Deviance Midterm

Fall 2026 - Swinehart

deviance

a violation of a social norm

social norms

expectations of conduct in certain situations that regulate human social relations and behavior

T/F: “Deviant” always means “bad”

False

T/F: Violence is always deviant

False

T/F: What is deviant for one group may not be deviant for another

True

T/F: What is considered deviant can vary from culture to culture

True

theorist that argued that deviance is not only normal, but that deviance helps society function

Durkheim

functions of deviance (Durkheim)

clarifies social norms & increase conformity, strengthen the bonds of those reacting to it, and can lead to positive change

primary deviance

usually the first (or first few) acts of deviance

secondary deviance

continued deviance that may develop when the deviant role is reinforced through further participation in deviance

three (main) definitions of deviance

normative, reactivist, and absolutist

normative definition

beliefs, thoughts, or behaviors are deviant when they violate a norm

reactivist definition

deviance is whatever causes a negative reaction by society

absolutist definition

suggests that some things are just inherently deviant, immoral, or wrong

deviant places

a deviant act may begin with an interpretation of a situation as an opportunity to commit an act

T/F: Deviance is often learned over time

True

T/F: Deviance overall does not fluctuate over time

False

criminology

the study of crime and criminal behavior/deviance

first dominant theory of crime

demonic perspective

demonic perspective

believed crime was the result of supernatural forces/the devil

Classical Theory

thought individuals are rational beings who want to maximize their pleasure and minimize their pain

Positivist School

argued that crime is due to forces beyond the individual's control; argued criminals are "genetic throwbacks"/"born criminals"

Lombroso

associated with the Positivist School

criminological theories

offer explanations for why people commit crimes

Functionalism

theory that argued that deviance is not only normal, but that deviance helps society function

Conflict Theory

sees crime as the result of social inequalities

Symbolic Interactionism

suggests that we learn to engage in crime (or not) from the social environment around us

“A General Theory of Crime”

posits that crime and criminality is the result of low self-control combined with the opportunity to commit crime

Which theory is known as “A General Theory of Crime”?

Self-Control Theory

T/F: Self-Control Theory suggests children are born with high levels of self-control

False

T/F: According to Self-Control Theory, children must learn self-control by age 8 or else they will have low self-control for the rest of their lives

True

T/F: Self-control can change throughout the lifespan

True

Anomie

state of normlessness or lack of social regulation in modern society as one condition of modern industrial societies

General Strain Theory

crime is seen as a way of coping with negative emotions

3 types of strain

introduction of negative stimuli, removal of positive stimuli, inability to achieve goals

Social Learning Theory

suggests that individuals “learn” how to be deviant or criminal from observing, imitating, and modeling

Labelling Theory

suggests that assigning a criminal label to a person makes them a criminal

primary deviance

people commit an act of deviance/crime for a variety of reasons and recieve a label

secondary deviance

people commit deviance in response to a label assigned to them

T/F: Labels can be attached formallly or informally

True

stigma

situation of the individual who is disqualified from full social acceptance

T/F: Labeling theory is derived from symbolic interactionism

True

T/F: Labeling theory is derived from functionalism

False

Cooley’s Looking Glass Self

suggests that we form a sense of self-concept based on how we believe we appear to others

T/F: wealthy communities are more heavily policed than poor neighborhoods

False

culture

the norms and social behavior found in a society such as customs, habits, beliefs, and laws

society

represents the people who share a culture

subculture

a smaller cultural group within a larger culture that exists smoothly in the larger society

counterculture

reject some of the larger culture’s norms and values, often developing their own sets of rules and norms to live by

cults

countercultures who have a charismatic leader and try to live separately from the rest of society

religion

a major form of social control in our society

religion as social control

sets social norms, social cohesion, agent of socialization, moral regulation, influence on laws and government

T/F: women are more likely to leave Christianity

False

T/F: higher educational attainment is associated with higher religious affiliation

False

T/F: democrats/people on the left tend to be less religious

True

alternative lifestyles

may or may not consist of being in a subculture or cult

career criminal

someone who commits multiple crimes and gets arrested

examples of alternative lifestyles

vegans, the Amish, extreme couponers, etc.

governmental deviance

deviant behavior that benefits the government of those in power

examples of governmental deviance

gerrymandering, election misinformation, voter suppression, criminal activity

gerrymandering

manipulating and drawing voting districts to favor one party over another

whistleblowers

a person who reports/reveals fraud, abuse, corruption, etc. within an organization

police crime

crimes committed by the police

types of police crime

sex-related, alcohol-related, drug-related, violence-related, profit-motivated

police subculture

characterizes the public as hostile, not to be trusted, and potentially violent; this outlook requires secrecy, mutual support, and unity from its members

police brutality

the unwarranted, excessive, and often unjustified use of force against citizens by the police

legal cynicism

occurs among community residents when they perceive that police are disrespectful, unfair, and biased in their interactions with community residents

sex

refers to physical or physiological difference between males and females, including both primary and secondary sex characteristics

gender

behaviors, personal traits, and social positions that society attributes to being female or male

gender identity

a person’s deeply held internal perception of one’s gender

transgender

an individual’s sex assigned at birth and their gender identity are not necessarily the same

cisgender

an individual’s assigned sex at birth and their gender identity “line up” socially

gender role

society’s concept of how men and women are expected to look and how they should behave

gender stereotypes

societal or cultural “scripts” that society expects of people

4 major agents of socialization

family, education, peers, mass media

“doing gender”

acting out or portraying gender identity in social situations

physical violence

direct bodily harm inflicted through force or threat of force

slow violence

the accumulation and accretion of the consequences of systematic oppression over time

normalized violence

harm that becomes invisible or accepted because it is routine, expected, or woven into the fabric of everyday life

symbolic violence

a form of domination that is so deeply embedded in social norms and institutions that we hardly recognize it as violence at all

chronic temporal harm

living under constant threat or anticipation of harm

acute temporal harm

specific moments when harm erupts

the respectability talk

a middle-class socialization strategy that avoids direct associations between black girls and police; this talk works to minimize risk through teaching black girls how to be “ladies” by embodying racialized gendered norms that constrain their behavior and autonomy

the predatory talk

a predominantly working-class socialization strategy which aims to equip black girls with an awareness of police sexual violence and the tools for avoiding sexual assault and harassment from officers when alone or at nigh