Chapter 6- Deviance
violent crime
Crimes in which violence is either the objective or the means to an end, including murder, rape, aggravated assault, and robbery.
property crime
Crimes that do not involve violence, including burglary, larceny theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson.
white collar crime
crime committed by people of high social position in the course of their occupations.
symbolic interactionism
definition of deviance is relative and depends on culture, time period, and situation
conflict theory
definitions and rules of deviance are applied unequally based on power
structural-functionalism
deviance clarifies moral boundaries and promotes social cohesion
labeling theory
deviance is determined by reactions of others; applying deviant labels to an individual may lead thm to further deviance
differential association theory
deviant behavior is learned in interaction with other people who break rules
stigma
evring goffman's term for any physical or social attribute that devalues a person or group's identity and that may exclude those who are devalued from normal social interaction.
labeling theory
howard becker's idea that deviance is a consequence of external judgements, or labels, that modify individual's self-concept and change way others respond to labeled person
innovators
individuals who accept society's approved goals, but not society's approved means to achieve them
theories of deviance
1)structural-functionalism theory -structural strain theory 2)conflict theory 3)symbolic interactionalism -differential association theory -labeling theory
deterrence
an approach to punishment that relies on the threat of harsh penalties to discourage people from committing crimes
self-fulfilling prophecy
an inaccurate statement or belief that by altering situation becomes accurate; a prediction that causes itself to come true
structural strain theory
origins of deviance to the tensions caused by the gap between cultural goal and the means pople have available to achieve those goals.
passing
presenting yourself as a member of a different group than the stigmalized group you belong to.
functions of deviance
promote social cohesion; help a society clarify its moral boundaries
in-group orientation
Among stigmatized individuals, the rejection of prevailing judgments or prejudice and the development of new standards that value their group identity (page 165)
Uniform Crime Report (ucr)
An official measure of crime in the United States, produced by the FBI's official tabulation of every crime reported by over 17,000 law enforcement agencies.
cyberbullying
Bullying through Internet applications and technologies such as instant messaging (IM), social networking sites, and cell phones.
differential association theory
Edwin Sutherland's hypothesis that we learn to be deviant through our associations with deviant peers.
ritualists
Individuals who have given up hope of achieving society's approved goals, but still operate according to society's approved means.
retreatists
Individuals who reject both society's approved goals and the means by which to achieve them.
rebels
Individuals who reject society's approved goals and means and instead create and work toward their own (sometimes revolutionary) goals using new means.
pilfering
Stealing minor items in small amounts, often again and again (page 174)
capital punishment
The Death Penalty
outsiders
according to Howard Becker, those labeled deviant and subsequently segregated from 'normal' society
positive deviance
actions considered deviant within a given context but which are later reinterpreted as appropriate or even heroic
deviance
behavior/trait/belief that violates the standards of conduct or expectations of a group or society
merton's typology of deviance
conformity: achieving success through society's accepted methods (hard work and talent) innovation: using unconventional means to achieve a culturally approved goal ritualism: inability to reach a cultural goal, sticking ridgidly to the rules to at least feel respectable retreatism: rejecting both cultural goals and means
secondary deviance
subsequent acts of rule-breaking that occur after primary deviance and as a result of your new deviant label and people's expectations of you.
primary deviance
the first act of rule-breaking that may incur a label of "deviant" and thus influence how people think about and act toward you
incapacitation
the policy of keeping dangerous criminals in confinement to eliminate the risk of their repeating their offense in society
rehabilitation
the restoration of someone to a useful place in society
criminal justice system
the system of police, courts, and prisons set up to deal with people who are accused of having committed a crime
desistance
the tendency of individuals to age out of crime over the life course
crime
the violation of a norm that has been codified into law
structural strain theory
Robert King Merton's argument that, in an unequal society, the tension or strain between socially approved goals and an individual's ability to meet those goals through socially approved means will lead to deviance as individuals reject either the goals or the means or both.
retribution
an approach to punishment that emphasizes retaliation or revenge for crime as the appropriate goal
social control
formal and informal mechanisms used to increase conformity to values and norms and thus promote social cohesion
tertiary deviance
redefining the stigma associated with a deviant label as a positive phenomenon