Chapter 7

Deviant Behavior and Social Control

Chapter Outline Defining Normal and Deviant Behavior Mechanisms of Social Control Theories of Crime and Deviance The Importance of Law Crime in the United States Kinds of Crime in the United States Criminal Justice in the United States

Normal and Deviant Behavior Norms and values make up the moral code of a

culture. The moral code of a culture - The symbolic

system in terms of which behavior takes on the quality of being “good” or “bad,” “right” or “wrong.”

Deviant behavior is behavior that fails to conform to the rules or norms of the group in question.

Question Did you ever use marijuana during your

senior year in high school?

A. Yes

B. No

Functions of Deviance

Causes the group’s members to close ranks.

Prompts the group to organize in order to limit future deviant acts.

Helps clarify for the group what it really does believe in.

The Functions of Deviance

Teaches normal behavior by providing examples of rule violation.

Tolerance of deviant behavior prevents more serious instances of nonconformity.

Dysfunctions of Deviance

It is a threat to the social order because it makes social life unpredictable.

It causes confusion about the norms and values of that society.

Dysfunctions of Deviance Deviance undermines trust.

When people’s actions become unpredictable, the social order is thrown into disarray.

Deviance diverts valuable resources. To control widespread deviance,

resources must be shifted from other social needs.

Social Control Mechanisms of social control

A way of directing or influencing members’ behavior to conform to the group’s values and norms.

Internal means of controlOperates on the individual even in the absence of reactions by others.

Question I believe that underage drinking is an

important social problem in our society.

A. Strongly agree

B. Agree somewhat

C. Unsure

D. Disagree somewhat

E. Strongly disagree

Sanctions Rewards and penalties used by a group’s

members to regulate an individual’s behavior. Positive sanctions - Actions that encourage the

individual to continue acting in a certain way. Negative sanctions - Actions that discourage

the repetition or continuation of the behavior.

Formal and Informal Sanctions Formal sanctions are applied in a public ritual.

Example: Awarding a prize or announcing an expulsion.

Many social responses to a person’s behavior involve informal sanctions, or actions by group members that arise spontaneously with little or no formal direction.

Sanctions

Type Description Examples

Informal positive

sanctions

Spontaneous displays of approval.

Smiles, handshakes,

hugs

Informal negative sanctions

Spontaneous displays of

disapproval.

Frowns, gossip, impolite

treatment

Sanctions

Type Description Examples

Formal positive

sanctions

Planned public ceremonies that express social

approval.

Parades, presentation of

awards, banquets, awards of money

Formal negative sanctions

Actions that express

institutionalized disapproval of

behavior.

Expulsion, dismissal, fines, imprisonment

Types of Social Sanctions

Question Gossip about a neighbor's affair with his

secretary would be an example of a(n):

A. informal positive sanction.

B. formal positive sanction.

C. informal negative sanction.

D. formal negative sanction.

Answer: C Gossip about a neighbor's affair with his

secretary would be an example of an informal negative sanction.

Sheldon’s Body Type Theory Researched whether personality traits are

associated with body types. Classified human shapes into three types:

Endomorphic - round and soft Ectomorphic - thin and linear Mesomorphic - ruggedly muscular

Sheldon’s Body Type TheoryClaimed psychological orientations are

associated with body types: Endomorphs - relaxed creatures of

comfort Ectomorphs - inhibited, secretive, and

restrained Mesomorphs - assertive, action oriented,

and uncaring of others’ feelings.

Question Which of the following body types was

identified as being most prone to criminal behavior?

A. endomorphic

B. ectomorphic

C. mesomorphic

D. pseudomorphic

Answer: C The mesomorphic body types was

identified as being most prone to criminal behavior.

Merton’s Strain Theory Individuals who occupy favorable

positions in the class structure have legitimate ways to achieve success.

Those who occupy unfavorable positions lack such means.

The goal of financial success combined with the unequal access to resources creates deviance.

Merton’s Typology of Individual Modes of Adaptation

Merton’s 4 Types of Deviance

1. Innovators: Accept the culturally validated goal of

success but find deviant ways of going about reaching it.

Con artists, embezzlers, bank robbers, fraudulent advertisers, drug dealers, corporate criminals, crooked politicians

Merton’s 4 Types of Deviance2. Ritualists:

Reject the importance of success once they realize they will never achieve it.

Remain within the labor force but refuse to take risks that jeopardize their job security.

Ritualists are often in large institutions such as governmental bureaucracies.

Merton’s 4 Types of Deviance3. Retreatists:

Pull back from society. Drug and alcohol addicts who can no

longer function, street people4. Rebels:

Reject the goals of what to them is an unfair social order and the means of achieving them.

Control Theory People are free to violate norms if they

lack intimate attachments. Without attachments, people can violate

norms without fear of social disapproval. This theory assumes the disapproval of

others plays a major role in preventing deviance.

Hirschi’s Control Theory: Four Ways Individuals Bond to Society

1. Attachment to others.

2. Commitment to conformity.

3. Involvement in conventional activities.

4. A belief in the moral validity of social rules.

Neutralization: How to Justify Deviant Behavior Denial of responsibility. Denying the injury. Denial of the victim. Condemnation of the authorities. Appealing to higher principles or

authorities.

Athletes Accused of Sexual Assault

Theory of Differential Association Based on the idea that criminal behavior is

learned in the context of intimate groups. When criminal behavior is learned, it includes

two components: Criminal techniques: how to break into

houses Criminal attitudes: justifications for criminal

behavior

Sutherland’s Principles of Differential Association1. Deviant behavior is learned.2. Deviant behavior is learned in interaction

with other people in a process of communication.

3. The principal part of the learning of criminal behavior occurs within intimate personal groups.

Sutherland’s Principles of Differential Association4. When deviant behavior is learned, the

learning includes (a) techniques of committing the act and (b) the specific direction of motives, drives, rationalizations, and attitudes.

5. A person learns reasons for both obeying and violating rules.

6. A person becomes deviant because of an excess of definitions favorable to violating the law over definitions unfavorable to violating the law.

Sutherland’s Principles of Differential Association7. Differential associations vary in frequency,

duration, priority, and intensity.8. The process of learning criminal behavior by

association with criminal and anticriminal patterns involves the mechanisms used in any other learning situation.

9. Criminal behavior is an expression of needs and values, but is not explained by general needs and values. Noncriminal behavior is also expression of needs and values.

Labeling Theory Factors that determine whether a person

will be labeled deviant: Importance of the norms that are

violated. Social identity of the individual who

violates them. Social context of the behavior in

question.

Question Which sociological theory of deviance

suggests that the likelihood of deviance can be decreased by increasing the social bond between the individual and society?

A. control theory

B. labeling theory

C. cultural transmission theory

D. techniques of neutralization

Answer: A Control theory suggests that the

likelihood of deviance can be decreased by increasing the social bond between the individual and society.

The Emergence of Laws The consensus approach assumes laws are a

formal version of people’s norms and values. Example: People generally agree that

stealing is wrong. Laws emerge that provide penalties for those caught violating the law.

The conflict approach assumes that the elite use their power to enact laws that support their economic interests and go against the interests of the lower class.

Crime Crime is behavior that violates a society’s legal

code. A violent crime is an unlawful event, such as

homicide, rape, and assault, that may result in injury to a person.

A property crime is an unlawful act that is committed with the intent of gaining property but that does not involve the use or threat of force against an individual.

Property Crime 75% of all crime in the United States is a

property crime. In 2000:

3,444,000 households reported a burglary. 937,000 reported an auto theft. 19,297,000 reported a property crime. Only 32.6% of all household thefts are

reported.

Percentage of Selected Crimes Reported to the Police

Likelihood That Someone Will Be Arrested for a Known Crime

Likelihood That Someone Will Be Sent to Prison for a Known Crime

Juvenile Crime The breaking of criminal laws by

individuals under the age of 18.

Age Distribution of Arrests, 2000

Age Group% of U.S.

Population % of People

Arrested

Age 14 and younger

21.2 5.1

15–19 7.2 20.4

20–24 6.8 19.8

25–29 6.4 12.9

30–34 7.1 10.5

35–39 8 9.8

Age Distribution of Arrests, 2000

Age Group% of U.S.

Population % of People

Arrested

40-44 8.2 9.2

45-49 7.3 6.2

50-54 6.4 3.3

55-59 4.9 1.5

60-64 3.9 0.7

Age 65 and older

12.70.6

White-Collar Crime Crimes committed in the course of one’s

job for the purpose of personal or organizational gain.

Examples: embezzlement, bribery, fraud, theft of services and kickback schemes.

In 2000, federal prosecutors charged 8,766 defendants with white-collar crimes.

U.S. Homicide Solution Rates

Victimless Crimes Acts that violate those laws meant to

enforce the moral code. Usually they involve the use of narcotics,

illegal gambling, public drunkenness, the sale of sexual services, or status offenses by minors.

Criminal Justice in the United States Every society that has established a legal

code has also set up a criminal justice system—personnel and procedures for arrest, trial, and punishment—to deal with violations of the law.

The three main categories of our criminal justice system are the police, the courts, and the prisons.

Who Decides?

Police Enforce specific lawsInvestigate specific crimesSearch people, vicinities, buildingsArrest or detain people

Prosecutors

File charges or petitions foradjudicationSeek indictmentsDrop casesReduce charges

Who Decides?

Judges or magistrates

Set bail or conditions for releaseAccept pleas and determine delinquencyDismiss charges, impose sentences or revoke probation

Correctional officials

Assign to correctional facilityAward privileges and punish for disciplinary infractions

Paroling authorities

Determine conditions of paroleRevoke parole

Goals of Imprisonment Prisons exist to accomplish at least four

goals: separate criminals from society punish criminal behavior deter criminal behavior rehabilitate criminals

Question From the following list, what do you feel should

be the most important function of prison?A. Punish people for crimes they committed.B. Rehabilitate criminals. C. Protect society by locking away criminals. D. Warn to would-be lawbreakers.E. Make people pay back society for crimes

they committed.F. Don't know

Likelihood of Prisoners BeingArrested Three Years of Release

Women Prisoners in State and Federal Institutions, 1925–2004

Average Time Served for Various Types of Crime

Quick Quiz

1. Deviant behavior is behavior which is:

A. illegal.

B. immoral.

C. violates the norms of society in which it occurs.

D. unsocialized.

Answer: C Deviant behavior is behavior which

violates the norms of society in which it occurs.

2. Which of the following is not a dysfunction of deviant behavior?

A. It makes social life unpredictable.

B. It creates opportunities for cooperation.

C. It results in confusion about the norms of the society.

D. It undermines trust.

Answer: B The following is not a dysfunction of

deviant behavior: It creates opportunities for

cooperation.

3. According to Merton's theory, a student who passes a course by cheating on every test is a(n):

A. innovator.

B. ritualist.

C. retreatist.

D. rebel.

Answer: A According to Merton's theory the student

who passes a course by cheating on every test is an innovator.

4. The differential association theory of deviant behavior is based on the idea that:

A. deviant behavior is a result of being told one is deviant.

B. deviant behavior is learned in the context of intimate groups.

C. the values and norms of the society determine deviant behavior.

D. deviant behavior is the result of the rewards and punishments.

Answer: B The differential association theory of

deviant behavior is based on the idea that deviant behavior is learned in the context of intimate groups.

5. Which of the following is not a goal of the prison system?

A. elimination of all criminals

B. separation of criminals

C. rehabilitation of criminals

D. deterrence of criminal behaviors

Answer: A Elimination of all criminals is not a

goal of the prison system.