SOC 101 Chapter 6

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

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

retribution

an approach to punishment that emphasizes retaliation or revenge for the crime as the appropriate goal

cyberbullying

the use of electronic media (web pages, social networking sites, e-mail, Twitter, cell phones) to tease, harass, threaten, or humiliate someone

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

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

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 (sometimes revolutionary) goals using new means

retreatists

individuals who renounce society's approved goals and means entirely and live outside conventional norms altogether

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

deviance

a behavior, trait, belief, or other characteristic 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

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

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 (UCR)

an official measure of crime in the US, produced by the FBI's official tabulation of every crime reported by more than 18,000 law enforcement agencies

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

capital punishment

the death penalty

social control

the formal and informal mechanisms used to elicit conformity to values and norms and thus promote social cohesion

in-group orientation

among stigmatized individuals, the rejection of prevailing judgments 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

tertiary deviance

redefining the stigma associated with a deviant label as a positive phenomenon