deviance and control

we examine deviant acts, various explanation for its occurrence and society’s

attempts to control it

What is deviance? An act that violates a social norm It is relative, a matter of definition – must be

defined by someone before it can be said to be deviant

Time, place and public consensus or power determines which definitions of deviance have more serious consequences for the deviants

Any act considered deviant by public consensus or the powerful at a given time and place

What is deviance? Example of deviant acts are:

Murder Corporate Crimes Mental Illness

Is deviance always harmful? No, it can bring benefits if it occurs within

limits Five positive functions of deviance are:

1. enhance conformity in the society as a whole by defining and clarifying norms

2. strengthens solidarity among law-abiding members of society

3. provision of a safety valve of discontented people

4. provides jobs for many law-abiding people5. induces social change

Explanations of deviance Biological explanation: An American

psychologist William Sheldon, divided people into three types according to their body shapes: endomorphs (who are plump and soft), mesomorphs (muscular and tough), and ectomorphs (thin and delicate)

Explanations of deviance Psychological explanation: one of the

best known explanation is psychoanalytic theory, as part of the id, our aggressive drive demands to be expressed, but our superego also demands that the aggressive drive be suppressed

Explanations of deviance Anomie: normlessness, a condition in

which norms are weak or in conflict Merton analyzed five responses to this

condition: Conformity Innovation Ritualism Retreatism Rebellion

Explanations of deviance Differential Association: traditions of

crime and delinquency are transmitted from one group to another much as language is passed from one generation to another; the key assumption is that deviant behavior, like language, is learned

Explanations of deviance Labeling: society tends to react to a

rule-breaking act by labeling it deviant; deviance then is not something that a person does but merely a label imposed on that behavior

Labeling people as deviants can push them toward further and greater deviance

Explanations of deviance Conflict: the powerful are more likely than the

powerless to commit profitably primary deviant acts (such as tax fraud and price fixing)

Two versions of conflict theory are: Traditional conflict theory: focus mostly on

cultural conflict as a source of deviant definition and behavior

Contemporary conflict theory: focus mostly on class conflict in capitalist society as the mainspring of deviant labeling and behavior

Explanations of deviance Contemporary conflict theory: this involves

the dominant class doing four things:1. Defines as criminal those behaviors which

threatens its interests2. Hires law enforcers to apply those definitions and

protect its interests3. Exploits the subordinate class so that the resulting

oppressive life conditions force the powerless to commit what those in power have defined as crimes

4. Uses these criminal actions to spread and reinforce the popular view that the subordinate class is dangerous, in order to justify its concern with making and enforcing the law

Key Terms Anomie: a condition in which social norms are absent,

weak or in conflict Cultural transmission: the process by which the

values of crime and delinquency are transmitted from one group to another

Deviant behavior: an act that is considered deviant by public consensus or the powerful at a given place and time

Differential association: the process by which potential deviants associate more with criminal elements that with noncriminal elements

Internalization: the process by which individuals incorporate the values of society into their personalities, accepting the norms of society as their own

Key Terms Marginal surplus population: Marxist term for unemployed

workers who are useless to the capitalist economy Neurosis: mental problem characterized by a persistent fear,

anxiety, or worry about trivial matters Plea bargaining: a pretrial negotiation in which the defendant

agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge in exchange for a less severe penalty

Primary deviance: an isolated violation of a norm that is not considered deviant by the person committing the act

Psychosis: mental disorder typified by loss of touch with reality

Recidivism: repeated commission of crimes Secondary deviance: process by which individuals are

pressured by others such as teachers, peers, police to conform to social norms

Victimless crimes: crimes that are without any victim because the offender does not harm another person