Chapter 6
White Collar Crime
Crime committed by a high-status individual in the course of his occupation
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
Capital Punishment
Death Penalty
Primary Deviance
In labeling theory, the initial act or attitude that causes one to be labeled deviant
Secondary Deviance
In labeling theory, the subsequent deviant identity or career that develops as a result of being labeled deviant
Deviance
A behavior, trait, belief, or other characteristics that violates a norm and causes a negative reaction
Criminal Justice System
A collection of social institutions, such as legislatures, police, courts, and prisons, that create and enforce laws
Stereotype Promise
A kind of self-fulfilling prophecy in which positive stereotypes, such as the "model minority" label applied to Asian Americans, lead to positive performance outcomes for Asian Americans
Stereotype Threat
A kind of self-fulfilling prophecy in which the fear of performing poorly and confirming stereotypes about their social groups causes students to perform poorly
Crime
A violation of a norm that has been codified into law
Outsiders
According to Howard Becker, those labeled deviant and subsequently segregated from "normal" society
Positive Deviance
Actions considered deviant within a given context but are later reinterpreted as appropriate or even heroic
In-group Orientation
Among stigmatized individuals, the rejection of prevailing judgements or prejudice and the development of new standards that value their group identity
Rehabilitation
An approach to punishment that attempts to reform criminals as part of their penalty
Retribution
An approach to punishment that emphasizes retaliation or revenge for the crime as the appropriate goal
Deterrence
An approach to punishment that relies on the threat of harsh penalties to discourage people from committing crimes
Incapacitation
An approach to punishment that seeks to protect society from criminals by imprisoning or executing them
Self-fulfilling prophecy
An inaccurate statement or belief that, by altering the situation, becomes accurate; a prediction that causes itself to come true
Uniform Crime Report
An official measure of crime in the United States, produced by the FBI's official tabulation of every crime reported by more than 18,000 law enforcement agencies
Differential Association Theory
Edwin Sutherland's hypothesis that we learn to be deviant through our associations with deviant peers
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
Labeling Theory
Howard Becker's idea that deviance is a consequence of external judgements, or labels, that modify the individual's self-concept
Innovators
Individuals who accept society's approved goals but not society's approved means to achieve them
Ritualists
Individuals who have given up hope of achieving society's approved goals but still operate according to society's approved means
Rebels
Individuals who reject society's approved goals and means and instead create and work toward their own goals using new means
Retreatists
Individuals who renounce society's approved goals and means entirely and live outside conventional norms altogether
Passing
Presenting yourself as a member of a different group than the stigmatized group you belong to
Deviance Avowal
Process by which an individual self-identifies as deviant and initiates her own labeling process
Tertiary Deviance
Redefining the stigma associated with a deviant label as a positive phenomenon
Social Control
The formal and informal mechanisms used to elicit conformity to values and norms and thus promote social cohesion
Cyberbullying
The use of electronic media to tease, harass, threaten, or humiliate someone
