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Review
Deviance
 The major category of deviance is CRIME.
 Crime is the violation of a society’s formally enacted criminal
laws.
 This can range from traffic violations to homicide.
Social Control
 Social control – attempts by society to regulate people’s
thoughts and behavior.
 This processes is informal and usually is directed through
parents raising their children, teachers, coaches and mass
media.
Criminal Justice
 Serious deviance such as homicide require more than simple
social control.
 The criminal justice system which is a formal response by
police, courts and prison officials to alleged violations of the
law are used to punish those who commit serious deviance.
Biological Context
 Originally it was believed that criminals were the way they were
because of their biology.
 If you looked a certain way you were more likely to be a criminal.
(this has nothing to do with race!)
 In the early 1900’s William Sheldon suggested that body structure
could lead to criminal actions. He said that men with strongly built
bodies were more likely to become criminals based on his research
into body types of criminals in the past.
 In 2003 after a 25 year study University of Wisconsin found that
genetic factors paired with environmental factors were the best
way to determine the likelihood of someone being a criminal.
Personality Factors
 Most sociologists believe that personality is largely built by
socialization.
 Thus when people become criminals it is due to failed or
unsuccessful socialization.
 Some personality factors have been linked to deviance such
as:
 Not feeling guilt or shame
 No fear of punishment
 Little to no sympathy
 Even with this link most serious crimes are committed by
people with perfectly normal psychological profiles.
Social Foundations
 1) Deviance varies according to social norms
 Not thought or actions is inherently deviant.
 Each culture creates norms that in turn create deviance.
 2) People become deviant as others define them that way.
 EVERYONE violates cultural norms at one point or another. (have
you ever “borrowed” a pen and not returned it?)
 How people react to this deviance defines us!
 3) Both norms and the way people define rule-breaking involve
social power.
 “the law is the means by which powerful people protect their
interests.” – Karl Marx
 Ex. A homeless people who stands on the street protesting the
government risks being arrested but a politician running for mayor
does the same thing and he receives police protection.
Structural-Functions analysis
 Durkheim’s Basic Insight
 1)Deviance affirms cultural values and norms
 There can be no good without bad!
 2) Responding to deviance clarifies moral boundaries.
 By defining deviance we can draw a line in the sand between right and
wrong.
 3) Responding to deviance brings people together
 People typically react to deviance with shared outrage.
 4) Deviance encourages social change.
 Deviant people push the boundaries and make us rethink our stances.
(Perfect examples: marijuana and gay marriage)
Merton’s Strain Theory
 Merton argues that society needs some deviance but often
society is set up in a way that encourages too much deviance.
 He believes the type of deviance people engage in depends on
the means they are provided such as schooling and job
opportunities.
 Ex. We have seen a rise in crime over the last 5 years due to a
poor job market.
 Inability to reach cultural goals (ex. The American Dream) is
a general cause for deviance.
Deviant Subcultures
 Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin expanded on the idea of
Merton’s Strain Theory saying that crime is not just a result of lack
of opportunity but the readily accessibly illegitimate
opportunities.
 In short deviance or conformity arises from the relative
opportunity structure of a person’s life.
 There are 3 major deviant subcultures:
 Criminal subcultures – street gangs who have plans and a course of
action to make money
 Conflict subculutres – armed street gangs with no plans to make
money (cannot find opportunity)
 Retreatist subcultures – those who drop out and abuse alcohol or
drugs.
Symbolic-Interaction Analysis
 Labeling Theory – the idea that deviance and conformity
result not so much from what people do as from how others
respond to those actions.
Primary Deviance
 Some norm violations; like skipping school, provoke slight
reaction from others that have little effect on a person’s self
concept.
 Most of the time people do not make a big deal about it
unless it is a frequent issue.
Secondary Deviance
 Let’s say people begin to notice the problem.
 They might start excluding you from group activities in class.
 The person who skipped might become bitter and angry with
his classmates and skip more.
 This is called secondary deviance; where a person repeatedly
violates a norm and begins to take on a deviant identity.
Sutherland’s Differential Association
Theory
 Learning any behavior pattern is a process that takes place in
groups.
 A person’s tendency toward conformity or deviance depends
on the amount of contact with others who encourage or
reject conventional behavior.
 You are more likely to conform to norms if you learned from
people who conformed to norms and more likely to reject
norms if you learned from people who often reject them.
Hirschi’s control Theory
 Social control depends on people anticipating the consequences of their
behavior.
 Hirschi assumes that everyone finds at least some deviance tempting.
 Those who have a lot to lose (career, family, friends) are less likely to
participate in deviant behavior while those with little to lose are more
likely.
 Hirschi links conformity to 4 different types of social control
 1) Attachment: strong social attachment encourages conformity weak
encourages deviance.
 2) Opportunity: greater the persons chance of legitimate opportunity the
less the chance of deviance.
 3) Involvement: Extensive involvement in legitimate activities (job, school,
sports) lessens the risk of deviance.
 4) Belief: Strong belief in conventional morality and respect for authority
leads to low deviance.
Crime
 Crime – any act that is labeled by those in authority that is
prohibited by law and punishable by the government.
Types of Crime
 The FBI classifies crime into 29 categories.
 You can see these categories on page 188 of the textbook.
 Crimes are groups into 5 easy categories
 1) Violent crime – crimes that involve harming someone in some
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way or another.
2) Crime against property – such as theft or vandalism.
3) Victimless crimes – such as prostitution or drug use where no
one is being forced to do something.
4) White-collar crime – offenses committed by individuals of high
social status in the course of their professional lives.
5) Organized Crime – large scale criminal operations.
Other types of crime
 Corporate Crime – companies intentionally breaking the law.
 Hate Crime – Crime committed against a person because of
their gender, sexuality, race etc.
Criminal-Justice
 The criminal justice system must operate within the law.
Everyone is given DUE PROCESS which provides them the
right to counsel (lawyer), right to refuse to testify against
ones self, right to confront ones accusers, right to not be
tried for the same crime twice (double jeopardy) and right to
not be deprived of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness
without a fair trial.
Punishment/Crime Control
 Justifications for punishment
 1) Retribution: the oldest justification. Punishment is societies
revenge for moral wrong. In principal, punishment should be equal to
the severity of the crime.
 2)Deterrence: Early modern approach. Crime is considered social
disruption, which society acts to control. Pain of punishment
designed to outweigh pleasure of crime.
 3) Rehabilitation: modern strategy. Crime and other deviance
viewed as result of social problems (such as poverty). Social
conditions are improved and treatment is tailored to individual needs.
 4) Societal Protection: Modern approach easier to carry out than
rehab. Even if society is unable/unwilling to rehabilitate offenders or
reform social conditions, people are protected by the imprisonment
or execution of the offender.