1. Deviance

2. What is it? Behavior that departs from societal or group norms
Ranges from criminal behavior to wearing heavy make-up
Deviance is a matter of social definition and can vary from group to group and society to society

3. 2 types Negative deviance Positive deviance
Involves behavior that fails to meet accepted norms
Positive deviance
Involves over conformity to norms leading to imbalance and extremes of perfectionism
anorexia

4. Who is a deviant?
Someone who has violated one or more of society’s most highly valued norms

5. Social Control
All societies have ways to promote order, stability, and predictability in social life
Def: ways to promote conformity to norms
If it were absent, there would be chaos
2 types:
Internal
external

6. Internal Social Control
Lies within the individual
Developed during the socialization process
When you know its wrong to steal, you have internalized this social norm

7. External Social Control
Socialization does not ensure that all people will conform to social norms
External social control is based on social sanctions
Rewards and punishments
Negative sanctions
Intended to stop socially unacceptable behavior
Criticism, fines and imprisonment
Positive sanctions
Encourage conformity
Allowances, promotions and smiles of approval

8. Functionalism and Deviance
Functionalists believe that some deviance can contribute to the smooth operation of society
Deviance has both positive and negative consequences for society

9. Negative Effects Erodes trust
A society with widespread suspicion and distrust cannot function smoothly
If not punished or corrected, deviance can also cause nonconforming behavior in others
Stimulates more deviance in others
Expensive both in human resources and monetary resources

10. Positive Effects
Clarifies norms by exercising social control to defend its values
Temporary safety valve
Increases unity within a society or group
Strengthens their commitment to that value
Promotes needed social change

11. Strain Theory
Deviance is more likely to occur when a gap exists between cultural goals and the ability to achieve these goals by legitimate means
Anomie social condition in which norms are weak, conflicting or absent
Conformity- when people accept the goal and the means to achieve it

12. 4 responses to Strain considered deviant
Innovation
Accepts the goal of success but uses illegal means to achieve it
Ritualism
Rejects the goal (success) but continues to use the legitimate means
Retreatism
Deviant response in which both the legitimate means and approved goals are rejected
Rebellion
People reject both success and the approved means for achieving it

13. Control Theory
Conformity to social norms depends on the presence of strong bonds between individuals and society
If the bonds are weak (anomie) deviance occurs
Social bonds control the behavior of people

14. 4 basic elements of social bonds
Attachment
The stronger your attachment to groups or individuals, the more likely you are to conform
Commitment
The greater your commitment to social goals, the more likely you are to conform
Involvement
Participation in approved social activities increase the probability of conformity
Belief
Belief in the norms and values promotes conformity

15. Symbolic Interactionism
Deviance is transmitted through socialization in the same way that non-deviant behavior is learned

16. Differential Association Theory
Emphasizes the role of primary groups in transmitting deviance
i.e., the more people one is exposed to who break the law, the more apt they are to be criminals

17. 3 characteristics The ratio of deviant to non-deviant individuals
Whether the deviant behavior is practiced by significant others
The age of exposure

18. Labeling Theory
Theory that society creates deviance by identifying particular members as deviant
**Deviant behavior is always a matter of social definition
Exists when some members of a group or society label others as deviants
** girls receive more stigma to teen pregnancy than boys
** lower-class youths are “expected” to be criminals while middle class youths are not

19. Degrees of Deviance? 2 types Primary deviance Secondary deviance
Person engages only in isolated acts of deviance
Secondary deviance
Deviance as a lifestyle and a personal identity
**Person’s who life and identity are organized around deviance
This status overshadows all other status’

20. Consequences of Labeling
Can cause pain and suffering
Stigma- undesirable characteristic or label used by others

21. Conflict Theory and Deviance
Deviance in an industrial society is behavior that those in control see as threatening to their interests
Supporters of this theory believe that minorities receive unequal treatment in the American criminal justice system

22. **Basic ways the culture defends itself
Look on page 218

23. Why are minorities & whites treated differently?
Minorities generally do not have the economic resources to buy good legal services
Crimes against whites tend to be punished more severely than crimes against minorities
Victim discounting reduces the seriousness of crimes directed at members of lower social classes
Therefore, if the victim is less valuable, the crime is less serious and the penalty less severe

24. White Collar Crime
Any crime committed by respectable and high status people in the course of their occupations
Economic crimes
** price fixing, insider trading, illegal rebates, embezzlement, bribery of a corporate customer, manufacture of hazardous products, toxic pollution and tax evasion

25. Costs of white collar crime
18x higher than street crime
That being said, white collar criminals are treated more leniently than other criminals
Convicted white collar criminals are less likely to be imprisoned

26. Crime Acts in violation of statue law
** 2,800 acts are classified as federal crimes and many more violate state and local statutes
FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports is a major source of crime stats
This is voluntary
**UCS tracks 9 types of crimes: murder, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, arson and hate crimes

27. How reliable are the stats?
Major strength: reporting system of experienced police officers
Major limitations:
See page 226
Another source: NCVS (National Crime Victimization Survey
2 advantages:
Helps make up for underreporting of crime
Surveys are more scientifically sound

28. Juvenile Crime
Juvenile delinquent behavior includes deviance that only the young can commit
i.e., failing to attend school, underage drinking and smoking
Reached its lowest level in 1999
why?
Decline in the demand for crack cocaine
Crack gangs that provided guns to juv. have reached truces
Repeat violent juv. Offenders have been given stiffer sentences
Police are cracking down on illegal guns on the street

29. Criminal Justice System
Made up of the institutions and processes responsible for enforcing criminal statues
*includes police, courts and correctional system
Draws on4 approaches to control and punish lawbreakers:
Deterrence
Retribution
Incarceration
Rehabilitation

30. Deterrence
Uses the threat of punishment to discourage criminal actions
Does work if potential lawbreakers know 2 things
They are likely to get caught
Punishment will be severe
This is difficult in the US so punishment does not have the deterrent effect it could have

31. **Death Penalty?? 66% of all Americans favor the death penalty
¾ of all white Americans favor the death penalty
40% of black Americans favor the death penalty
52% of hispanic Americans favor the death penalty

32. Retribution
Type of punishment intended to make criminals pay compensation for their acts
Eye for an eye

33. Incarceration
Keeping criminals in prisons

34. Rehabilitation Attempt to re-socialize criminals
30-60% of those released from prisons are sent back in 2-5 years
Recidivism- repetition of or return to criminal behavior

35. Alternatives to prisons
Combination of prison and probation
Serve part of their sentence in prison and the rest on probation
Community based programs
Reintroduce criminals into society
*get out of prison for part of the day
Diversion strategy
Aimed at preventing or reducing the offender’s involvement in the criminal justice system
Community based treatment program rather than a prison or probationary program

36. **Do they work?
They haven’t been evaluated enough to evaluate their effectiveness