Studied by 6 peopleConflict Perspective
Explains deviance in the terms of power and inequality
Sociologist believe that competition and social inequality leads to deviance
Control Theory
Interactionist Perspective
Explains deviance as a natural occurrence
theories are interested in why people conform rather than in the causes of deviance
Travis Hirschi said people develop bonds to their communities in four ways
Crime
Any act that is labeled as such by those in authority and is prohibited by law
Example: When you rob a bank
Formal Sanction
A reward or punishment given by a formal organization or regulatory agency, such as a school, business, or government
Negative: low grades, suspension, termination from your job, fines, and imprisonment
Positive: Graduation certificates, pay raises, promotion, awards, medals
Group Unity
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Deviance
Behavior that violates significant social norms
Examples: continually taking to oneself in public, drag racing on a public street, regularly using illegal drugs, using a weapon to attack another person
Erving Goffman said this type of person is a spoiled social identity. He or She is no longer seen as being normal or whole
Negative Sanction
A punishment or the threat of punishment used to enforce conformity
The threat of punishment is often enough to ensure acceptable behavior
Examples: the thought of getting a parking ticket when parking in a no parking zone
They can range from frowns, ridicule, and rejection to fines, imprisonment, & even death
Positive Sanction
Sociologists call this an action that rewards a particular kind of behavior
Introduced to them early in life through interactions with their families
It is continued into later life
Examples: pay raise, cheers from teammates, ceremonies, ribbons, badges, & rewards
Racial Profiling
A practice of assuming that non-white Americans are more likely to commit crimes than white Americans
Minor Deviance
Unauthorized demonstrations wherein certain people speak out against society at large
Serves as a safety values for society because they allow people to express their displeasure with some element of society without disrupting the social structure
Secondary Deviance
Deviance as a lifestyle and results in the individual being labeled as deviant and believing the label
Property Crimes
Any crime in which the stealing or intentionally damaging someone’s property occurs
Example of more common crimes: Burglary, Motor vehicle theft, Larceny, Arson
Corrections
Sanctions used to punish criminals
They include imprisonment, parole, probation, and community service
they serve 4 basic functions: Retribution, Deterrence, Rehabilitation, and Social Protection
White-Collar Crimes
Describe offenses committed by people of high social status in the course of their professional lives
Examples of who could commit the crime: Politicians, employees of corporations, and corporations themselves
Example of crime: Fraud, tax evasion, embezzlement, price-fixing, toxic pollution, insider trading, & political corruption
Police Discretion
The power held by police officers to decide who is actually arrested
Organized Crime
A large-scale organization of professional criminals that controls some vice or legitimate business through violence or the threat of violence
Also called crime syndicate
Cultural Transmission Theory
Socialization is also central to this
Theory of deviant behavior that views deviance as a learned behavior transmitted through interaction with others
Views all individuals as conformists
Victimless Crime
Prostitution, illegal gambling, illegal drug use, and vagrancy
The person committing the crime is harming no one but themselves
Crime still has a significant consequences for society
Differential Association
Proposed by Edwin Sutherland refers to the frequency and closeness of associations a person has with deviant and non-deviant individuals
Social Control
Enforcing norms through either internal or external means
Learned through the internalization of norms
Include police, the court, religion, the family, the peer group, and public opinion
Labeling Theory
Focuses on how individuals come to be identified as deviant
Heavily influenced by Edwin Lemert and Howard Becker
They note that all people commit deviant acts, yet not everyone is labeled as deviant
There are two types of deviance: Primary and Secondary
Informal Sanction
Spontaneous expression of approval or disapproval given by an individual or a group
Positive: Standing ovations, compliments, smiles, pats on the back, and gifts
Negative: Frowns, gossip, rebukes, insults, ridicule, and ostracism- exclusion from a particular group
Categories of Crime
FBI organized crimes into 29 separate classifications with 2 levels of severity
The 5 broad categories:
Violent crime
Property crime
Victimless crime
White-collar crime
Organized crime
Internalization
Process by which a norm becomes a part of an individual’s personality, thus conditioning that individual to conform to society’s expectations
Example: When you go to the movies you sit in the chair instead of sitting on the floor.
Example: When the traffic light turns red, you stop without thinking.
You do not take these actions because you are scared of punishment but because you have internalized society’s norms
Neutralization
People suspend their moral beliefs to commit deviant acts
The 5 techniques which are learned through one’s social interactions:
Denying Responsibility
Denying Injury
Denying the Victim
Condemning the Authorities
Appealing to Higher Authorities
Conformity
Accepts culture goals and pursues them through culturally approved ways
Most common
Stigma
A mark of social disgrace that sets the deviant apart from the rest of society
Used to form a social control throughout history
Example: Ancient Greeks cut/burn signs into the bodies of criminals to warn others to avoid them
Today example: Prisoners have to wear special clothing and assigned numbers depending on what crime they commited
Anomie
Individuals fall victim to this because of the strain of incompatible goals and means
The situation that arises when the norms of society are unclear or are without sufficient guidelines for behavior, causing confusion both for the individuals and for society
Originally proposed by Emile Durkheim to explain high rates of suicide in countries undergoing industrialization
Strain Theory
Views deviance as the natural outgrowth of the values, norms, and structure of society
Robert K. Merton says American society places high value on certain goals, such as economic success
Plea Bargaining
The process of legal negotiation that allows an accused person to plead guilty to a lesser charge in return for a lighter sentence
Allows courts to reduce their huge volume of cases while avoiding the risk of expensive and time-consuming jury trials that may not produce a guilty verdict
Innovation
Accepts culture goals but use disapproved ways of achieving them
Example: People may want to acquire wealth but rejects the acceptable means to obtain it
Recidivism
Term for repeated criminal behavior
According to the U.S. Department of Justice study, 68% of released prisoners will be charged with ne crimes and 50% will return to prison within 3 years of their release
Sanctions
Rewards or punishments used to enforce conformity to norms
Types: Positive, Negative, Formal, & Informal
Can become meaningless if you are rarely rewarded or punished
Primary Deviance
Occasional violation of norms
Individuals do not see themselves as deviant and neither does society
Arrest in the United States
By sex: 75% male, 25% female
By race: 70% white, 28% African American, 2% other
By age: 52.7% 18-34, 28.6% 35-54, 15.5% under 18, 3.1% 55 & older
Vice
Legal term for offense involving immorality, such as prostitution and gambling
Crime-justice System
Once a crime has been committed and reported, it falls under this jurisdiction
Most important components are police, courts, adn corrections
Note 
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