Introduction to Sociology Chapter 9 PDF

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Introduction to Sociology Chapter 9- Deviance What is Deviance  Deviance: the recognized violation of cultural norms  Crime: the violation of a society’s formally enacted criminal law  Social control: attempts by society to regulate people’s thoughts and behaviour  Criminal justice system: a formal response by police, courts, and prison officials to alleged violations of the law  The Biological Context  In 1876, Cesare Lombroso theorized that criminals stand out physically, with low foreheads, prominent jaws and cheekbones, hairiness, and unusually long arms 

In the mid twentieth century, William Sheldon suggested that body structure might predict criminality, he linked muscular, athletic builds to criminality

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In 2003 scientists concluded that genetic factors along with environmental factors were strong predictors of adult crime and

violence  Personality Factors 

Most psychologists think that personality is shaped by social experience, therefore making deviance a result of unsuccessful socialization

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Reckless and Donitz asked teachers to categorize 12-year-old male students as either likely or unlikely to get into trouble with

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the law Social o Found that good boys displayed a strong conscience, could handle frustration, and identified with conventional cultural norms and values o Bad boys had a weaker conscience, displayed little tolerance of frustration, and felt out of step with conventional culture o Since all the boys lived in areas with increased delinquency, staying out of trouble was attributed to personality

 Social Factors

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Deviance varies according to cultural norms People become deviant as other define them that way

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Both norms and the way in which people define rule breaking involve social power

The Functions of Deviance: Structural-Functional Theories  Durkeim’s Basic Insight 1. Deviance affirms cultural values and norms 2. Responding to deviance clarifies moral boundaries 3. Responding to serious deviance brings people together 4. Deviance encourages social change  Merton’s Strain Theory 

Some deviance may be necessary for a society to function, but Robert Merton argued that society can be set up in a way that encourages too much deviance

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The extent and type of deviance people engage in depend on whether a society provides the means to achieve cultural goals o Innovation - used unconventional means to achieve a culturally approved goal o Ritualism – embrace the rules to the point where they lose sight of their larger goals o Retreatism – rejection of both cultural goals and means, so that a person in effect “drops out” Rebellion – like retreatists but go further by forming a counterculture that supports

alternatives to the existing social order  Deviant Subcultures 

Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin proposed that crime results from limited legal opportunity as well as readily accessible illegal opportunity

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Albert Cohen suggests that delinquency is most common in lower-class youths because they have the least opportunity to achieve conventional success

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Elijah Anderson explains that, in poor urban neighbourhoods, most people manage to conform to conventional values but in neighbourhoods with crime and violence some young men decide to live by the “street code”

Labelling Deviance: Symbolic-Interaction Theories  Labelling theory: the idea that deviance and conformity result not so much from what people do as from how others respond  Primary and secondary deviance o Edwin Lemert observed that some norm violations provoke

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slight reaction from others and have little effect on a person’s self- concept (passing episode) Stigma o A powerfully negative label that greatly changes a person’s self- concept and social identity

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Retrospective and projective labelling o R - Interpreting someone’s past in light of present deviance o P – a deviant identity is used to predict future action

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Medicalization of deviance o The transformation of moral and legal deviance into a

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medical condition Hirschi’s Control Theory o States that social control depends on people anticipating the consequences of their behaviour o Links conformity to four different types of social control: Attachment, opportunity, involvement, and belief  Attachment: strong social attachments encourage conformity. Weak family, peer, and school relationships leave people freer to engage in deviance  Opportunity: the greater one’s access to legitimate opportunity, the greater the advantages of conformity  Involvement: extensive involvement in legitimate activities- such as holding a job, going to school, or

playing sports  Belief: strong belief in conventional morality and respect for authority figures restrain tendencies toward deviance Deviance and Inequality: Social-Conflict Analysis  Deviance and Power  Alexander Liazos pointed out that the people we call deviant are typically powerless 

Social conflict theory explains this in three ways: o All norms and especially the laws of any society generally reflect the interests of the rich and powerful o Even if their behaviour is called into question, the powerful have the resources to resist deviant labels o The widespread belief that norms and laws are natural and

good masks their political character  Deviance and Capitalism  Steven Spitzer argued that deviant labels are applied to people 

who interfere with the operations of capitalism On the other hand, society labels positively behaviour that

supports the operation of capitalism  White Collar Crime: crime committed by persons of high social position in the course of their occupation 

When reputable people circumvent the law when doing so is likely to be profitable

 Corporate Crime: the illegal actions of a corporation of people acting on its behalf  Organized crime: is a business that supplies illegal goods or services Deviance, Race, Ethnicity, and Gender  Hate crimes: a criminal act against a person or a person’s property by an offender motivated by racial or other bias  The Feminist Perspective: Deviance and Gender  Women’s opportunities in the workplace, in politics, in athletics, and in the military are more limited than those of men; those

who test the limits are deviant 

Society puts men in positions of power over women, men often escape direct responsibility for actions that victimize women

Crime  Types of Crime  Violent Crimes: crimes against people that involve violence or

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the threat of violence, include murder, manslaughter, infanticide, assault, sexual assault, abduction, and robbery Property Crimes: crimes that involve theft of property belonging to others, include breaking and entering, motor vehicle theft, theft over $5000, theft of $5000 and under, possession of

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stolen goods, and fraud Victimless Crimes: violations of law in which there are no

readily apparent victims, such as prostitution and gambling  Criminal Statistics  Official statistics show that arrest rates peak in late adolescence 

and drop steadily with age About 85% to 90% of arrests involve males

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Street crime is more common among people of lower social position Black and aboriginal people are arrested and imprisoned in

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disproportionate numbers Plea bargain: a legal negotiation in which the prosecution

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reduces a defendant’s charge in exchange from a guilty please Criminal Justice System  Police  

Maintain public order by enforcing the law Police use personal discretion in deciding whether and how to handle a situation

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Research suggests that police are more likely to make an arrest if the offence is serious, if bystanders are present, or if the suspect

is a minority or Aboriginal  Courts

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Rely on an adversarial process in which attorneys present their cases in the presence of a judge who monitors legal procedures

 Resolve most cases through plea bargaining  Punishment 

Four justifications for punishment: debate about the appropriateness of specific punishments as applied to adults and juvenile offender raises the question of how and why society should punish its wrong doers o Retribution: an act of moral vengeance by which society makes the offender suffer as much as the suffering caused by the crime o Deterrence: the attempt to discourage criminality through punishment o Rehabilitation: a program for reforming the offender to preclude subsequent o Societal protection: rendering an offender incapable of further offences either temporarily through incarceration or permanently by execution  Criminal recidivism: subsequent offences by

people previously convicted of crimes  Community-Based Corrections: correctional programs operating within society at large rather than behind prison walls  Probation o One form of community-based corrections o A policy that permits a convicted offender to remain in the community under the regular supervision of a probation 

officer Parole o A policy of releasing inmates from prison to serve the remainder of their sentences in the local community under

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the supervision of a parole officer Sentencing circles o Aboriginal offenders, who may choose to submit to a sentencing circle to determine a suitable punishment o May include the accused, the victim, their families, and other community members-are intended to star the healing

process in the accused, the victim, and the community at large...