sociology crime and deviance 1

what is crime?

occurs when someone breaks a written law, not all crimes are deviants though many are

what is deviance?

occurs when someone breaks a norm of society, people who break norms of society are usually reacted to, not all deviants are criminals

norms can…

change overtime

deviance is…

socially constructed, not conforming to the dominant norms of society, disapproved by most people

crime and deviance can…

change depending on time and place

Goode (2008)

defines deviance as behaviour , beliefs and physical characteristics that if break social norms, produce negative behaviour

what do you need to be aware of for crime and deviance

the social context

sociologists argue that…

what is considered devient depends on peoples reactions rather than the act itself

what does society need in order for it to work successfully?

rules

anomie

normalessness = lack of norms and values

what are sanctions

methods used to enforce social control/ norms and values

what are the 2 forms of social control?

formal and informal

what is informal social control?

sanctions enforced by peers, family and stranger/ not the law

what is formal social control?

sanctions enforced by the law .e.g police, military

agencies of informal social control

family, education, peer group, media, religion, work

what is peer pressure

the influence of peers on another person to alter their behaviour so they become accepted by a peer group

what do functionalists think about social control?

has a positive role and most people happy to follow rules which creates social order, shapes behaviour esp. in children

what do marxists think about social control?

social order kept in the order of the ruling class and laws used to control the working class to accept exploitation

false consciousness

not being aware of being exploited

what do interactionalists think about social control?

society will benefit from stability and the socialisation as resulting in meaningful behaviour by individuals

what do feminists think about social control?

informal social control = promotion of patriarchy and reinforces norms and values that promote interest of men at the expense of women

frances heidenson 1985

patriarchal society = there are few opportunities for women to commit crime, control theory to explain why women commit less crime than men

what is social control?

the mechanisms a society uses to ensure compliance with its norms and values