Sociology- Chapter 6

violent crime

Crimes in which violence is either the objective or the means to an end, including murder, rape, aggravated assault, and robbery (page 172)

property crime

Crimes that did not involve violence, including burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson (page 172)

labeling theory

Howard Becker's idea that deviance is a consequence of external judgments, or labels, that modify the individual's self-concept and change the way others respond to the labeled person (page 161)

innovators

Individuals who accept society's approved goals but not society's approved means to achieve them (page 159)

ritualists

Individuals who have given up hope of achieving society's approved goals but still operate according to society's approved means (page 159)

rebels

Individuals who reject society's approved goals and means and instead create and work toward their own (sometimes revolutionary) goals using new means (page 159)

passing

Presenting yourself as a member of a different group than the stigmatized group you belong to (page 165)

deviance avowal

Process by which an individual self-identifies as deviant and initiates her own labeling process (page 166)

structural strain theory

Robert Merton's argument that in an unequal society the tension or strain between socially approved goals and an individual's ability to achieve those goals through socially approved means will lead to deviance as individuals reject either the goals or the means or both (page 159)

crime

A violation of a norm that has been codified into law (page 172)

outsiders

According to Howard Becker, those labeled deviant and subsequently segregated from "normal" society (page 165)

positive deviance

Actions considered deviant within a given context but are later reinterpreted as appropriate or even heroic (page 176)

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)

rehabilitation

An approach to punishment that attempts to reform criminals as part of their penalty (page 176)

retribution

An approach to punishment that emphasizes retaliation or revenge for the crime as the appropriate goal (page 176

deterrence

An approach to punishment that relies on the threat of harsh penalties to discourage people from committing crimes (page 174)

incapacitation

An approach to punishment that seeks to protect society from criminals by imprisoning or executing them (page 176)

self-fulfilling prophecy

An inaccurate statement or belief that, by altering the situation, becomes accurate; a prediction that causes itself to come true (page 164)

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 more than 17,000 law enforcement agencies (page 172)

white collar

Crime committed by a high-status individual in the course of his occupation (page 172)

differential association theory

Edwin Sutherland's hypothesis that we learn to be deviant through our associations with deviant peers (page 160)

stigma

Erving 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 (page 164)

primary deviance

In labeling theory, the initial act or attitude that causes one to be labeled deviant (page 161)

secondary deviance

In labeling theory, the subsequent deviant identity or career that develops as a result of being labeled deviant (page 161)

retreatists

Individuals who reject both society's approved goals and the means by which to achieve them (page 159)

pilfering

Stealing minor items in small amounts, often again and again (page 174)

capital punishment

The death penalty (page 176)

social control

The formal and informal mechanisms used to increase conformity to values and norms and thus promote social cohesion (page 159)

desistance

The tendency of individuals to age out of crime over the life course (page 174)

cyberbullying

The use of electronic media (web pages, social networking sites, e-mail, instant messengers, and cell phones) to tease, harass, threaten, or humiliate someone (page 169)

deviance

A behavior, trait, belief, or other characteristic that violates a norm and causes a negative reaction (page 154)

criminal justice system

A collection of social institutions, such as legislatures, police, courts, and prisons, that create and enforce laws (page 176)

tertiary deviance

redefining the stigma associated with a deviant label as a positive phenomenon (page 161)