Chapter 8: Deviance, Crime, and Social Control

What is Deviance?  Deviance: behavior that violates the standards of conduct or expectations of a group or society  Crime: violation of criminal law for which some governmental authority applies formal penalties  Types of Crime:  Violent Crime  Property Crime  Victimless Crime  White Collar Crime

Types of Deviance and Social Stigma  Stigma: labels society uses to devalue certain social groups  Criminal Deviance  Violation of Group Norms  Socially determined

Law and Society  Some norms are deemed so important to society they are formalized into law  Law: Governmental social control  Informal and Formal Social Control

Conformity and Obedience  Conformity: going along with peers who have no special right to direct behavior  Obedience: Compliance with higher authorities in a hierarchical structure  The Milgram Experiment:

Social Control  Social Control: techniques and strategies employed for preventing deviant human behavior in any society  Candid Camera:   Sanctions: penalties and rewards for conduct concerning a social norm

Functionalism and Deviance  Durkheim: Punishments help define acceptable behavior and contribute to society  Robert Merton: Anomie Theory of Deviance  Conformists  Ritualists  Retreatists  Rebels

Interactionist Perspective on Crime and Deviance  Cultural Transmission Theory  Differential Association Labeling Theory  What would you do? 

Conflict Perspective  Marxist: People with power protect their own interests and define deviance to fit their own needs  Differential Justice