Theories of Deviance and Social Control Notes (chapter 4)

Definition of Deviance
- Refers to any departure from typical, acceptable, or expected behavior.
- Often conflated with crime, but crime is just one form of deviance; not all deviance is criminal.
- Deviance is predominantly viewed negatively, though this perception can vary.

Definition of Norms: Societal rules that dictate acceptable behavior.
- Prescriptive Norms: Expectations for behavior (what we ought to do).
- Proscriptive Norms: Expectations against certain behaviors (what we ought not to do).
Types of Norms:
- Formal Norms: Also known as mores; involve moral underpinnings.
- Informal Norms: Known as folkways; based on customs without strong moral foundations.
Variability of Norms:
- Norms can differ by situation, culture, and time.
- Subcultures may have distinct norms diverging from the dominant society.

Definition: Process through which individuals learn to adhere to social norms.
- Essential for societal continuity and intergenerational cultural transfer.
Internal vs. External Socialization:
- Internal Socialization: Norms become part of an individual's personality.
- External Socialization: Conforming to norms through social interaction to gain acceptance.
Types of Socialization:
- Primary Socialization: Occurs in early childhood at home; involves family teaching norms (e.g., gender roles).
- Secondary Socialization: Continuous process through education, religion, peer groups, and media throughout childhood and adolescence.
Failure of Socialization:
- Can lead to deviance; may result from ineffective institutions or socialization into a deviant subculture.

Definition: Processes by which society regulates individual and group behavior.
- Developed by scholars like Edward A. Ross, Talcott Parsons, and Donald Black.
Types of Social Control:
- Informal Social Controls: Everyday tools for behavior regulation (e.g., family, communities).
- Formal Social Controls: Government mechanisms to regulate behavior, primarily through criminal law, as well as civil and constitutional law.

Two main types:
- Ideological Agents: Shape attitudes and morals (e.g., family, education, religion).
- Direct Agents: Punish or manage deviants through enforcement mechanisms (e.g., law enforcement, judicial systems).

Black categorized law's role in social control into four styles:
1. Penal Style: Punishment for norm violators; includes retribution and deterrence.
2. Compensatory Style: Restitution to victims through civil justice.
3. Therapeutic Style: Treatment for deviants to reintegrate them into society.
4. Conciliatory Style: Focus on dispute resolution to restore harmony (e.g., mediation).
Inverse Relationship: Strong informal social control reduces reliance on formal social control and vice versa.
Effect of Social Structure: In tight-knit communities, informal control is effective; larger societies may rely more on formal controls due to complex social structures.

Concept: Addresses deviance as a medical issue requiring treatment rather than punishment.
- Predominant in behavioral sciences such as psychiatry where ill-defined deviance can lead to treatment rather than criminal punishment.
Legal Implications:
- Insanity as a legal term; assesses accountability at the time of the offense, with mental illness considered.
- Outcomes of an insanity ruling typically lead to treatment rather than jail time.
Critique of Medicalization:
- Positive effects include the focus on rehabilitation and reduced stigma, but negative effects can see social issues obscured by medical labels.

Changes in social control styles reflect shifts in public policy; for example, deinstitutionalization in the 1960s aimed for community control but often failed to meet goals, leaving individuals without proper support.

Human behavior's complexity is influenced by socialization and control mechanisms to align actions with societal norms. Deviance stems from the failure of these systems.