1. Deviance and Social Control
Sociology Chapter 7
Deviance and Social Control

2. The Nature of Deviance
The term deviance refers to behavior that departs from societal or group norms
criminal behavior, such as theft and murder, to antisocial behavior, such as cheating and lying.
Deviance is subjective, or a matter of social definition

3. Negative deviance involves behavior that fails to meet accepted norms
People expressing negative deviance either reject the norms, misinterpret the norms, or are unaware of the norms
Positive deviance involves over-conformity to norms, which leads to imbalance and extremes of perfectionism
sociologists generally reserve the term deviance for violations of significant social norms

4. Social Control
Internal social control lies within the individual. It is developed during the socialization process.
you do something because you know it is the right thing to do or when you don’t do something because you know it would be wrong
External social control helps produce stability
External social control is based on social sanctions—rewards or punishments designed to encourage desired behavior
Positive sanctions, such as awards, increases in allowances, promotions, and smiles of approval, are used to encourage conformity
Negative sanctions, such as criticism, fines, and imprisonment, are intended to stop socially unacceptable behavior

5. Costs and Benefits of Deviance
Deviance has both positive and negative consequences.
Negative Effects of Deviance, erodes trust, a society with widespread distrust cannot function smoothly, deviant behavior is costly
Beneficial Effects of Deviance, Émile Durkheim observed that deviance clarifies norms by causing society to exercise social control to defend its values

6. Functionalism and Deviance
Deviance increases unity within a society or group
When deviance occurs, it reminds people of something they value, it strengthens their commitment to that value

7. Strain Theory
E. Durkheim: anomie is a social condition in which norms are weak, conflicting, or absent
Without shared norms, individuals are uncertain about how they should think and act, resulting in disorganized societies
Robert Merton adapted Durkheim’s concept of anomie to deviant behavior and called his hypothesis the strain theory
Deviance, is most likely to occur when there is a gap between culturally desirable goals, such as money and prestige, and a legitimate way of obtaining them

8. Deviant Responses to Strain
Innovation, the individual accepts the goal (in this case, success) but uses illegal means to achieve it
Innovation is the most widespread and obvious type of deviant response to strain.
ritualism, the individual rejects the goal (success) but continues to use the legitimate means
retreatism, both the legitimate means and the approved goals are rejected
rebellion, people also reject both the goal and the approved means for achieving it, but they substitute a new set of goals and means

9. Control Theory
According to control theory, conformity to social norms depends on the presence of strong bonds between individuals and society
If bonds are strong, people conform because they do not want to lose face with others
According to Hirschi, social bonds have four basic components:
Attachment: The stronger your attachment to groups or individuals, the more likely you are to conform
Commitment: The greater your commitment to social goals, the more likely you are to conform
Involvement: Participation in approved social activities increases the probability of conformity
Belief: Belief in society’s norms and values promotes conformity

10. Symbolic Interactionism and Deviance
deviance is transmitted through socialization in the same way that conformity is learned
Edwin Sutherland: Differential association theory emphasizes the role of primary groups in transmitting deviance
Three characteristics affect differential association:
The ratio of deviant to non-deviant individuals. A person who knows mostly deviants is more likely to learn deviant behavior
The significance of the person acting deviant. A person is more likely to copy deviant behavior from someone significant to him
The age of exposure, Younger children learn deviant behavior more quickly than older children

11. Labeling Theory
Strain theory, control theory, and differential association theory help us understand why deviance occurs
Labeling theory explains why deviance is relative, not only to the society or social group but also to the individual
it explains why we might label, or identify, one person engaging in a certain behavior as deviant, but not label another person engaging in exactly the same behavior
deviant behaviors are always a matter of social definition

12. Edwin Lemert’s distinction between primary and secondary deviance helps clarify the labeling process
primary deviance: a person engages only in isolated acts of deviance, deviance is not a part of their lifestyles or self-concepts
one does not alter their self-concept to include this deviant identity
Secondary deviance: means deviance as a lifestyle and as part of one’s personal identity, Individuals identify themselves as deviants and organize their behavior largely in terms of deviant roles
When someone commits an offense of a more serious nature, then one is likely to be labeled, internalize the label, and act out accordingly in future criminal behavior

13. Conflict Theory and Deviance
Proponents of the conflict perspective argue that minorities receive unequal treatment in the American criminal justice system
minorities generally do not have the economic resources to buy good legal services
Another source of difference is that crimes against whites tend to be punished more severely than crimes against minorities
Victim discounting reduces the seriousness of crimes directed at members of lower social classes
prosecutors are less likely to seek the death penalty when an African American has been killed, and juries and judges are less likely to impose the death penalty in cases involving African American victims.

14. White-Collar Crime
any crime committed by respectable and high-status people in the course of their occupations
Officially, the term is used for economic crimes such as price fixing, insider trading, fraud, embezzlement, manufacture of hazardous products, and tax evasion
$10 billion a year to check fraud / Securities and commodities fraud $40 billion / health care fraud $100 billion
probation is granted to 40 percent of antitrust law violators, 61 percent of fraud defendants, and 70 percent of embezzlers
If white-collar criminals are imprisoned, they receive shorter average sentences than other criminals

15. Punishment for Victimless Crime
Crimes that are illegal but do not infringe upon the rights of or victimize other people
taking illegal drugs and gambling are considered victimless crimes

16. Crime and Punishment
more than 4,000 acts are classified as federal crimes and many more acts violate state and local statutes
approximately 18.7 million Americans aged 12 or over experienced one or more crimes in 2010
The majority of crimes included in the 2010 survey were property crimes
more than 3 million people reported being the victims of violent crime

17. American crime statistics are gathered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and reported in the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)
nine types of crimes (called crime index offenses): murder, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, arson, and hate crimes
It is estimated that about two-thirds of U.S. crimes are not reported at all

18. Juvenile Crime legal violations among those under 18 years of age
Juvenile delinquent behavior includes deviance that only the young can commit : failing to attend school, fighting in school, and underage drinking and smoking

19. Approaches to Crime Control
The criminal justice system is made up of the institutions and processes responsible for enforcing criminal statutes
police, courts, and correctional system
system may draw on four approaches to control and punish lawbreakers—deterrence, retribution, incarceration, and rehabilitation
Deterrence approach uses the threat of punishment to discourage criminal action
Capital punishment : Around 6,000 people have been executed in the United States since 1930

20. of those executed from 1976, the vast majority were male, 77% were white, followed by 15% African American, and 7% Latino
revenge and a desire for retribution, appear to contribute more to support for capital punishment than do its deterrent effects
a higher proportion of the American public supports the death penalty for murder (61%) than opposes it (35%)
Cesare Beccaria : “On Crimes and Punishments” (opposed the death penalty)
Punishments should serve only as deterents

21. Retribution is a type of punishment intended to make criminals pay compensation for their acts
Comes from the ideas of Hammurabi’s code : 282 laws
14. If any one steal the minor son of another, he shall be put to death.
21. If any one break a hole into a house (break in to steal), he shall be put to death before that hole and be buried.
153. If the wife of one man on account of another man has their mates (her husband and the other man's wife) murdered, both of them shall be impaled
195. If a son strike his father, his hands shall be hewn off.
196. If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out. [ An eye for an eye ]
218. If a physician make a large incision with the operating knife, and kill him, or open a tumor with the operating knife, and cut out the eye, his hands shall be cut off.

22. incarceration—keeping criminals in prisons—is that criminals who are not on the street cannot commit crimes
Rehabilitation is an approach to crime control that attempts to re- socialize criminals
Most prisons have programs aimed at giving prisoners both social and work skills
Recidivism: more than half of those released from penal institutions are sent back to prison in three to five years
Cesare Lombroso: “The Criminal Man”, Criminality is inherited and could be identified by physical traits