2. Deviance
Deviance is
a socially defined
construct
any action, belief, or
human characteristic
that members of a
society or social group
consider a violation of
group norms
Those deemed
deviants likely to be
censured, punished
4. Global Flows of Deviance
Both people and
definitions of
deviance flow
easily from one
society to
another
There are clear
and pronounced
global trends
toward
normalizing what
was defined at
one time and
place as deviant
6. Deviance and
Consumption
Use of goods and
services that are illegal
or considered deviant
Involves committing
deviant or illegal acts in
order to be able to
afford consumption
7. Disputed
Definitions of
Dangerous
Consumption
Napster users did
not consider
downloading music
from Internet to be
illegal/deviant
Those who
consume the
“wrong” drugs
(e.g., marijuana)
more likely to be
seen as deviant
than those who
consume the
“right” drugs (e.g.,
alcohol)
8. Dangerous
Consumers
Before 2008 recession,
those who did not
consume enough were
considered deviant
Consumerism was
considered patriotic
Those who consume
illegal goods are
considered to be
dangerous
9. Overconsumption
After 2008 recession, those who consumed too much
were considered deviant
While savings are considered deviant during economic
booms, not saving is considered deviant during economic
downturns
11. Theories of Deviance
Constructionist
Theories
Process by
which people
are classified
as deviant
Focus: Who is
in power and
how they
create and
apply deviant
labels
12. Structural/Functional
Theories
Deviance and crime
Common in all
societies
Are “normal” and
serve positive
functions for society
and social structures
Are functional
because responses to
them clarify
collective beliefs,
reaffirm norms and
values, and create
social solidarity
14. Merton’s Adaptations to Strain
Conformity
Acceptance of cultural goals for
success and wealth, legit means to
achieve
College students who seek to earn
degree and gain more success;
keep moving up
17. Merton’s Adaptations to Strain
Retreatism
• Abandoned goals for success and
wealth, illegitimate means to make
living
• Chronically homeless, serious drug
addicts
18. Merton’s
Adaptations to
Strain
Rebellion
• Don’t play by the
rules, reject the
cultural goal of
success/wealth
attainment and
replace it with
another primary goal,
either legitimate or
illegitimate means to
achieve goals
• Political deviants
20. Structural/Functional
Theories
Broken windows
(Wilson and Kelling):
Authority doesn’t care
about order (graffiti
and broken windows),
so crime is allowed to
flourish
Goal: Making an area
more orderly through
formal social control
22. Conflict/Critical Theories
Why inequality
is a central
factor in the
ways societies
deal with
deviance and
crime
Inequality
causes those
with little
power to
engage in
deviance/crime
23. Conflict/Critical
Theories
Deviance and the Poor
Deviance fueled by capitalist
economic systems and adversely
affects the poor
Deviance and the Elite
Capitalists legitimize elite acts of
deviance and have greater ability
to commit deviant acts
25. Inter/Actionist
Theories
Labeling
Social control often
exercised through
creation and application
of labels
Rule creators (often
elites) devise rules and
norms
Moral entrepreneurs:
Individuals and/or
groups who lead
campaigns to apply
deviance label
Label used to make
something illegal
Moral Panics
26. Inter/Actionist
Theories
Primary and Secondary
Deviance
Primary deviance:
Early, random acts of
deviance
Secondary deviance:
Deviant acts that
persist, become more
common, and
eventually cause
people to organize
their lives and
personal identities
around their deviant
status
27. Inter/Actionist
Theories
Stigma (Goffman): A characteristic
others define and label as deviant
Discredited stigma: Differences
readily visible or evident
Discreditable stigma: Differences
not immediately recognizable to
the public
28. Differential/Association
Theory
People are not born criminals; they learn criminal
behavior from others.
Learn: Attitudes, knowledge, and rationalizations
Sources: Family, friends, and media (Internet)
29. Crime
A violation of criminal law
Criminology: The study of
crime
Focus: Social context of
the criminal act and the
effect of those acts on
society at large
Many criminologists are
sociologists
30. Criminal Justice
System (CJS)
A loosely connected
group of government
agencies involved in the
apprehension,
prosecution, and
punishment of law
violators
Main components: Law
enforcement, the
courts, and the
correctional system
32. Crime: CJS
Actions
Parole
Probation
Specific deterrence
Recidivism
General deterrence
Capital punishment
33. Types of
Crime
Violent Crimes: Threat or
actual use of force
Property Crimes: Taking or
destroying of property
Felonies: Punishable by more
than one year in prison
Misdemeanors: Punishable by a
fine or imprisonment of less
than a year
34. Types of
Crime
White collar crimes:
Committed by a
person in the course of
their occupation
Corporate crime:
Legal organizations
that break the law
35. Types of
Crimes
Hate crimes: Victims
targeted because of
race, religion, age,
sexual orientation,
national origin, or
disability status
Cybercrime targets
computers or uses
computers to commit
traditional crimes
36. Globalization and Crime
Led by growth in
international policing
and role of police in
international relations
Democracy and civil
rights often
threatened and
eroded
Many new issues:
Death, crime,
corruption, disease,
and human rights
violations
Notes de l'éditeur
Sociologically, no act, belief, or characteristic is inherently deviant because deviance is socially defined.
Some behaviors were once not seen as deviant but now are while other behaviors were once seen as deviant but now are not.
Ask for examples of deviant behaviors that have changed over time or geographically. Discuss Figure 7.1
Figure 7.2
Figure 7.2
Examples include a drug addict stealing to be able to buy drugs and the “mall girls” of Poland.
As with all sorts of deviance, definitions of what is deviant consumer behavior are sometimes in dispute.
Recent changes in the economy demonstrate the relative nature of deviance.
Constructionist example: The Boy Scouts of America constructed transgender boys and homosexual boys and adult leaders as deviant by banning them from becoming members of its organization for over a century. By accepting gay and transgender males, the Boy Scouts of American is signaling that they are now “normal” instead of “deviant.”
Agnew: Focus on what happens to those who experience strain. Anger and frustration lead people to commit more deviant and even criminal acts. He focused on the strain associated with the failure to achieve positively valued goals such as economic success.
Messner and Rosenfeld: Macroscopic approach to strain where the concern is with the relationship among large-scale structures. On the one side are cultural and social structural pressures to succeed; on the other are social institutions that are supposed to reduce these pressures. If the latter institutions are weak or exert weak controls, people are more likely to engage in deviant behavior to achieve succeed.
Rule creators are typically elite members of society who have the power to create societal rules, norms, and laws.
Rule enforcers enforce the rules.
Suggests there are two important factors of social control: the degree of social control exercised over people and the stakes that people do or do not have in conforming.
Those with low self-control, rather than being able to resist temptation, are unlikely to resist and unlikely to be able to foresee the negative consequences of action on temptation.
Those with low self-control, rather than being able to resist temptation, are unlikely to resist and unlikely to be able to foresee the negative consequences of action on temptation.
Structural/functionalists trace the source of deviance to the larger structures of society and the strains they produce or the fact that they do not exercise adequate control over people.
Notable examples: Nixon, Martha Stewart, Anthony Weiner, and Aaron Hernandez.
In the realm of deviance, a number of symbols (labels) exist.
Rule creators (agents of social control) are usually distinct from rule enforcers.
Moral panics: Widespread, disproportionate, and exaggerated reactions.
Examples: Witch crazes of Renaissance Europe, concern about Muslim immigrants.
Primary: An occasional bout of drinking to excess or an isolated act considered strange or out of the ordinary.
Discredited stigma: Lost limb
Discreditable stigma: Prison record
Example: The impact of the Internet on Islamic State’s ability to recruit terrorists.
Figure 7.5
Capital punishment: The ultimate example of both specific and general deterrence.
Considerable evidence that the death penalty fails as a deterrent to crime.
Figures 7.7 and 7.8
Violent crime is a major issue in the United States, especially murder committed with widely available and readily obtainable guns.
Corporate crimes: Antitrust violations and insider trading
Political crime: Assassination attempt of a government official and spying
Cybercrime: Identity theft, hacking, child pornography, and cyber-terrorism
Consumer: Shoplifting, use of stolen credit cards
The United States has taken the lead in countering forms of global crime other than drugs and in influencing other nations to work against them, particularly taking up the issues of human trafficking.
