Chapter 1: Defining Deviance Flashcards
(26 cards)
Objectivist view of deviance
the presence of certain characteristics defines deviance.
Subjectivist view of deviance
There is no shared, observable characteristic that can clearly tell us who or what is deviant. Someone must instead tell us who is deviant in Canadian society.
=> we have to be taught through socialization who or what is deviant.
Name for the distinction between the objectivist and subjectivist views
a dualism or dichotomy
4 most frequently suggested defining characteristics of deviance from the objective perspective.
Statistical rarity
Harm
Negative societal reaction
Normative violation
3 Types of Norms
Folkways, Mores, Laws
Folkways
informal norms. If you violate them, you might be considered odd (ex. rules of etiquette)
Mores
Mores: standards often seen as the foundation of morality in a culture (ex. prohibitions against incest). If you violate them, you may be seen as immoral.
Laws
Laws: Considered to be so central to the smooth running of society that they are in the legal system. Violation would make you a criminal.
Consensual view of law
law is perceived as arising out of social consensus and is then equally applied to all.
Conflict/ Social power view of law
perceive the law as a tool used by the ruling class to serve its own interests.
Interactionists view of law
suggests that society’s powerful define the law at the behest of interest groups, who appeal to those with power to rectify a perceived social ill.
In the subjectivist view, what is the foundation for determining what is deviant?
Dominant moral codes
Radical/strict subjectivism
The world is characterized by endless relativism.
Soft/ Contextual subjectivism
Social constructionism as a process, not a theory. Emphasize the process by which social phenomenon come to be perceived in certain ways in a given society at a given time.
4 Levels of Social Constructionism
Individual
Institutional
Interactional
Sociocultural
Today, the previously objective/ subjective dichotomy is thought to be more of a
Continuum
Researchers leaning towards the objective side may be more likely to study ___________ and subjective __________.
High-consensus forms of deviance; low consensus.
The deviance dance is the focus of researchers on the ______ side.
Subjectivist
Deviance dance
the interactions, negotiations, and debates among groups with different perceptions of whether a behaviour or characteristic is deviant and needs to be socially controlled, and if so, how.
Radical phenomenalism
countless phenomena are studied in great detain w/out attention to larger social structures.
=>studying deviance goes beyond this
Moral Entrepreneurs
“manufacture public morality,” first by bringing a problem to public awareness, and second by facilitating “moral conversation”
Name the 3 steps of the Social Typing Process
- Definition
- Evaluation
- Prescription
Informal social control
occurs via patterns of interaction with diverse people.
-talk to, smile at, stare, tease, laugh at, agree/disagree with, avoid, frown at, ignore, criticize, applaud, etc.
Formal regulation/ control
involves processing at some type of an organizational or institutional level.
