DEVIANCE AND SOCIAL CONTROL

Chapter 8

Social Deviance Clips

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABCDPGzjalQ&NR=1&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOF-YOIBpvA&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

Introduction

What do all of these behaviors have in common?Continuously talking to oneself in public.Drag racing on a public street or

highway.Regularly using illicit drugs.A man wearing women’s clothingAttacking another person with a

weapon.

Introduction

Individuals do not internalize every norm.

Even sanctions cannot bring about complete social control.

Behavior that violates significant social norms is known as deviance.

The Nature of Deviance

What is considered deviant also varies from society to society. Divorce- legal in the U.S./illegal in the

Philippines Store hours on Sundays

The number of occurrences of an action can help to determine if you are deviant or not. Speeding ticket- not necessarily deviant

based on one ticket. Murder- probably deviant if you kill someone

The Nature of Deviance

How is someone labeled as being deviant?1. They must be detected (caught) for the

deviant act. Ex. Tax evasion, gambling, insider stock trading.

2. They are then stigmatized- A mark of social disgrace that sets the deviant apart from the rest of society.

What are some stigmas attached to social deviants?

The Social Functions of Deviance

Clarifying NormsUnifying the GroupDiffusing TensionPromoting Social ChangeProviding Jobs

Clarifying Norms

Deviance serves to define the boundaries of acceptable behavior. (what is ok and what is not ok)

People may choose not to commit deviant acts if they are aware of how severe the consequences are Punishments- Singled out in class,

detentions, ISA, OSS. Tickets/fines, jail, death penalty Sins- Heaven and Hell

Unifies the Group

Deviance serves to draw the line between the conforming members and the “outsiders” of a society.

Emile Durkheim believed that deviance is so important that if it did not already exist in its base form, we (as a society) would have to invent it.

Ex. Us v. Them, Good v. Evil, Righteous v. Sinner, Left v. Right, Americans v. Al Qaeda, etc.

Good Evil

Diffuses Tension

When people are unhappy with their lives, they may want to strike out at society.

Minor actions/acts of disobedience release anger, stress, etc. without total chaos.

Ex. Strikes, protests, speeding, cutting class.

Promoting Social Change

Deviance can help prompt social change by identifying problem areas.

How can we change for the better if we can’t/don’t accept that there is a problem? (personally or as a society)

Ex. 1960s riots for desegregation, Vietnam protests.

To get better you need to accept that there is a problem (therapy).

Provides Jobs

Write down 3 of theseCourtsPoliceCorrections (prison guards, parole officers)Criminologists Social workersGun companiesSecurity companies (ADT)

Explaining Deviance

The functionalist perspective explains deviance as a natural part of society.

The conflict perspective explains deviance in terms of power and inequality.

The interactionist perspective looks at how interaction among individuals influences behavior.

Functionalist Perspective

Strain Theory- Developed by Robert K. Merton, views deviance as the natural outgrowth of the values, norms, and structure of society.

Society judges people on economic success, however, there are some people, due to lack of education or social conditions, will not be able to live up to expectations.

Nevertheless, they are judged on how well they meet these goals of success.

Functionalist Perspective

When they have incompatible goals and means, individuals fall victim to anomie- the situation that arises when the norms of society are unclear or are no longer applicable.

Anomie leaves people without sufficient guidelines for behavior.

Merton’s Structural Strain Theory of Deviance

Mode of Adaptation

Cultural Goals Cultural Norms

Conformity Accept Accept

Innovation Accept Reject

Ritualism Reject Accept

Retreatism Reject Reject

Rebellion Reject and Replace Reject and ReplaceD

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Conflict Perspective

Believe that competition and social inequality lead to deviance.

They see social life as a struggle between those who possess power and those who do not.

Power No Power

Commit deviant acts in order to maintain their position of power

Commit deviant acts;

1. To obtain economic rewards.

2. Because they have low self-esteem and feelings of powerlessness

Conflict Perspective

Interactionist Perspective

3 Major explanations of deviance:

Control TheoryCultural Transmission Theory

Labeling Theory

Control Theory

Deviance is a natural occurrence.Interested in why people conform

rather than the causes of deviance.Suggest that individuals who are

integrated into the community are likely to conform.

Those who have weak ties to the community are likely to commit deviant acts.

Assignment

Page 178 #1-2Page 186 Practicing the Skill Write at least 5 sentences.

Control Theory

You may be asking yourself, how do people form strong social bonds? (write 2)People form attachments with each otherStrong beliefs in the moral codes of societyShow commitment to traditional societal

values and goals (education or job)Fully involved in nondeviant activities-

leaving no time for deviant activities

Cultural Transmission Theory

Deviance is a learned behavior.The interaction is mainly through

people who are committing deviant acts (the norms and values are deviant).

Differential Association- If the majority of a person’s interactions are with a deviant, they are likely to become involved in deviance (gangs, organized crime, etc.)

Labeling Theory

Focuses on how people become identified as being deviant.

All people commit deviant acts throughout their lives, but not everyone is labeled as deviant.

There are 2 types of deviance;Primary deviance- Nonconformity that goes

unnoticed by those in authority.Secondary deviance- Results in the individual

being labeled as deviant and accepting the label as true.

Labeling Theory

The process of labeling an individual as deviant is usually accompanied by a degradation ceremony, which takes place in a public setting (public stoning, trial, etc.)

Crime

Crime- Any act that is labeled as such by those in authority, is prohibited by law, and is punishable by the government.

Ex. #1: A person robs a bank- an act that is labeled criminal, is prohibited by law, and is punishable by the government- has committed a crime.

Ex. #2- A champion swimmer who stands by and watches his friend drown instead of attempting a rescue has not necessarily committed a crime.

Arrests by Race (2000)

Arrests

WhiteAfrican AmericanOther

67.1%

30.4%

2.5%

Arrests by Sex and Race (2000)

Characteristic Percentage Total

SexMale 78%

Female 22%

AgeUnder 18 18.5%

18-24 28.8%

25-34 23.4%

35-44 19.5%

45-54 7.4%

55 and Over 2.4%

Types of Crime

The FBI organizes crimes in the Uniform Crime Report (UCR) into 29 offense classifications.

Crimes are grouped into 5 broad categories:

Violent crimesCrimes against propertyVictimless crimesWhite-collar crimeOrganized crime

Violent Crime

Includes;Murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.

These crimes make up a small portion of reported crimes.

According to the UCR, a violent crime happens every 22 seconds in the U.S.

Violent Crime

Aggravated Assault- every 35 seconds Robbery- every 1 minute and 18 seconds Forcible Rape- every 5 minutes and 48 seconds Murder- every 33 minutes and 54 seconds

Most victims of violent crime are African Americans

African American males age 18-24 victimization rate- 8x that of African American women, 8x that of white men, and more than 30x that of white women of the same age range.

Violent Crime

Weapons-Guns are used in 65% of all murders (handguns used 51% of the murders)

Knives are used in 13%The handgun use in homicides is higher in the U.S. than it is in any other industrialized country in the world.

Crime Against Property

Includes-Burglary, larceny (theft other than auto),

motor vehicle theft, and arson.Much more common than violent crimes.All property crimes involve stealing

someone else’s property or intentionally damaging it.

The FBI estimates that property crime is committed every 3 seconds in the U.S.

Crime Against Property

Sociologists generally tie variations in the crime rate to changes in population

Ex. People under 25 commit a large percentage of crime. As the size of that population changes, crime rates change in that same direction.

However, other things can also explain an increase in crime.

Ex. 1980s and 1990s illegal drug use

Victimless Crime

Includes-Prostitution, illegal gambling, illegal

drug use, and vagrancy (homelessness and panhandling).

These offenses are called victimless because they harm no one but the person committing the act.

While this is true, the consequences for society (in the case of drug use) can be significant.

White-Collar Crime

white-collar crime describes offenses committed by individuals of high social status in their professional lives (coined by Edwin Sutherland).

Include-Misrepresentation, fraud, tax evasion,

embezzlement, price fixing, toxic pollution, insider trading, and political corruption.

White-Collar Crime

Corporations can be charged even though the workers commit the offense under the laws of incorporation.

Estimates suggest that white-collar crimes cost the U.S. more than $300 billion each year.

Organized Crime

For some people, crime is an individual effort, but for some criminals they are part of an organized crime syndicate.

A crime syndicate is a large-scale organization of professional criminals that controls some vice (drugs, alcohol, etc.) or business through violence or the threat of violence.

Organized Crime

Syndicates often use legitimate businesses as “fronts” for their criminal activity.

This allows them to launder their money through legal channels.

Organized crime syndicates use methods such as; drug trafficking, illegal gambling, hijacking, and loan sharking (lending $ at high interest rates).

Criminal Justice System

The criminal justice system includes;

Police, courts, and corrections

Police

Police discretion: police have considerable power to decide who is actually arrested for a crime (not everyone who commits a crime gets arrested).

Discretion involves the population of the U.S., the number of criminal offenses, and the number of full-time police officers.

Police

Factors of police discretion Seriousness of the offense Wishes of the victim Attitude of the suspect Are bystanders present? Race

Racial profiling: Assuming that nonwhite Americans are more likely to commit a crime than white Americans.

Courts

The role of the courts is a twofold process:Court determines the guilt or innocence

of an accused person by means of a trial If there is a guilty finding, the court

assigns some form of punishmentMore than 90% of all criminal cases

are settled through plea bargaining before trial.

Courts

Plea bargaining: The process of legal negotiation that allows an accused person to plead guilty to a lesser charge in exchange for a lighter sentence.

This process allows courts to reduce the volume of their caseloads.

Corrections

Corrections: the sanctions used when people are found guilty of crimes. They include, imprisonment, parole, probation, and community service.

Corrections

These sanctions serve 4 basic functionsRetribution- punishment acts as revenge for

society.Deterrence- discourage offenders for future

crimes and make society think twice.Rehabilitation- Prisons’ goals are to reform

criminals to return to societySocial protection- freedom is limited to

prevent future crimes

Corrections

The effectiveness of corrections is a topic of heated debate.

Recidivism- Repeated criminal behavior

According to the U.S. Department of Justice study, 62% of released prisoners will be charged with a new crime and 41% will return to prison within 3 years of release.

Juvenile-Justice System

The 3rd largest category of criminals in the U.S. consists of juvenile offenders (younger than 18).

The reasoning behind having separate regulations was that juvenile offenders, could not be expected to be as responsible as adults.

Juvenile-Justice System

Juvenile courts try to provide more services for offenders than do adult criminal courts (classes, diversion programs, etc).

In larger cities, tougher juvenile laws are being established.

Ex. Some juveniles (even very young children) can be tried as adults for certain serious offenses (murder)