Sociology - Deviance (ch 8) Flashcards
deviance
The recognized violation of a cultural norm
What did Dennis Kozlowski do? (4)
Lived on other people’s money
Chief exec at Tyco
Bought a bunch of new companies
Spent company money on himself
Crime
The violation of a society’s formally enacted law
What do deviant actions or attitudes - whether good or bad - have in common?
Some element of difference that causes us to regard another person as an “outsider”
Social control
Attempts by society to regulate people’s thought and behavior
Criminal justice system
A formal response by police, courts, and prison officials to alleged violations of the law
How strong is the link between biological factors and crime? (2)
Real, but modest
Peoples overall genetic makeup, in combination win social influences, probably accounts for some tendency toward criminality
Psychologists view deviance as?
The produce of “unsuccessful” socialization
What are the social foundations for deviance? (3)
- Deviance varies according to cultural norms
- People become deviant as others define them that way
- Both norms and the way people define rule-breaking involve social power
What four essential functions does deviance place on society according to Emile Durkheim? (4)
- Deviance affirms cultural values and norms
- Responding to deviance clarifies moral boundaries
- Responding to deviance promotes social unity
- Deviance encourages social change
Robert Merton believes…
That the extent and kind of deviance depends on whether a society provides the means (such as schooling and jobs) to achieve cultural goals (such as financial success)
According to Merton, what is “innovation”? (2)
Using unconventional means (street crime) to achieve a culturally approved goal (wealth)
Involves accepting a cultural goal (financial success) but rejecting the conventional means (hard work at a “straight job”)
Walter Miller states that delinquent subcultures are characterized by: (6)
- Trouble - arising from frequent conflict with teachers and police
- Toughness - the value placed on physical size and strength, esp. among males
- Smartness - the ability to succeed on the street, to outsmart, or “con” others, and to avoid being similarly taken advantage of
- A need for excitement - the search for thrills, risk, or danger
- A belief in fate - sense that people lack control over their own lives
- A desire for freedom - often expressed as hostility toward authority figures
Labeling theory (2)
The assertion that deviance and conformity result not so much from people do as from how others respond to those actions
Social construction of reality is a “highly variable process of detection, definition, and response”
Primary deviance
When a norm violation provokes a slight reaction from others having little effect on a person’s self concept
Secondary deviance
When a person repeatedly violates a norm a begins to take on a deviant identity
Stigma
A powerfully negative label that greatly changes a person’s self concept and social identity
Retrospective labeling
Occurs when people interpret someone’s past in light of present deviance
Projective labeling
Occurs when people use a stigmatized identity to predict further action
How does the medicalization of deviance work?
The transformation of moral and legal deviance into a medical condition
Hirschi’s control theory states that
Social control depends on the growing influence of psychiatry and medicine and imagining the consequences of ones behavior
List Hirschi’s four types of social control (4)
- Attachment
- Opportunity
- Involvement
- Belief
Attachment (2)
Strong ties encourage conformity
Weak relationships esp. in family and in school, leave people freer to engage in deviance
Opportunity (2)
The greater a person’s access to legitimate opportunity, the greater the advantages of conformity
Someone with little confidence in future success is more likely to drift toward deviance
Involvement
Extensive involvement in legitimate activities (holding a job, school, etc.) inhibits deviance
Belief
Strong belief in conventional morality and respect for authority figures restrain tendencies toward deviance
Can body structure predict criminality?
No, there is no conclusive evidence between criminality and any genetic trait
Does personality type predict criminality or deviance? (2)
Slightly –> psychopaths can be serious criminals
Most serious crimes are committed by “psychologically” normal individuals
Being “deviant” depends on (2)
Which category of people hold power within a society
Deviants = usually powerless
3 explanations of the social conflict perspective
- Norms/laws reflect the interests of the rich and powerful
- Powerful have resources to resist deviant labels
- Widespread belief that norms / laws are natural and good, mask their political character
Deviants =
Those who interfere with capitalism
Capitalism
Based on the private control of the wealth
Deviance and capitalism depends on
*
Labor - no work = deviant
Respect for authority - no respect = deviant
*Society positively labels whatever enhances capitalism
What do both the criminal justice system and social welfare system blame the individual for?
Drugs
White collar crime
Crimes committed by people of high social position in the course of their occupation
Civil law
Business between private parties
Criminal law
Individuals moral responsibilities to society
Corporate crime
The illegal actions of a corporation or people acting on its behalf
Organized crime (2)
Business supplying illegal goods or services
Selling goods to a willing public
Hate crimes (2)
Criminal act towards a person or persons property by an offender motivated by racial bias or other bias
- race, religion, sexual orientation, ancestry, physical disability
Deviance and gender
Almost every society places stricter controls on women than on men
Crimes against the person
Crimes that direct violence or the threat of violence against others
Crimes against property
Crimes that involve theft of property belonging to others
Victimless crimes
Violations of the law in which there are no readily apparent victims
