Deviance and Social Control Chapter 6 Deviance and Social Control

What is Deviance? Relative Deviance What is Deviant to Some is not Deviant to Others “Deviance” is Nonjudgmental Term A Neutral Term Stigma © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Norms Make Social Life Possible Makes Behavior Predictable No Norms - Social Chaos Social Control Group’s Formal and Informal Means of Enforcing Norms © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Sanctions Negative Sanctions Positive Sanctions Frowns/gossip breaking folkways; imprison-ment/capital punishment for violating Mores Positive Sanctions From smiles to formal awards Are used to reward people for conforming to norms © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Competing Explanations of Deviance Sociobiologists Look for Answers Inside Individuals Genetic Predispositions Psychologists Focuses on Abnormalities Within Individuals Personality Disorders Deviant Personalities © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Competing Explanations of Deviance Sociologists Look for Answers Outside Individuals Socialization Membership in Subcultures Social Class © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Module 23 Social Control Social control: Techniques and strategies employed for preventing deviant human behavior in any society Parents Peer groups Companies Government

Internal and External Social Control Internal social control takes place when individuals internalize norms and values and follow those norms and values in their lives. External social control involves negative sanctions that proscribe certain behaviors and punish rule breakers. 8

Informal and Formal Social Control Module 23 Informal and Formal Social Control Informal social control: Used casually to enforce norms Formal social control: Carried out by authorized agents

Module 23 Social Control Sanctions: penalties and rewards for conduct concerning a social norm Death penalty ultimate formal sanction Subject of controversy centered on effectiveness of this sanction as social control

Conformity and Obedience Module 23 Conformity and Obedience Conformity: Going along with peers who have no special right to direct behavior Obedience: Compliance with higher authorities in an hierarchical structure

Conformity and Obedience Module 23 Conformity and Obedience The Milgram Experiment Experimenter instructed people to administer increasingly painful electric shocks to a subject Two-thirds of participants fell into category of “obedient subjects”

Module 23 Law and Society Some norms are so important to a society that they are formalized into laws Law: Governmental social control The legal order reflects values of those in a position to exercise authority Control Theory: Our connection to members of society leads us to systematically conform to society’s norms

Functionalist Perspective Module 24 Functionalist Perspective Durkheim’s Legacy Punishments established within a culture help define acceptable behavior and contribute to stability Anomie: Loss of direction felt in society when social control of individual behavior has become ineffective

Functionalist Perspective Emile Durkheim: Deviance is a necessary element of social organization Deviance affirms cultural values and norms Responding to deviance clarifies moral boundaries Responding to deviance brings people together Deviance encourages social change 15

Robert Merton’s Strain Theory of Deviance There is a strong cultural emphasis on success goals in America. Everyone is socialized to aspire toward high achievement and success. Competitiveness and success are glorified by public authorities, taught in schools, and glamorized in the media Worth is judged by material and monetary success.

Robert Merton’s Strain Theory of Deviance There is a discrepancy between means and goals for obtaining success Disadvantaged groups do not have equal access to such legitimate opportunities. This anomic condition produces strain or pressure on these groups to take advantage of whatever effective means to success they can find.

Robert Merton’s Strain Theory of Deviance Merton proposed five ways of responding to (or adapting to) goals verse the means. Conformity: Most common response Innovation: Typical criminal response Ritualism: Habitual response Retreatism: Typical of drug use or “hobos” Rebellion: Seeking radical change

Robert Merton’s Strain Theory of Deviance Adaptations Goals Means Conformity Accept Innovation Reject Ritualism Retreatism Rebellion Replace

Opportunity Theory Sociologists Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin (1960) suggested that for deviance to occur, people must have access illegitimate opportunity structures: Circumstances that provide an opportunity for people to acquire through illegitimate activities what they cannot achieve through legitimate channels.

Differential Association Theory Perspectives States that people have a greater tendency to deviate from societal norms when they frequently associate with individuals who are more favorable toward deviance than conformity. From this approach, criminal behavior is learned within intimate personal groups such as one’s family and peer groups 21

Differential Reinforcement Theory Criminologist Ronald Akers (1998) combined differential association theory with elements of psychological learning theory to create differential reinforcement theory. If a person’s friends and groups define deviant behavior as “right,” they is more likely to engage in deviant behavior. If a person’s friends and groups define deviant behavior as “wrong,” the person is less likely to engage in that behavior. 22

Social Bond Theory The probability of deviant behavior increases when a person’s ties to society are weakened or broken. According to Travis Hirschi, social bonding consists of attachment to other people commitment to conformity involvement in conventional activities belief in the legitimacy of conventional norms. 23

Labeling Theory Attempts to explain why some people are viewed as deviants while others are not; also known as societal-reaction approach. The act of fixing a person with a negative identity (label), such as “criminal” is directly related to the power of those who do the labeling and those being labeled. 24

Stages in the Labeling Process Primary deviance is believed to be unorganized, inconsistent, and infrequent. Without social reaction, the deviance would most likely remain sporadic and unorganized. Secondary deviance occurs when a person who has been labeled a deviant accepts the identity and continues the deviant behavior. Tertiary deviance occurs when a person who has been labeled a deviant seeks to normalize the behavior by relabeling it as non-deviant. 25

Module 24 Conflict Theory People with power protect their own interests and define deviance to suit their needs Differential justice: Differences in way social control is exercised over different groups

Module 24 Feminist Perspective Adler and Chesney-Lind argue existing approaches to deviance and crime developed with men in mind Society tends to treat women in stereotypical fashion Cultural views and attitudes toward women influence how they are perceived and labeled

How the Law Classifies Crime Crimes are divided into felonies and misdemeanors. A felony is a serious crime such as rape, homicide, or aggravated assault, for which punishment typically ranges from more than a year’s imprisonment to death. A misdemeanor is a minor crime typically punished by less than one year in jail.

How Sociologists Classify Crime Sociologists categorize crimes based on how they are committed and how society views the offenses: Conventional Street Crime White-collar Crime (Professional) Vice Crime (victimless) Organized Crime (Hierarchal Structure) Political Crime

Module 25 Types of Crime Victimless crimes: Willing exchange among adults of widely desired, but illegal, goods and services Professional crime: Many people make a career of illegal activities Professional criminal: Person who pursues crime as a day-to-day occupation

Module 25 Types of Crime Organized crime: Group that regulates relations between various criminal enterprises involved in illegal activities Dominates world of illegal business just as large corporations dominate conventional businesses Serves as means of upward mobility for groups of people struggling to escape poverty

Types of Crime White Collar and Technology-Based Crime Module 25 Types of Crime White Collar and Technology-Based Crime White Collar crime: Illegal acts committed in the course of business activities Computer crime: Use of high technology to carry out embezzlement or electronic fraud Corporate crime: Any act by a corporation that is punishable by the government

Symbolic Interactionist Perspective: Differential Association Theory The Theory Edwin Sutherland Families Friends, Neighbors, and Subcultures Prison or Freedom? © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Symbolic Interactionist Perspective: Control Theory The Theory Inner Controls Morality; Conscience; Religious Principles Outer controls Family, friends, the police Applying Control Theory © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Symbolic Interactionist Perspective: Labeling Theory Rejecting Labels: How People Neutralize Deviance Denial of responsibility, injury, victim; condemnation of the condemners; loyalties Embracing Labels - Outlaw Bikers Power of Labels: Saints & Roughnecks © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Functionalist Perspective: Can Deviance Be Functional? Most of us are upset by deviance Clarifies Moral Boundaries and Affirms Norms Promotes Social Unity Promotes Social Change © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Functionalist Perspective: Strain Theory How Mainstream Values Produce Deviance Cultural Goals Institutional Means Strain Leads to Anomie Deviant paths Innovators; Ritualism; Retreatism; Rebellion © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Who Gets Executed? Gender Bias in Capital Punishment © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.