Sociology Test - Crime and Deviance

Mr. Spice test

internalization

A norm becomes a part of one’s personality, conforming to society’s expectations

positive/negative sanctions

actions that reward or punish behavior

formal sanction

reward or punishment by a formal organization

social control

regulation or enforcement of norms

internal social control

within an individual, developed during socialization, doing something because you know it’s the right thing to do

external social control

rewards and punishments that encourage conforming to social norms

deviance

behavior that violates significant social norms

stigma

sets a deviant apart from the rest of society, negative label

social functions of deviance: unify the group

emile durkhiem: reinforcing sense of community and societal values

social functions of deviance: clarifies norms for members of society

emile durkhiem: defines boundaries of acceptable and unacceptable behaviors, warns people about punishments

social functions of deviance: diffusing tension

emile durkhiem: minor acts of deviance allow people to strike out without threatening society

social functions of deviance: identifying problems

emile durkhiem: society must change something if there are large numbers of deviants

social functions of deviance: providing jobs

emile durkhiem: creates employment in law enforcement, legal professions, and rehabilitation services to manage and respond to deviant behavior

strain theory

robert merton: individuals can be blocked from achieving goals through conventional methods, therefore they may experience strain which leads to alternative behaviors that may be deviant

conformity (strain theory robert merton)

people choose not to deviate, pursues goals through approved ways, “doing the right thing”

innovation (strain theory robert merton)

accepts cultural goals but uses deviant ways to achieve them

ritualism (strain theory robert merton)

people lower their goals to reach them by socially acceptable means, focus on conformity rather than goal

retreatism (strain theory robert merton)

abandons cultural goals and the approved way of achieving them

anomie (robert merton)

norms of society are unclear or no longer acceptable, causes confusion for people

control theory

people who believe they are a part of society are less likely to commit crimes against it

attachment

when we are clearly attached to people we worry about opinions of us, people conform to norms to get society’s approval

commitment

people are less likely to commit crimes when they know that they have something to lose

cultural transmission

environment and surroundings can cause people to be deviant, it will influence behavior (socialized to deviant behavior)

differential association

individuals learn deviant behavior from those who are close to them happens in primary groups)

labeling theory

all people commit deviant acts, not everyone is labelled deviant

primary deviance

has little effect of a person’s self-concept, occasional breaking of norms

secondary deviance

deviance becomes the lifestyle

crime

act labelled as such by those in authority, prohibited by law

violent crime

murder, rape, assault, robbery

“white collar” crime

financially motivated nonviolent crime

property crime

damaging propertyracial

racial profiling

targets individuals for suspicion of crime based on race, ethnicity, or religion

deterrence

warn people not to commit crimes, providing warning and punishments

retribution

punishments for those convicted of crimes

incarceration

removing criminals from society to prevent further damage to citizens

rehabilitation

desocialize, then resocialize

“victim discounting”

reducing the seriousness of a crime that injure people of a lower status

recidivism

return or repeated criminal behavior