Soc. - deviance Flashcards
(24 cards)
what is deviance?
violation of social norms
classification of deviant acts:
4 types
- consensus crimes
- conflict crimes
- social deviation
- social diversions
What is social control?
attempts by society to regulate thoughts and behaviours
what is a moral entrepreneur?
people who try to sway public opinions and cause moral panic
what are the social foundations of deviance?
- more deviance occurs when it’s called out
- the way people define situation involves social power
- deviance varies based on cultural norms
social disorganization theory
criminals are a product of their environment, areas with lower social control create more criminals
Structural-functional analysis by Durkheim
- deviance affirms cultural values
- responding to deviance clarifies moral boundaries and brings people together
- deviance encourages social change
Control theory (Travis Hirschi)
attachments (encourages conformity), opportunities (greater success=greater conformity), involvement (links to ‘legitimate’ activities) and belief (respect for authority) stop us from committing crime
Merton’s Strain theory
4 responses to inability to succeed:
1. innovation
2. ritualism
3. retreatism
4. rebellion
deviance and power:
laws are in the interests of the rich, they can resist deviant labels
who’s labelled as ‘deviant’ in a capitalist society?
- those who can’t work
- those who threaten private property
- those who resist authority
- those who challenge status quo
what types of crimes are there?
only 3 types
- predatory (economic survival strategies)
- personal (product of stress and strain)
- defensive (direct challenges to social injustice)
White collar crime
crimes committed by people of high social standing (lenient treatement)
Corporate crime
illegal actions of a corporation that people do on their behalf which leads to pollution, death or occupational disease which is usually fined or left unpunished
Feminist contributions
- often victims of sexual assault/domestic abuse
- women offenders are seen as doubly deviant
Labelling theory
deviance results from how other’s respond to their actions
social construction of reality
highly variable process of detection/definition/response
primary deviance
little effect on one’s self concept
secondary devience
once labelled, people adopt the role
stigma
powerfully negative label that changes a person’s self concept and social identity
labelling difference as ‘deviance’ leads to…
being treated differently, enforcing conformity set by those in power
medicalization of deviance
transformation of deviance into a medical condition
what’s affected by medicalization of deviance?
how people respond to the deviance, whether the deviant is held responsible for their actions
differential association theory (edwin sutherland)
deviance is learned, influence from mass media