminal (many criminals don’t get caught)
• fail to recognise that crime follows a social pattern linked to features such as age, class, gender or ethnicity - eg many young people engage in crime and deviance but give it up as they grow older