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What Is Social Deviance? Social deviance is any transgression of socially established norms. – Formal deviance or crime involves the violation of laws. 2

Minor transgressions of these norms can be described as informal deviance. 3

Deviance and Social Control Social cohesion refers to the way people form social bonds, relate to each other, and get along on a day-to-day basis. 4

Deviance and Social Control Social control is the set of mechanisms that create normative compliance in individuals. Normative compliance is the act of abiding by society’s norms or simply following the rules of group life. 5

Deviance and Social Control Punitive justice is focused on making the violator suffer and thus defining the boundaries of acceptable behavior. Rehabilitative justice examines the specific circumstances of an individual transgressor and attempts to find ways to rehabilitate him or her. 6

Deviance and Social Control Informal social sanctions: – are unspoken rules and expectations about people’s behavior. – help maintain a base level of order and cohesion in society and form a foundation for formal social control. 7

8 Once Deviance Now Fashion

Deviance and Social Control (Structural Functionalism) Émile Durkheim theorized that social cohesion is established either through: mechanical solidarity — based on the sameness of society’s parts or members (fraternity – sorority) organic solidarity — based on the interdependence of specialized parts or members. (football team) 9

Deviance and Social Control A Functionalist View Robert Merton’s strain theory argues that deviance occurs when a society does not give all its members equal ability to achieve socially acceptable goals. 10

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Strain Theory Conformists accept the goals of the society and the means of achieving those goals

Innovators accept the goals of the society, but they look for new, or innovative, ways of achieving those goals Strain Theory

Ritualists aren’t interested in the goals of the society, but they do accept the means of achieving those goals. Strain Theory

Retreatists don’t accept the goals of the society or the means of achieving those goals. Strain Theory

Rebels don’t accept the goals of the society or the means of achieving those goals, so they create their own goals using new means. Strain Theory

17 1.It is difficult to empirically test. 2.It works on the assumption that conformity is the norm and assumes a concensual society. 3.It doesn't explain all forms of criminal behavior. 4.It over-predicts criminality. does not explain hate-crime, violence etc Weaknesses of Strain Theory

Symbolic Interactionist Theories of Deviance Symbolic interactionists take a micro view of society, examining the beliefs and assumptions people bring to their everyday interactions to find the causes or explanations for deviance. 18

Symbolic Interactionist Theories of Deviance Labeling theory – People see how they are labeled and accept the label as being “true.” – People behave the way that they think someone with their label should behave. 19

Symbolic Interactionist Theories of Deviance Primary deviance: – the first act of rule breaking, which may result in the rule breaker being labeled “deviant” and thus influence how people think about and act toward him or her. Secondary deviance: – refers to acts of rule breaking that occur after primary deviance and as a result of a person’s new, deviant label. 20

Symbolic Interactionist Theories of Deviance Stigma – negative social label that changes your behavior toward a person; also changes that person’s self- concept and social identity – has serious consequences in terms of the opportunities made available – or rather, not made available – to people in a stigmatized group 21

Interview, Devah Pager 22 Devah Pager discusses her field experiments, racism, and the stigma men with a criminal record face when they're on the job market. Crime Reduction

Symbolic Interactionist Theories of Deviance Broken window theory of deviance (Philip Zimbardo):explains how social context and social cues impact the way individuals act People who wouldn’t exhibit a certain behavior in one social context might do so in another context where the behavior seems more permissible. 23

People inspect an abandoned car in the South Bronx. Zimbardo placed this car in New York City and University in Palo Alto, California. The car near Stanford went untouched for days, but the car pictured above was in New Your City was relieved of its hubcaps and other parts almost immediately.

Deviance and Social Control Examples of formal social control include laws and the authority of police officers. 25

Formal deviance or crime involves the violation of laws. 26 George Zimmerman Trevor Martin

Crime street crime — refers to crime committed in public and is often associated with violence, gangs, and poverty white-collar crime — committed by a professional against a corporation, agency, or other business corporate crime — type of white-collar crime committed by the officers or executives of a company 27

Crime It can be difficult to measure crime rates over time for a variety of reasons, including: 1.changes in how crimes are defined. 2.fluctuations in whether people report crimes. 3.in the case of murders, improvements in medical technology. CSI 28

29 Number of prisoners per 100,000 population.

Reported Crimes 30

Which is it? 31

Figure 6.2 Total U.S. Violent Crime Rate, 1960–2008 You May Ask Yourself, 2nd Edition Copyright © 2011 W.W. Norton & Company

Figure 6.5 Size of Death Row Population since 1973 You May Ask Yourself, 2nd Edition Copyright © 2011 W.W. Norton & Company

Figure 6.6 Number of Executions and Race of Prisoners Executed, 1976–2009 You May Ask Yourself, 2nd Edition Copyright © 2011 W.W. Norton & Company

Crime Reduction Deterrence theory is a philosophy of criminal justice based on the notion that crime results from a rational calculation of its costs and benefits. 35

Unintended Consequences of Deterrence 36

Crime Reduction Recidivism occurs when a person who has been involved in the criminal justice system reverts back to criminal behavior. 37

Crime Reduction Since the 1970s, there has been a change from a more rehabilitative sense of justice to a more punitive one in the United States. This is evidenced by historically high rates of incarceration. 38

Societal Effects of Mass Incarceration 39 staggering costs the disenfranchisement of millions of former felons a disproportionately high rate of imprisonment for black males a ripple effect throughout black communities and beyond.

Victor Rios, author of Punished. To see my interview with Rios, visit wwnorton.com/studyspace. You May Ask Yourself, 2nd Edition Copyright © 2011 W.W. Norton & Company

Philip Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment. You May Ask Yourself, 2nd Edition Copyright © 2011 W.W. Norton & Company

This Iraqi detainee in Abu Ghraib prison was hooked up to wires after soldiers made him stand on a box. How can Zimbardo’s experiments help us understand the torture at Abu Ghraib? You May Ask Yourself, 2nd Edition Copyright © 2011 W.W. Norton & Company

Figure 6.3 Homicide Victimization Rate, 1950–2008 You May Ask Yourself, 2nd Edition Copyright © 2011 W.W. Norton & Company

A 2003 performance by the Surveillance Camera Players in Times Square. They are trying to raise awareness of the density of public and private surveillance cameras. You May Ask Yourself, 2nd Edition Copyright © 2011 W.W. Norton & Company

A surveillance camera map from the iSee project. You May Ask Yourself, 2nd Edition Copyright © 2011 W.W. Norton & Company

This map of Brooklyn, New York, shows the density of prison admissions in You May Ask Yourself, 2nd Edition Copyright © 2011 W.W. Norton & Company