midterm Flashcards
(108 cards)
what are the defining characteristics of deviance?
violation of a social norm that is…
- socially recognized
- normative
- relativist
what does malum in se mean?
wrong or evil in itself; essentialist view of deviance
what does malum prohibitum mean?
- wrong because it is prohibited
- unlawful by virtue of statute
- relativist view of deviance
does Becker’s “Outsiders” accept a malum in se or a malum prohibitum view?
- malum prohibitum
- relativist approach: believes the deviance is socially constructed
according to Becker’s “Outsiders” (1963), what is deviance?
- socially constructed - deviance is what society labels it to be
- failure to obey rules and the consequences/ sanctions that follow
according to Becker’s “Outsiders” (1963), what makes deviance political?
deviance is characterized by a failure to obey rules, and rule-setting always involves a power dynamic, and is therefore a political action
does Costello (2006) support a relativist or essentialist view of deviance? how so?
- essentialist
- there is an overarching idea of deviance based on the harm that a behaviour causes
what are the main critiques of Costello’s “cultural relativism and the study of deviance” (2006)?
- gap between theory and empirical analysis
- lack of cross-cultural comparisons
- uses only one case study
- alt interpretation of results (eg. concern with extramarital sex may be due to religious context in the US)
- is homosexuality really normative? it is still considered highly deviant in many places
- “facts” and cultural diversity
- lack of historical insight
what is the main thesis of Costello’s “cultural relativism and the study of deviance” (2006)?
- denounces cultural relativism and blames the demise of the sociology of deviance on its prevalence in the discipline
- argues that deviant behaviour is universally evaluated in terms of the harm that it causes
- what is considered harmful is based on victimhood, not political ideology
- eg. adultery is more deviant than homosexuality
what is the thesis of Goffman’s “the presentation of the self in everyday life” (1969)?
- our daily interactions follow the same patterns as a theatre performance (“dramaturgical analysis”)
- we engage in impression management
- serves to help us maintain norms
what is a dramaturgical analysis? who’s work employs this perspective?
- analyzing daily interactions in terms of a theatre show or performance
- Goffman: “the presentation of self in everyday life”
according to Goffman’s “The Presentation of Everyday Life”, how are norms maintained?
- our social interactions strive to create and maintain a particular image of the self
- this impression management is a moral obligation to society
- all parties work for this representation to succeed
in Goffman’s “The Presentation of the Self in Everyday life”, how do our modern social interaction differ from in the past?
- there is no more backstage: Goffman believes that people’s guards are always up
- we live in a society of complete scrutiny
according to Goffman’s “The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life”, what is the difference between cynical and naive role-playing?
- cynical role-playing: when actors are aware that they’re playing a role
- naive role playing: when actors identify with the role and forget that it is something that they are playing
according to Colin Sumner, why did deviance “die”?
deviance couldn’t generate a core group of general theories due to…
1. the discipline’s relativist view (which focused on the situational nature of deviance), and
2. its related attempts to explain behaviours through the lens of legality (which then became criminology)
according to Miller, Wright, and Dannels (2001), is the sociology of deviance dead? why or why not?
- (like Goode) the pure study of the sociology of deviance may have declined since the late 70s, but saying it is “dead” is an exaggeration
- the deviance perspective (notably its social constructionist thinking) continues to hold influence in various fields, including criminology, feminism, postmodernism, etc.
according to Goode (2002), is the sociology of deviance dead? why or why not
- (like miller et al) the sociology of deviance has declined in theoretical vitality since 60s/70s, but has an enduring legacy in terms of influence in other fields
- (unlike miller et al) criminology has not replaced the sociology of deviance, it is just its most dominant sub-discipline
according to Goode (2002), why has the sociology of deviance seen a decline since the 70s?
the postivist-constructionist split has greatly contributed to the fall of a coherent “sociology of deviance” field of study
what is the statistical view of deviance?
anything that varies too much from the mean or median is deviant
what is the pathological view of deviance?
- deviance is what causes an organism, institution, or society to become wrought with disease or to behave in an unhealthy or inefficient way
- relevant mostly to the medical field
what is the functionalist view of deviance?
requires us to discriminate between features of a society which promote stability and those which disrupt stability
according to Goffman’s “The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life”, what is performance disruption? what are its consequences?
performance disruption = acting in a way that is incompatible with one’s facade of the self
consequences occur at three levels:
1. personality (impacts to one’s ego and sense of self)
2. interaction (eg. feelings of embarrassment as convo comes to a halt)
3. social structure (repercussions for one’s reputation)
according to William Sumner, what are the two types of norms? what are their characteristics?
- mores: norms that carry great importance in our lives (strictly observed, substantial social sanction, often grounded in formal laws)
- folkways: norms for routine and casual daily interaction (lesser social sanctions, often unspoken)
according to Garfinkel, what is ethnomethodology?
- the study of the methods and norms used to produce social order
- includes breaching experiments