1. Deviance and social control
Chapter 8

2. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

9. 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

10. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

17. 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

19. 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

20. 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)

21. 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

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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

26. 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

28. 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

30. 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

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

33. 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

34. 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

35. 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

37. 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

39. 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

40. 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

42. 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

43. 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

44. 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

45. 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