Deviance and social control Chapter 8

Deviance Most people internalize the majority of the norms in their societies, but may not internalize all the norms and so there isn’t total social control There are always people who break the rules of a society Behavior that violates significant social norms is called deviance

They are all examples of deviant behavior Deviance Continuously talking to oneself in public Drag racing on a public street or highway Regularly using illegal drugs A man wearing woman’s clothing Attacking another person with a weapon What do they all have in common? They are all examples of deviant behavior

Deviance What is considered deviant varies from society to society… Because there are so many norms governing behavior, occasional violations are unavoidable What is considered deviant varies from society to society… society determines what is deviant Society determines the consequences for deviant behavior

Deviance people are considered deviant for repeat behavior So if they once get a ticket for driving their car too fast…that is not deviant If they continue to be caught driving at high speeds and have reputation of a reckless driver, then called a deviant commits an act that has serious negative consequences for society i.e. rape, murder, sexual assault, robbery

Deviance Labeling deviance has 2 components: to be considered deviant by society, an individual must first be detected committing a deviant act, behavior is known to others the individual must be stigmatized by society stigma – mark of social disgrace that sets the deviant apart from the rest of society Cut/burn marks on person, public punishments, executions, imprisonment, cut direct , spoiled reputation What is considered deviant varies from society to society and during different time periods

Deviance Emile Durkheim’s The Rules of Sociological Method observed that deviance has some uses in social life. Unifying the Group – serves to draw the line between conforming members of society and “outsiders” – the nonconforming members Clarifying Norms – defines the boundaries of acceptable behavior Diffusing Tension – acts that allow individuals to relieve tension without disrupting the basic fabric of society

Deviance 4. Promoting Social Change – can help prompt social change by identifying problem areas Providing Jobs – provides legitimate jobs for a wide range of people judges, lawyers, police officers, prison personnel, parole officers, crime reporters criminologists – social scientists who study criminal behavior

Deviance SECTION 1 Perspective Theory Questions Functionalist How do individuals respond to culturally approved goals and the legitimate means of achieving them? (conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism, rebellion) Strain Conflict What is the result of competition and social inequality? (deviance) Who decides what is deviant? (ruling classes) Interactionist Why do people conform to norms? (The strength of social ties determines conformity.) Control How do people learn conformity or deviance? (through socialization, or interaction with others) Where does this learning mainly occur? (primary groups) Cultural Transmission How do people become identified as deviant? (through secondary deviance, or being labeled as deviant) Labeling

Deviance Structural-Strain Theory– Functionalist Perspective Proposed by Robert K. Merton Theory views deviance is a natural part of society and as the natural outgrowth of the values, norms, and structures of society American society places high value on certain goals, not everyone has access to legitimate means to achieve these goals People are judged on the basis of how well they meet those goals

Deviance under the strain of incompatible goals and means, individuals fall victim to anomie anomie – situation that arises when the norms of society are unclear or are no longer applicable, leave individuals without guidelines for behavior and confusion

Deviance Sociologist Robert K. Merton suggest that individuals respond to the culturally approved goals and legitimate means of achieving goals in 5 ways. Conformity Innovation: end up deviant Ritualism: end up deviant Retreatism: end up deviant Rebellion: end up deviant

Deviance Conflict Theory Conflict Theorists – deviance is a result of competition and social inequality, struggle between those who possess power and those who do not people with power commit deviant act to maintain power people without power to obtain economic rewards or because of low self-esteem and feelings of powerlessness

Deviance Richard Quinney’s Conflict Theory: ruling class labels threatening behavior as deviant lower class has limited opportunity, forced into deviant behavior to protect their power, ruling class establishes ideologies to explain deviance as a problem among lower class law enforcement are directed toward the types of crimes committed by lower classes (results in higher arrest rates) people without power do not necessarily commit more crimes than others, but are the types of crimes that are most likely to be detected and punished

Interactionists Deviance as either natural in people with weak ties to the community (control theory) as a learned behavior (cultural transmission theory) or as a label (labeling theory)

Deviance control theory – natural occurrence, interest in why people conform rather than the causes of deviance social ties determine conformity, high integration causes conformity communities with strong social bonds have lower rates of deviance because strong social control over those who deviate

Deviance Travis Hirschi Interactionist Perspective: control theory: people form bonds in 4 ways form attachments with others who accept the norms of society strong belief in the moral codes of society show commitment to traditional societal values and goals fully involved in non-deviant behavior and activities

Deviance Cultural Transmission theory [Interactionist]– based on socialization and sees deviance is a learned behavior Learned through interaction with others who are engaging in deviant acts the norms and values being transmitted are deviant, the individual becomes socialized into deviant behavior rather than socially acceptable behavior

Deviance cultural transmission views all individuals as conformists difference between deviants and rest of society is the norms the individual chooses to conform to Deviant chooses to conform to norms that are not accepted by the larger community

Deviance differential association – refers to the proportion of associations a person has with deviant versus non-deviant individuals If the majority of a person’s interactions are with deviant individuals, the person will be socialized into patterns of deviant behavior Based on Edwin Sutherland, learning of deviant behavior occurs in primary groups and have personal relationships with people who commit crimes

Deviance labeling theory – focuses on how individuals come to be identified as deviant, rather than why people perform deviant acts all people commit deviant acts yet not everyone is labeled as deviant

Deviance Lemert and Becker: deviance has 2 types: primary and secondary primary deviance – nonconformity that goes undetected by those in authority, occasional acts and well concealed acts, do not consider themselves deviant and neither does society secondary deviance – results in the individual being labeled as deviant and accepting the label as true degradation ceremony – public setting, individual is denounced, found guilty, or given new identity of a deviant, people are judged in light of their new label, becomes master status, restricts options in society, self- fulfilling prophecy

crime crime – any act that is labeled as such by those in authority, is prohibited by law, and is punishable by the government

crime Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) published annually by the FBI chart page 187 limits on statistics: not all complaints make it to official stats of formal reports not all crime reported (family or friends) only file formal reports on serious crime officer is influenced to file a formal report based on attitude of individual making the complaint

crime Violent Crime – includes murder, robbery; most victims are African Americans; small percent of all crimes committed Robbery- larceny from the person or presence of another by violence or threat. 2. Crime Against Property – stealing or damaging other’s property; includes burglary, larceny (theft other than auto), vehicle theft, arson; more common than violent crimes (1 every 3 seconds) Burglary- the act of breaking and entering a dwelling at night to commit a felony Larceny- the unlawful taking and removal of another person's property. 3. Victimless Crime – includes prostitution, gambling, illegal drug use; offender is the only victim

crime White Collar Crime – committed by high-status individuals in the course of their professions (politicians, corporate employees); includes fraud, tax evasion, embezzlement; estimate costs of $300 billion

crime Organized Crime – the pursuit of crime as a big business, use legitimate business as a front for criminal activities crime syndicate – large-scale organization of professional criminals that controls some vice or business through violence or the threat of violence

Juvenile-Justice System SECTION 2 Crime AMERICAN CRIMINAL-JUSTICE SYSTEM Police have the most control over who is arrested for crimes; use police discretion, which has raised the controversial issue of racial profiling Courts determines the accused’s guilt or innocence in a court trial and then assigns a punishment; actually settles 90 percent of cases through plea bargaining Corrections includes probation, imprisonment, parole; serves four functions—retribution, deterrence, rehabilitation, and social protection Juvenile-Justice System applies to offenders younger than 18; guarantees juvenile defendants the same legal rights and privileges as adults; often provides more services

crime Police – have most immediate control over who is arrested for a criminal act police discretion – police have the power to decide who is actually arrested size of population, number of criminal offenses, and number of police officers make discretion necessary factors that influence police discretion: seriousness of offense, wishes of the victim, attitude of suspect, presence of bystanders, race racial profiling - practice of assuming that nonwhite Americans are more likely to commit crime than white Americans

crime Courts – determine the guilt or innocence of an accused person by means of a trial and assigns some form of punishment if there is a guilty finding 90% of all case are settled through plea bargaining plea bargaining – process of legal negotiation that allows an accused person to plead guilty to a lesser charge in return for a lighter sentences allows courts to reduce volume of caseloads with avoiding expensive and time-consuming trials

crime Corrections – sanctions (prison, parole, probation) used to punish those found guilty of crimes sanctions serve 4 functions retribution: act of revenge for victim and society deterrence: discourage offenders from committing future crimes rehabilitation: reform criminals so they can return to society as law-abiding citizens social protection: prevent additional crimes

crime recidivism – term for repeated criminal behaviors, 62% of released prisoners will be charged with new crimes, 41% will return to prison within 3 years

crime Juvenile-Justice System – used to punish offenders younger than age 18, developed in the 1960s courts must now guarantee juveniles same legal rights and privileges as adult defendants try to provide more services can be tried as adults for serious offenses