the deviant career - subjective position

Question 1

what is a deviant career like?

Answer 1

an occupation - a label / role that defines us

Question 2

deviant careers are influenced by?

Answer 2

contingencies and turning points encountered at each stage

Question 3

what are the stages of a deviant career?

Answer 3

1. entry: first exposure
   ex. smoking weed for the first time
2. a sense of continuity
   ex. i tried weed, and then i tried acid, and then i tried cocaine, then i tried heroin
3. perception of increasing opportunities
   ex. realizing your drug dealing habit is costing you lots of money so i should start drug dealing myself
4. increased sophistication
   ex. if you mix the cocaine with a little bit of baking soda, it can go a long way. could i get a drone to sneak my drugs here?
5. recognition by peers
   ex. known as the ‘drug dealer’ and sells ‘the highest quality supplies’

Question 4

adler and adler looked into why its hard to leave a deviant career; what are some of these reasons?

Answer 4

• rewards of trade made it difficult to leave
  ex. you always had cash, didn’t have a 9-5 job, sex on command because of wealth
• social circle meant they couldn’t completely escape
  ex. it is very hard to stay sober when everyone around them are using
• difficulty in finding a replacement career
  ex. cannot put on your resume that you ran a cocaine deal, if you have been caught you have a criminal record (makes it difficult to get hired), skills developed in that trade are pretty specific to that trade
• debts
  ex. dealer gets ripped off, you still have to pay whoever you got the drugs from; dealers often use themselves so the trade pays for their own use
• pressure to return
  ex. you can exit, but when the ‘big man calls’, you don’t say no. can’t get out of the ‘mob life’

Question 5

people who are willing to engage in deviance have a weak commitment to?

Answer 5

conventional norms and identities

Question 6

are people either deviant or not deviant?

Answer 6

no! they drift between conventional and deviant behavior

Question 7

what are moral rhetorics?

Answer 7

• claims and assertions used to justify one’s deviant behavior
• used to neutralize the stigma associated with deviance

Question 8

young deviant children tend to use __________ rhetoric to justify their actions, what is an example of this?

Answer 8

instrumental
- ex. the jewler was so stupid, he turned his back so i was able to steal all the necklaces (bragging, i am so good)

Question 9

what is an example of moral rhetoric that is a movie / book?

Answer 9

robin hood: these guys are overcharging people, so i am just stealing them from them to send at a specific price

Question 10

in beckers becoming a marijuana user, becker came up with social learning theory, what three principles does it entail?

Answer 10

• learning technique
• learning to perceive effects
• learning to enjoy the effects

Question 11

becker also came up with deviant career theory, what does this focus on?

Answer 11

• the first stage only: entry stage
• assumed that deviant motives lead to deviant behavior