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Essentials of Sociology
9th Edition
Chapter 6: Deviance
Social Deviance
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What is Deviance?
Deviance is a violation of societal norms
What is deviant to some is not deviant to others
“Deviance” is a nonjudgmental term
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Stigma
Stigma –Erving Goffman
A person can have a stigma and be considered deviant
A stigma is a blemish on ones identity
A stigma is a violation of norms of appearance and ability
A person can have a stigma by being a member of an involuntary group
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Norms and Social Life
Norms Make Social Life Possible by Making Behavior Predictable
Norms Bring About Social Order
Societies have formal and informal means to enforce norms and this is referred to as Social Control
Is this an example of deviance?
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5. Explanations of Deviance
Sociobiology
Look for Answers Inside Individuals
Genetic Predispositions
Psychologists
Focus on Conditions Within Individuals
Personality Disorders
Sociology
Sociologists look for Answers Outside Individuals
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6. Symbolic Interactionist Perspective: Differential Association Theory
Created by Edwin Sutherland
We learn to deviate by those we associate with in our lives
This includes family, friends, and neighbors
50 % of people in prison also have a father, mother, brother, or sister that have also committed a crime
Prison or freedom?
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7. Symbolic Interactionist Perspective: Control Theory
Created by Travis Hirschi
We all want to commit deviant acts but we don’t because of inner and outer controls
The stronger the controls, the less likely deviance is to occur
Inner controls: Conscience, Morals, Religious Beliefs
Outer controls: Attachments, Commitments, Involvements in society
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8. Symbolic Interactionist Perspective: Labeling Theory
Created by Howard Becker
Labels propel us into deviance or can divert us away from it
Techniques of Neutralization: 5 ways people reject labels
Denial of Responsibility, Denial of Injury, Denial of a Victim, Condemnation of the Condemners, Appeal to Higher Loyalties
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9. Functionalist Perspective
Can Deviance Be Functional?
According to Durkheim, deviance is functional because:
It affirms moral boundaries
Promotes Social Unity
Promotes Social Change
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10. Functionalist Perspective
Strain Theory
Robert Merton created the Strain Theory
We are all socialized to want certain cultural goals but we don’t all have the means to attain those goals
People develop strain and a sense of anomie (normlessness)
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11. Functionalist Perspective: Responses to Strain
Conformity – This is the most common response to strain and is a non-deviant response
Innovator – Wants to achieve cultural goals but uses illegitimate methods
Ritualism – Has given up on attaining cultural goals but still clings to conventional means of conduct
Retreatism – Rejects cultural goals and means to attain those goals
Rebellionism – Rejects cultural goals and tries to replace them with own goals
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13. Illegitimate Opportunity Structures
How do functionalists explain why some people commit street crimes while others do not?
How would functionalists explain why your professor is unlikely to rob a convenience store or shoplift from the mall?

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Conflict Perspective
The law is used as a means to oppress the masses
Those who have the wealth and power often bypass the law and others must pay full penalties
Every once in a while someone from the upper social classes is “showcased” so as to appear fair
Goodfellas
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Two Types of Crime
White Collar Crime
Crime that is committed by those who have wealth and power
Corporate crime is a type of white collar crime
Street Crime
Often committed by those of the lower social classes as a way to survive
Includes property crime
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16. Conflict Perspective: Class, Crime, and Criminal Justice
Laws are created by the elite to help them maintain their privileges
How might this conflict theoretical idea help explain why white collar criminals generally receive lesser prison sentences than street criminals?

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The U.S. Prison System
The U.S. has the highest amount of prisoners in the world
Many prisons face overcrowding
The recidivism rate is high; 2/3 of those who commit violent crimes are rearrested
The majority of prisoners are male, have a high school education, and are from the lower to middle social classes
What should be the purpose of prisons?
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Figure Some States Are Safer: Violent Crime in the United States Note: Violent crimes are murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. As this figure illustrates, violent crime varies widely among the states. The chance of becoming a victim of these crimes is seven times higher in South Carolina, the most dangerous state, than in Maine, the safest state. Washington, D.C., not a state, is in a class by itself. Its rate of 1,508 is thirteen times higher than Maine’s rate. Source: By the author. Based on Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009:Table 297.
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what can you tell us about
the characteristics of
inmates in U.S. state
prisons?
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Figure Recidivism of U.S. Prisoners Note: The individuals were not necessarily rearrested for the same crime for which they had originally been imprisoned. Source: By the author. Based on Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics 2003:Table 6.50.
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22. Executions in the U.S. by State
How does whether a state has the death penalty or not differ by region?
Figure Executions in the United States. Executions since 1977, when the death penalty was reinstated.

23. From the table below, do you think the criminal justice system is biased? Why or why not?

24. Gender Bias in Capital Punishment
Women commit 9.6% of murders but
make up only 1.7% of death row
inmates and .9% of those executed
in 2010.
Why do you think men in the United
States are so much more likely to be executed than women?

25. Hate Crimes in the United States
Based on Table 6.5, which
social groups are most
likely to be the victims of
hate crimes?
Which social groups do you
think are most likely to be
perpetrators?

26. Medicalization of Deviance
How might the living conditions of the homeless lead us to label them as mentally ill, even if they are not?
Homosexuality used to be characterized as a mental illness. Do you think de-medicalizing homosexuality has changed the way that GLBT persons are treated?