Theories of Deviance and Social Stratification

Deviance

A violation of norms

central question of deviance

why do people debate from or conform to norms

Biological theory

Criminals are born criminals; these people could not control their violent nature

Cesare Lombroso

Claimed criminals tended to be more ape-like than normal people

Solution to biological theory

Locking them up (imprisonment)

Age and gender claim

Young people are more likely than the old to commit crimes

Crime rates by age

Young people are more likely to commit homicide, robbery, and theft; this rate declines around age 30

Weakness of age and gender theory

Fails to explain why most people do not commit these crimes at any age

Claim about gender and crime

Men are more likely than females to commit crimes due to biological differences and socialization

Weakness of gender differences argument

True of violent crimes but fails to explain smaller gender differences for some crimes like forgery and fraud

Differential association theory

Our actions depend on how those around us desire us to act; boys become delinquent because of their close and frequent contacts with deviants

Weakness of differential association theory

Fails to explain how the first deviant comes into being

Strain theory

Deviants are poorly placed in the system and unable to get what they want by legal means, thus become frustrated

Weakness of strain theory

Most poor people do not deviate; it doesn't explain deviant acts by middle and upper classes and white collar crimes

Control theory

If one has more to lose and feels more likely to be caught, he/she will conform; otherwise he will deviate

Losses in control theory

Attachments (family, friends, colleagues) and investment (education, experience, and skills)

Strengths of control theory

Explains young and poor people are more likely to commit crimes; relatively, young people have less to lose

Social control

Punishment as deterrence

Reason most people don't commit crimes

They know that crime is risky (likely to be punished)

Function of punishment

Revenge for victims or their relatives and deterrence

Plato's view on punishment

Punishment brings wisdom

Capital punishment

The death penalty; prohibited in 1972 by the US Supreme Court due to discriminatory application

Statistics on capital punishment

By 1990 more than 2600 people were sentenced to death

Effectiveness of capital punishment

Many people are punished for committing crimes, some are executed; nevertheless, the crime rate, including the homicide rate remains high

Gibbs theory

Hypothesis states that: the more rapid the punishment, the lower the rate of crimes, the more certain the punishment, the lower the rate of crimes, the more severe the punishment, the lower the rate of crimes.

Credible threat of punishment

If people think they have little chance of being caught or the punishment will be long delayed, they will be less deterred.

Crime rate in the US

Crime rate is high in the US partly because the deterrence is NOT effective.

Felony statistics

Every 1000 felonies: 540 are reported to the police, 65 are arrested, 36 are prosecuted and convicted, 17 are sentenced and put in jail, 3 are sentenced to serve more than one year.

Stratification

The unequal distribution of rewards among members of a society, the class structure.

Gini coefficient

A measure of inequality of a distribution.

Gini = 0

Perfect equality.

Gini = 0.2

Inequality is low.

Gini = 0.3

Inequality is moderate.

Gini = 0.5

Inequality is high.

Gini = 1

Perfect inequality; this is the highest level.

Lorenz curve

The distribution of wealth and income.

SES

Stands for Socioeconomic status.

Human capital

Individuals invest in human capital whenever they sacrifice something desirable in the present to develop a personal attribute which will pay off in the future, whether in a job or household.

General human capital

Includes accumulated investments in such activities as education, job training, and migration; knowledge and skills acquired can be used for various positions.

Status-attainment model

An example of a micro model where a person's own education is the most important factor that determines his or her first job and career.

Conflict theory

argue that those with more power tend to exploit those who have less power to gain material advantages leading to inequality

Functional theory

Theory explains social structures on the basis of their consequences or functions for the other parts of the system.

Stratification

Functional for society; involves the distribution of scarce valuable goods, services, and resources.

Division of Labor

Certain positions in society require special skills, making them more difficult to perform.

Physician

A professional who requires special skills to perform their duties.

Garbage Collector

A position that does not require special skills compared to a physician.

Talent and Skills

Only a limited number of people have the talents that can be trained into the skills appropriate to certain positions.

Training Costs

Training involves costs or sacrifices that must be compensated.

Incentives

To motivate talented individuals, future positions must offer inducements or incentives, leading to unequal access to scarce rewards.

Types of Rewards

Rewards can be material (money, goods, services) or spiritual (vacation, leisure, psychological rewards, promotion, recognition).

Anomie

A condition of normlessness in a group or society when people no longer know what the norms are or have lost belief in them.

Durkheim

One of the founders of sociology who warned that loss of social connections leads to anomie.

Social Integration

The number and intimacy of attachments enjoyed by the average person.

Moral Integration

Shared beliefs, especially religious, that provide members of a community with a common moral conception.

Max Weber

Argued that people are stratified not only by wealth but also by prestige and status.

Bourgeoisie

Owners of the means of production in a capitalist society.

Proletariat

Everyone who does not own means of production and must sell their labor to the bourgeoisie.

Capitalist Class

Rely on their wealth or capital to generate profit.

Working Class

Rely on their labor force (ability to labor) for survival.

Social Class Determination

Determined by means of production.

Causes of Social Change

Changes in the mode of production lead to social change.

Capitalist Society

A society with a free market economy based on private ownership of property.

Gaetano Mosca

Argued that a society cannot exist without political organization, which leads to inequalities in power.

Biological Theorist (Cesare Lombroso)

Argued that criminals are born criminals and cannot control their violent nature.

Younger individuals are more likely to commit crimes

due to peak physical strength and energy, and having less to lose.

Argued that our actions depend on those around us desire to act

differential association theory

According to ...........deviants are those who poorly placed in the stratification system, become frustrated and use illegal means to get what they want.

strain theory

Control theory predicts that

if one has more to lose and feels more likely to be caught he/she will conform, otherwise he will deviate.

The probability of being caught and potential cost largely determine if......

people will commit crimes.

Punishments generally function as

revenge and deterrence.

Most people do not commit crimes because

they know that crime is risky = likely to be caught.

Gibbs Hypothesis

The more rapid, the more certain, and the more severe the punishment for a crime the lower the rate at which such crimes will occur.

If we find the crime rate is high in a region, we can infer that

the deterrence is not effective.

Anomie

A condition of normlessness in a group or even a whole society when people either no longer know what the norms are or have lost their belief in them.

Durkheim's anomie theory predicts that deviance rates will vary as

integration varies.

In a study of social stratification, people are stratified by

power, prestige, property.

According to Gaetano Mosca, a society is stratified because

there is a need for inequalities in power, a ruling class naturally emerges.

According to ...... a society is stratified because there must be some incentives for people to work hard, to create, invent, etc.

functional theory

Conflict theorists argue that those with more power tend to exploit those who have less power to gain material advantages, thus

leading to inequality.

Who proposed that stratification is based on the factors of class, status, and power

max weber

Marx theory divides our society into two major classes:

bourgeoisie and proletariat.

Achieved status

a position gained on the basis of merit or achievement

Ascribed status

A position base on who you are, sex, race, rationality

caste system

most status is ascribe status (india)

Which of the following describes a Lorenz curve that is close to the line of perfect equality?

low income inequality

If a Lorenz curve is far away from the line of perfect equality, what does this indicate?

high income ineqaulity

Which of the following is NOT a factor that can cause a shift in a Lorenz curve?

change in the price of good or service

A lorenz curve that is closer to the line of perfect equality indicates

lower income inequality

what is the line of perfect equality in a lorenz curve digram

a straight line at 45 degress angle representing equal distrubution

value judgement

a subjective opinion or assessment based on personal beliefs / moral refers to what someone "thinks should be"

scientific statement

an objective claim supported by evidence and data, typically free from personal basis and established scientific principles describes "what is" based on observable facts