Sociology

  1. Deviance is behavior that departs from the societal or group norms.

  2. Deviance can be either positive or negative.

  3. Negative deviance involves behavior that fails to meet accepted norms. 

  4. Positive deviance involves behavior that over conforms to the norm and social expectations. 

  5. Social control refers to ways to encourage conformity to society’s Norms.

  6. There are two types of social control:

A.Internal social control lies within the individual.

B.External social control is based on social sanctions.

  1. Social sanctions are positive or negative and are designed to encourage desired behaviors and conformity to the norms. 

  2. What are some examples of positive sanctions and what are they used for? Promotions, and smiles of approval


  1. What are some examples of negative sanctions and what are they used for? Criticism, fines, and imprisonment


  1. List the pros and cons of Deviance:

  1. Pros: Deviance can be temporary, deviance increases unity within a society or group




  1. Cons: deviance erodes trust, and can cause non comforting behaviors in others




11. An Anomie is a social condition in which norms are weak, conflicting, or even absent.

12. Strain  Theory, which was proposed by Sociologist Robert Merton, says that deviance is more likely to occur when a gap exists between cultural goals and the ability to achieve these goals by legitimate means.

13. List the four ways that people respond to strain:

Innovation

Ritualism

Retreatism

Rebellion


14. According to Control Theory, as proposed by Travis Hirschi, social bonds controls the behavior of people, thus preventing deviant acts.

15. According to Sociologists, what are the four ways people respond to social bonds? 



16. According to Differential association theory, individuals learn deviance in proportion to the number of deviant acts they are exposed to.

17. Labeling theory suggests that society creates deviance by identifying particular members as deviant.

18. Primary deviance – a person engages only in isolated acts of deviance.

19. Secondary deviance - deviance in which an individual’s life and identity are organized around breaking society’s norms.

20. Stigmas is an undesirable trait or label that is used by others to deny the deviant full social acceptance.

21. Conflict theorists argue that the rich and powerful use their positions to determine which acts are deviant and how deviants should be punished.

22. Supporters of Conflict Theory believe that minorities receive unequal treatment in the American criminal justice system.

23.Crimes such as price-fixing, insider trading, fraud, embezzlement, bribery of a corporate customer, etc. are called White Collar crimes. 

24. List the four approaches that the criminal justice system draws on when it comes to crime and punishment.


25. The Deterrence approach serves as a warning to others in order to keep people from committing those crimes.

26. Retribution is punishment that is intended to make criminals pay compensation for their acts.

27. The U.S. has taken a tougher stance in favor of incarceration and as a result, the number of local, state and federal prisons has doubled in the past decade.

28. Rehabilitiation is the process of changing or reforming a criminal through socialization.

29. Recidivism is a repetition of or return to criminal behavior. What were the three reasons given for why the recidivism rate is so high?

-The basic nature of the offenders

-Influences of more hardened criminals

-The stigma of being an ex-convict