Conformity, Deviance, and Crime

• norms — rules of conduct that specify appropriate behavior in a given range of social situations

  • either prescribe a given type of behavior or forbid it

  • are always backed by sanctions of one kind or another

  • folkways: customs, traditions, etiquette

  • mores: seriously protected; reflects morals and values

  • laws: most seriously protected, codified, and enforced by the state

• sanction — a mode of reward or punishment that reinforces socially expected forms of behavior

  • can be positive or negative

  • can be formal (applied by a specific group/agency) or informal

  • manifest and latent functions of punishment: latent is not to affect deviant but to enact ritual for society’s benefit (strengthen solidarity, authority, etc.)

• deviance — modes of action that don’t conform to norms/values held by most members of group/society; violate social norms

  • contextually and socially situated

    • behavior that is highly esteemed by one group might be negatively regarded by another

Functionalist Theories

• Emile Durkheim: anomie — social norms lose control over individual behavior

• Robert Merton: relative depravation — depravation that one feels when comparing themself with a group

  • conformity

  • innovation

  • ritualism: loses sight of goal but continues routine

  • retreatist: rejects norm (ex: hippies); sometimes not forever

  • rebellion: finds new means and new goals

• labeling theory — an approach to the study of deviance that suggests that people become “deviant” because certain labels are attached to their behavior by political authorities and others

  • primary deviation — the actions that cause others to label one as a deviant

  • secondary deviation — occurs when an individual accepts the label of deviant and acts accordingly