SOC 224 Midterm 1

What is deviance?

Behavior that violates the standards of conduct or expectations of a group or society

social typing process

Process by which a person, behaviour, or characteristic is deviantized; description, evaluation, prescription

What are norms?

societal rules that define the boundaries of acceptable behavior; subject to change by social control; are culturally and circumstantially specific

What are mores?

widely observed social norms; what's right and wrong

what are folkways?

norms for routine or casual interaction; what's right and what's rude

what is social control?

attempts by society to regulate people's thoughts and behavior

what is informal social control?

the reactions of individuals and groups that bring about conformity to norms and laws; raising an eyebrow or an approving smile

what is formal social control?

carried out by authorized agents; censorship or criminal charges

what is objective deviance?

deviance is a quality; a common trait; deviance is defined here as behaviours or characteristics which have that trait

what is subjective deviance?

Deviance is a process; no common trait; deviance is behaviours that people in power say are in need of control

what are the 4 steps to determining if something is deviant from the objectivist position?

statistical rarity; harm; normative violation; negative societal reaction

What are moral entrepreneurs?

H. Becker; those who devote themselves to protecting society from some perceived threat to its moral order (anti-abortionists for example); typically members of the upper class; disturbed by a perceived evil and went on a "holy mission" to address it; often rely on others to implement their agenda

Bootleggers and Baptists

politicians disguise interest group policies as policies that benefit the general public

what are the consequences of the social typing process?

deviantized; medicalized; criminalized

Biological Theorization part 1

Lobroso; was interested in the criminal and how to identify criminals; they were activists: people who were at an earlier stage of evolution (sloped foreheads and physical differences);

biological theorization pt 2

Continued with W Sheldon; categorized people with body type; ectomorph, mesomorph, endomorph; mesomorph was criminal body, as it was strong and could be programmed for crime

evolutionary model of deviance

men are more aggressive and anti social, as they need to compete with other men to increase mating opportunities and ensure survival; women are less aggressive as they need to take care of children to ensure survival

what are functional theories of deviance?

social structure creates deviance

what are the assumptions of functionalist theories?

social structures fulfill functions; society based on consensus; concentration with maintaining social order

Anomie Theory

Durkheim; theory that proposes that rapid social change often results in a state of normlessness that results in the social instability; when a society changes too fast, collectivism weakens

what is social cohesion?

the way people form social bonds, relate to each other, and get along on a day-to-day basis

What 2 reasons did Durkheim give that considered deviance to be functional for a society?

1. criminal courts as spectacles to increase social solidarity and reaffirm social values

2. system processing of crime allows for societal change; deviant act -> courts -> change of law

strain theory

Merton's theory that deviance occurs when a society does not give all its members equal ability to achieve socially acceptable goals

what are institutionalized goals?

goals that are culturally exalted, including wealth, power and prestige

What are legitimate means?

socially acceptable ways of attaining the institutionalized goals in society; ex. going to university in order to be wealthy

Strain Theory: Conformity

accepts culturally approved goals; pursues them through culturally approved means

Strain Theory: Innovation

accept the goals of society but use illegitimate means to reach them; criminals and deviants

Strain Theory: Ritualism

reject the definition of success, but do accept the legitimate means of society; they go to work and save money, but live modestly

strain theory: Retreatism

These people have rejected both cultural goals and institutionalized means of achieving them; street level addictions for example

Strain Theory: Rebellion

these people who seek to replace existing society goals with new goals of their own

Differential Opportunity Theory

Cloward and Ohlin; the view that differential access to illegitimate means helps determine the types of deviance in which poor people engage. They have double failures and may resolve these to become drug users, sex workers etc.

General Strain Theory

Agnew; the view that multiple sources of strain interact with an individual's emotional traits and responses to produce deviant behaviour

what are the 3 sources of general strain theory?

1. being blocked from any positively valued goal: not having a date to prom

2. actual or anticipated loss of something valuable: someone vandalized a locker room after working hard but not making the basketball team

3. actual or anticipated presentation of noxious stimuli: killing someone who bullied you or turning to drug use

Status Frustration Theory

Albert K. Cohen.

Lower-class boys do poorly in school because schools emphasize middle-class values; the view that delinquency results from school failure and the need to regain self-esteem by being successful in delinquent activities.

classical conditioning

Pavlov: a learning process that occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired; a response that is at first elicited by the second stimulus is eventually elicited by the first stimulus alone

operant conditioning

Skinner; the learning of voluntary behavior through the effects of pleasant and unpleasant consequences to responses

operant conditioning: reinforcement

increasing or strengthening positive behavior.

operant conditioning: punishment

strategy to discourage desirable behaviour by either following an undesirable behaviour with a negative consequence or withhold a positive consequence

Social Cognitive Theory/Imitation

Bandura; Holds that behavior, environment, and person/cognitive factors are the key factors in development; children who witness violence will have an increased chance of becoming violent themselves

differential association theory (D.A.T)

Sutherland; a theory that states individuals learn deviant behavior from those close to them who provide models of and opportunities for deviance; Oliver Twist story

what are the 4 interactions influenced by in D.A.T?

frequency, duration, priority, intensity

Neutralization Theory

Sykes and Matza; when we are taught to rationalize behaviours

neutralization theory: denial of responsibility

"it was an accident, I didn't mean to"

neutralization theory: denial of injury

"we both agreed to the fight, he got hurt because I am the better fighter"

neutralization theory; denial of the victim

saying that a person deserved it; "She favours the other students and gave me a D so I vandalized her car"

neutralization theory: condemnation of the condemner

"everyone knows the cops smoke pot so who cares if I do?"

neutralization theory: appealing to higher loyalties

Robin Hood effect; "yes I stole the food, but it was to feed my younger siblings"

social bonds theory

we are bound in some way to prevent us from deviant behaviour; attachment, commitment, involvement, belief

Self-Control Theory

Self-control restrains us from acting deviantly; determined by parenting in early life; self control remains relatively stable throughout life; ex. risky driving behaviours, risky sexual behaviours

Symbolic Interactionism theories

use of everyday forms of social interaction to explain society as a whole

social construction

social characteristics that are creations or artifacts of a certain society at a specific time in history, just as objects (chastity belts) are artifacts of that society

Max Weber

Coined the term Verstehen (German = to understand); meaning that we need to see the world as the group studied sees it; ex. you need to understand the individuals who walk by the panhandlers to make a judgement on why they won't give change

labelling theory

Lemert; the idea that deviance and conformity result not so much from what people do but how others treat them and their own subsequent behaviours and identities

what is primary deviance?

violations that are met with mild/no reaction - very little consequence; if no one knows, no one is going to respond to it; ex. skipping school or underage drinking

what is secondary deviance?

perceptions of people label someone as deviant, and that person adopts the identity which serves to increase deviant behaviour; the individual internalizes the behaviour; ex. being labelled as an "alcohol abuser"

what is a stigma?

a powerfully negative label that greatly changes a person's self-concept and social identity

What is a master status?

something that a stigma operates at, which overpowers other aspects of social identity, so that a person is discredited in the minds of others; ex. you are on a date and the person tells you they spent 2 years in jail for forgery

medicalization of deviance

to make deviance a medical matter, a symptom of some underlying illness that needs to be treated by physicians; ex. the difference between an alcoholic and someone who suffers from alcoholism?

dramaturgical approach

Goffman; a way of approaching sociological research as if everyday life were taking place on the stage of a theatre; an individuals social life is similar to performing in the theatre where individuals have a front stage self and a back stage self

impression management

people's efforts to control the impressions that others receive of them

deviant career theory

involves stages of development and career contingencies—careers are influences by contingencies and turning point encountered at each stage

the stages of a deviant career

entry, sense of continuity, perception of increasing opportunities, increased sophistication, recognition by peers

stages of a deviant career: entry

where maybe a family member was involved in deviance, so they are automatically in

stages of a deviant career: sense of continuity

the person usually does not leave the career

stages of a deviant career: perception of increasing opportunities

the individual is good at the career

stages of a deviant career: increased sophistication

science background so they partner with a cocaine dealer; have someone bring the product in more efficiently

stages of a deviant career: recognition by peers

people in the industry recognize you and your connections

In the Alder and Alder situation, why did dealers find it hard to leave the deviant career?

rewards of trade made it difficult to leave; social circle meant that they couldn't completely escape; difficulty finding a replacement career (criminal records); debts; pressure to return

limitations of symbolic interactionism theories

failure to recognize structural influences on interaction; labelling theory does not provide an adequate understanding of how primary deviance becomes secondary deviance; some deviant lifestyles do not reflect careers (sex trade industry)

In the Ball article: an abortion clinic ethnography, what theories does the article connect to?

connects to social interactionism & social construction; actors in the clinic are trying to construct the abortion clinic as a medical clinic that is treated as a medical condition - trying to socially construct abortion as a not deviant act, but a medical practice (impression management)

In the Ball article, what 3 methods is the study based upon?

observations of the routines in the clinic, interviews with individuals inside the clinic, conversations with non medical staff

In the Ball article, what is meant by the rhetoric of legitimization?

when deviants use common and widely accepted symbols, practices and speech to disguise their deviancy as legitimate (not-deviant) and to persuade non actors that what they are doing is not deviant. Shown by the medical practitioners giving a sense of ease to their patients

In the Ball article, what are the 3 constituents of the front?

setting, appearance, manner

In the Ball article, what are the 2 failures in presentation the author points out?

Pseudo sterility and miscellaneous dialects

In the Ball article, what are the 4 elements mention that contribute to the rhetoric of legitimacy?

cleanliness, competence, conventionality, concern for the patron

In the Ball article, what are the 2 broad dimensions discussed?

the luxury and cost, the conventional medical practices and procedures

What is ontological harm?

when there is a threat to a belief system, or the fundamental ways we understand the world

what are the short comings of using statistical rarity to define deviance?

quantifying rare presents a problem

what are the short comings of using harm to define deviance?

the definition of this is not as clear as it seems and it is seen as subjective

what are the short comings of using societal reaction to define deviance?

how many must occur before we can say that the masses are reacting negatively?

what are the short comings of using normative violation to define deviance?

the views of this are different based on the group of people being analyzed; situational applicability is in question

in the Becker article: becoming a marijuana user, which theories does this article connect to?

connects to social learning theory (learning the techniques and learning to perceive and enjoy the effects) and deviant career theory (focussed on entry level; assumption that deviant motives lead to deviant behaviour, but Becker argues that in the case of marijuana users, the behaviour precedes the motives)

In the Becker article, what was the most common explanation for why people used marijuana?

it would let them dip further into the fantasy it gave them

in the Becker article, why is the study of marijuana users an interesting case for deviance theories?

the act of smoking marijuana provides incentive to do it again, therefore smokers will continue to do so, as opposed to the traditional deviant behaviours with external motivating factors

In the Becker article, what does the author say is required to be high?

the chemical aspect as well as the mental aspect; the individual must understand they are getting high

In the Becker article, why does Becker conclude that psychological theories are inadequate to explain marijuana use?

there are no traits that specifically warrant the way of a user to indulge in marijuana; the effects are wildly unpredictable at times

what are the critiques of functionalist ideology?

teleological: the reasons things exist are to fill a function - meaning. that if something needed to be filled, something will be created for that function; and tautological: arguments are circular

In the Cromwell and Thurman article about shoplifters, the authors argue that shoplifting is an excellent choice for testing Neutralization theory. Why?

there is no genetic, physical, economic or behavioural trait associated with shoplifting, so it cannot be tied to any sort of stimuli

In the Cromwell and Thurman article about shoplifters, they identified 4 other techniques of neutralization. what are they?

defence of necessity: felt as though they had no other choice

everybody does it: it must be okay if everyone else does it - lessens the severity

justifcation by comparison: offenders state that shoplifting is a deterrent for a worse habit, which implies they are in control of their actions

postponement: they act on it instinctually, putting aside all moral troubles

Assumptions of Conflict Theory

1. rules that serve the interests of the powerful

2. the powerful are less likely to break the rules

3. the powerless are more likely to break the rules

Marxist theory of deviance

Spitzer; suggests that deviant behavior within the lower class results from a sense of alienation, low wages, and unemployment

Instrumental Marxism

the view that the law is designed to specifically advance the interests of particular groups or organizations (capitalists)

Structural Marxism

the view that the law maintains capitalism, and individuals who threaten this will be sanctioned; ex. people who steal oxycontin go to jail, but companies market drug as non addictive and doctors who give it to patients do not

pluralist conflict theory

focuses on multiple axes of inequality that make up the structure of society based on conflicts between various economic, religious, ethnic, political, and social groups

Culture Conflict Theory

A theory positing that two groups may clash when their conduct norms differ; ex. RCMP officer told he could not wear his turban

group conflict theory

A theory that attempts to explain certain types of criminal behaviour as resulting from a conflict between the interests of divergent groups

Feminist Theories of Deviance

gendered nature of norms and dominant moral codes that determine what is considered deviant

Post-structuralism

Focault; focus on the intertwining of power and knowledge; ex. masturbation was defined as deviant because the church said so and church had power; science says its okay, science now holds power

Michel Foucault

Merged analysis of power/knowledge with the analysis of social control mechanisms

The Panoptical Society

leads us to self-regulate to conform-Emphasized the power- resistance dynamic (eg. Challenging the knowledge claim of police that photo- radar reduces speeding and is not employed merely as a means to generate money through ticketing/fines)