DEVIANCEThe violation of cultural norms

Crime – violation of norms made into law

IS DEVIANCE BIOLOGICAL?

Caesare Lombroso Prison physician (19th century Italy)

Noticed most incarcerated men had common body structure

Low forehead Prominent jaw Excessive hairiness Darker skin tone

But, he was missing a very important factor.

Do we still look for biological explanations for deviance and crime?

SOCIAL FOUNDATIONS OF DEVIANCE

Deviance does not exist on its own; it is shaped by society.

Every society has its own ideas and reactions to deviance.

SOCIAL FOUNDATIONS OF DEVIANCE Deviance varies according to cultural norms.

Burping after a meal

Mt. Prospect – law against keeping pigeons and bees

What is acceptable in the US, but not in other places?

SOCIAL FOUNDATIONS OF DEVIANCE

People become deviant as others define them that way

Saints and Roughnecks

Mental illness?

SOCIAL FOUNDATIONS OF DEVIANCE

Both rulemaking and rule breaking involve social power.

Laws are made by those who are in power

Our norms and how they are applied reflect social inequality

White collar crime vs. Street crime

STRUCTURAL-FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS

Durkheim

Deviance affirms cultural values and norms.

Responding to deviance clarifies moral boundaries.

Responding to deviance promotes social unity.

Deviance encourages social change.

STRUCTURAL-FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS

Institutionalized Means

ritualism retreatism

Accept Reject

Acc

ept

Rej

ect

rebellion

Cul

tura

l Goa

ls

Through new

means

Seeking new goals

conformity innovation

Merton’s Strain Theory

Create a counter culture

STRUCTURAL-FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS

Cloward and Ohlin

Relative opportunity structure (what a person has access to)

Criminal subculture

Conflict subculture (armed street gangs; frustration with lack of opportunity and desire for respect)

Retreatist subculture (dropout of society; drugs and alcohol)

SOCIAL-CONFLICT ANALYSIS Deviance and Power

Deviance reflects social inequality; it is those who lack power who are labeled as deviant (e.g. bag ladies and unemployed men are deviants, while tax evaders and those who profit from war are not)

  If the behavior of the powerful is called into question,

they have the resources to resist being labeled deviant

  Widespread belief that norms and laws are natural and

good masks their political nature (we question the unequal application of law, but do not generally consider whether the laws themselves are inherently fair)

SOCIAL-CONFLICT ANALYSISDeviance and Capitalism

Deviant labels are applied to those who impede the operation of capitalism

Because capitalism is based on private ownership, those who threaten the property of others are considered deviant. Those who exploit the poor, however, are just engaged in business

  Because capitalism depends on productive labor, those who do

not work are labeled as deviant, regardless of the reason for not working.

  Anyone who directly challenges the status quo is considered

deviant.

 

SYMBOLIC INTERACTION ANALYSIS Labeling Theory

deviance and conformity result, not from what people do, but how their actions are labeled.

Passing – engaging in a deviant activity, but not labeled

Discreditable – engaging in a deviant act but not yet labeled

  Discredited – engaging in a deviant act and labeled for it

  Spoiled identity – a damaged reputation; often develops after

being labeled deviant

 

SYMBOLIC INTERACTION ANALYSIS The Deviant Career (Lemert)

Primary Deviance deviance that is not recognized or noticed by other may be intentionally hidden

Secondary Deviance deviance that is discovered and labeled generally experience consequences begin to take on deviant identity

Stigma a powerfully negative social label that radically

changes a person’s self-concept and social identity

SYMBOLIC INTERACTION ANALYSIS Differential Association (Sutherland)

 

1 – Criminal behavior is learned in interaction with other people.

  2 – The principle part of learning occurs within intimate personal groups.

  3 – The learning includes techniques as well as directions for motive,

rationalization, and attitude.

4 – The definition of motives is based on whether laws are viewed as favorable or unfavorable.

  5 – A person become delinquent when there are more favorable motives for

violating the law than there are unfavorable ones.

6 – Criminal behavior is learned the same way we learn everything else.