sociology class 8

control and deviance

Deviance is the violation of cultural norms

→ criminal (violate legal norms), insane (not sane), sick (not healthy), perverts (violate sexual norms), heretics (violate religious norms)

• definition of deviance: not because of the people violating the norms, but because of the society

• normality of deviance: we need deviance in a way to keep the majority of society to follow the norms

social control involves formal and informal processes that minimise deviance

• moral rules (Durkheim):

  • analytical (consequence that follows automatically) vs synthetical (sanction, a consequence involving social intervention

social control

• informal control: significant others, we tell each other what to do

• formal control: system of social control, planned and programmed, society has specialised people do the control

• societal evolution: from informal to formal, bureaucratisation and proffesionalisation

Power and surveillance (Foucault)

• public, physical punishment to discipline in the past

• now we punish the self, surveillance (regulation of space and time)

  • the Panopticon (Bentham): a round room with cells in the wall and a guard tower in the middle; the inmates never know if the guard is looking at them or not so they behave = constant threat of surveillance, only one guard needed

• discourse

  • bodies of ideas and definitions

  • everything about social control is about definitions

  • we define what’s normal and abnormal

  • we make some people abnormal and with that powerless (= define to dominate)

social control theory (Hirschi)

• why would we conform?

• human nature: inherently deviant

• impeding factor

  • social bond (social bond not working = we take the deviant route

  • different dimensions

    1. attachment: linked to significant others and you value their judgement

    2. commitment: rational element; if caught, we might lose some things we worked hard to get

    3. involvement: time; we’re so busy conforming there’s no time for deviance

    4. belief: we believe in value of norms

deviance

the classical school

• crime is rational choice

  • gain/punishment ratio (cost-benefit)

  • best decision in that situation

• punishment and deterrence (= scaring away, make sure costs outweigh benefits) (Beccaria)

  • good punishment

    • legally standardised: no place for exceptions

    • particular, proportional and not indefinite (second chance)

    • public and prompt: don’t wait to punish

    • punishment in function of act, not future: in function of act, not in function of chance they do it again

• critique:

  • rationality of choice: people aren’t always rational

  • freedom of choice: sometimes no choice

    • structural determinants

  • fair societies

    • law and power (society isn’t always fair)

the positivist school

establishing a criminal type

• phrenology (Lambroso): criminal atavism; people that didn’t adapt to society

• body type: most/all criminals are muscular boys ⇒ common cause

• human genome project: genes connected to personality disorders, aggression…

• profiling

positivistic criminology

• the positivist stance

  • a type of person

  • particularity of criminals

  • criminals not in control, they can’t help it

critique

• applicable to very small segment

• most criminals are normal

• neglect of the social influence on people

social foundations of deviance

• society and crime definition

  • norms

  • labelling: you fit in a type and get a label, you will likely do deviant behavior

  • power

  → social inequality

functionalism

• deviance is ‘normal’

• functions of deviance (Durkheim)

  • affirms norms and clarifies boundaries

  • reaction strengthens unity (by showing deviance you show conformity)

    • collective conscioussness

  • encourages social change

anomy (absence of rules) according to durkheim (reprise)

• cultural desires are insatiable

  • societal limitations for cultural needs

    • anomie → deviance

• rapid societal change

  • regulation not adequate

• context

  • 19th c France (revolution, instable times)

strain theories (turn to deviance because you miss something)

anomy theory (Merton)

• context: US, mid 20th c; American dream

• society has

  • cultural goals → society tells us what to strive for

  • institutionalised means

• anomy → not everyone has access to the means

  • discrepancy (verschil, tegenstrijdigheid) between goals and means

  • especially among disadvantaged

• innovators: same goals, illegal means

• ritualism: give up but still use means

• retreatism: give up entirely

• rebellion: retreat then new goals and means

critique

• non-instrumental (no gain), white-collar (rich people) crimes

• universal cultural goals (people aren’t universally socialized)

• availability of illegitimate means?

  • relative opportunity structure (Cloward & Ohlin)

    • ratio legitimate and illegitimate means

The delinquent subculture (Cohen)

• focus on lower-class boys

• problem

  • status frustration: middle-class education but lower-class culture

    do their best in school, but see that it’s easier for others

• problem-solving

  • change situation → work harder to get into middle-class themselves, but might alienate from lower-class family

  • change frame of reference → set yourself aside from society, easier in group

    • opposes middle-class society

    • works when in group → culture

differential association theory (Sutherland & Cressey)

• social learning theory (every behavior learned by others, we learn how and why to do it)

  people we associate with determine what we’ll do by what we hear the most - (anti-)social definitions

  • techniques and motivations

    • social definitions

    • antisocial definitions

  • in small, cohesive groups

• differential association

  • ecological view

labelling theory

• response to deviance (Becker)

  • applying definitions creates deviants by labelling them, inciting (encouraging, stirring up) more deviance

    • symbolic interactionism

• primary vs secondary deviance (Lemert)

  primary: the first time someone does a deviant act

  secondary: the label causes more deviant behavior

  • reaction → deviant identity

    • stigma, master status and criminal career

  • degradation ceremony: society puts the label on

  • retrospective labelling: start to look at past acts of someone through that label they have on

• medicalisation of deviance

  • from bad to sick

• labels

  • affect who responds

  • affect the response

  • affect personal competence of deviant

    • deviance by reasons of insanity

    • deviance by irresistable urge

critiques

• relativity of harsh crime

• consequences: creativity of reaction to labelling