1. Deviant Behavior and Social Control
Chapter 7
Deviant Behavior and Social Control

2. Learning Objectives Understand deviance as culturally relative.
Explain the functions and dysfunctions of deviance.
Distinguish between internal and external means of social control.
Differentiate among the various types of sanctions.
Describe and critique biological, psychological and sociological theories of deviance.
Discuss the concept of anomie and its role in producing deviance.
Know how the Uniform Crime Reports and the National Crime Victimization Survey differ as sources of information about crime.
Describe the major features of the criminal justice system in the United States.

3. Defining Behavior
Normal – behavior we most commonly expect to encounter
Deviant – behavior that fails to conform to the rules or norms of the group in question
(Durkheim)

4. Source of Definitions
Cultural expectations based on symbolic interpretation of:
Good
Bad
Right
Wrong

5. Functions of Deviance “An integral part of all healthy societies”
Causes members to connect, close ranks
Prompts members to organize against future deviance
Clarifies beliefs and expectations of group
Teaches norms by providing examples of deviance
Acts as safety valve, inhibiting greater deviance
(Émile Durkheim)

6. Dysfunctions of Deviance
Threat to the social order
Makes social life difficult and unpredictable
Causes confusion about the norms and values of a society
Undermines trust
Consumes resources that must be shifted from other social needs

7. Control Mechanisms Internal means External means
individual conformity as part of acceptance
External means
social rewards and punishments for failure to conform

8. All used to regulate an individual’s behavior
External Means
Sanctions
Positive (rewards)
Negative (penalties)
Formal (public ritual, force of law)
Informal (spontaneous, indirect)
All used to regulate an individual’s behavior

9. Theories of Crime and Deviance
Biological theories of deviance
Psychological theories of deviance
Sociological theories of deviance

10. Generally disaccredited
Biological Theories
Cesare Lombroso
Criminals are born as such
Evolutionary throwback, instinct-driven
Physiologically different – head, face, hair
E.A. Hooten / William H. Sheldon
Deterioration of organism
The mesomorph
Generally disaccredited

11. Psychological Theories
Explanation of adult deviant behavior
Manifestation of early experiences
Not product of later social or cultural factors
Downplay biological factors / emphasis on conditioning
Parenting and early childhood experiences
Other earlier behavioral conditioning

12. Psychological Theories
Psychoanalytic – Freud
Unconscious; irrational thoughts and feelings lead to deviant acts
Behavioral
Adjusted in response to rewards and punishments / favorable outcomes repeated
Individual choice – Wilson & Herstein
Rational choice (punishment / benefit analysis) based on factors affecting people

13. Sociological Theories
Anomie – Durkheim
Values and norms lose impact / cultural guidance void exists
Strain – Merton
Lack of legitimate means to achieve financial success leads to deviance
Control – Hirschi
Deviance is product of absence of social control / product of weak bonds to society

14. Sociological Theories
Techniques of Neutralization
Denial of responsibility
Denying the injury
Denial of the victim
Condemnation of the authorities
Appealing to higher principles or authorities

15. Sociological Theories
Cultural transmission theory – Sutherland and Cressey
Two components in which criminal behavior is learned
Criminal techniques (how to break into houses)
Criminal attitudes (rationalizations that justify criminal behavior)

16. Sociological Theories
Labeling theory
Grounded in social process
A person must be labeled as deviant
Consequences of such labeling for the individual
Labeling dependent upon:
Importance of norms violated
Identity of the potential deviance
Social context of the behavior

17. Two Levels of Deviance
Primary deviance – the original behavior that leads to the application of the label to an individual
Secondary deviance – the behavior that people develop as a result of having been labeled as deviant

18. The Importance of Law Legal code
The formal rules, called laws, adopted by a society’s political authority
The code is enforced through the use of formal negative sanctions when rules are broken

19. Explanatory Approaches
The Emergence of Laws
Explanatory Approaches
Consensus
Conflict

20. The Emergence of Laws Consensus approach Conflict approach
Formalized version of norms and values of society
Conflict approach
Elite use of power to support their own economic interests and go against the interests of the lower classes

21. Classification of Crime
Felonies
Offenses punishable by a year or more in state prison
Misdemeanors
Less serious offenses punishable by jail or a fine

22. Kinds of Crime in the United States
Juvenile crime
The breaking of criminal laws by individuals younger than age 18
Recidivism
Repeated criminal behavior after punishment

23. Kinds of Crime in the United States
Violent crime
An unlawful event that may result in injury to a person
Aggravated assault
Rape
Murder
Robbery

24. Kinds of Crime in the United States
Property crime
An unlawful act that is committed with the intent of gaining property but that does not involve the use or threat of force against an individual
Larceny
Burglary
Motor vehicle theft

25. Kinds of Crime in the United States
White-collar crime
Coined by Edwin J. Sutherland (1940)
Refers to the acts of individuals who, while occupying positions of social responsibility or high prestige, break the law in the course of their work for the purpose of illegal personal or organizational gain

26. Kinds of Crime in the United States
Victimless crime
Violation of laws meant to enforce the moral code
Personal use of narcotics
Illegal gambling
Public drunkenness
The sale of sexual services
Status offenses by minors

27. Kinds of Crime in the United States
Victims of crime – dependent variables
Race
Gender
Age
Socioeconomic status

28. Criminal Justice in the United States
Provides personnel and procedures for arrest, trial, and punishment to deal with violations of the law
Police
Courts
Prisons / Corrections

29. Goals of Imprisonment / Corrections
Four primary roles / goals
Separate criminals from society
Punish criminal behavior
Deter criminal behavior
Rehabilitate criminals

30. Problems with Prisons / Corrections
Shortage of prisons
Overzealous establishment and enforcement of norms
Budgetary constraints
Female incarceration
Family dependence problems; children as victims
Funnel effect
Underreporting; minimum sentencing