1. Deviance: The recognized
violation of cultural norms
To review, norms are rules and
expectations by which a society
guides the behavior of its members
2. Conformity in Society
Societies teaches us to conform
Social control refers to attempts by society to regulate
people’s thoughts and behaviors
Examples include praise, scolding, isolation, and laws
Most people don’t conform to all of a society’s rules
Which rules do you break? Does that make you criminal?
Winston Churchill held meetings with advisors in his
bathroom while soaking in the tub – weird, deviant…but he
was not a criminal!
Henry David Thoreau built himself a cabin of sticks and
mud and lived for two years on what he could get from the
woods – odd, deviant…but not criminal!
Grandma is deviant - she can’t help it! But that doesn’t
make her a criminal!!!
Deviance is a matter of degree
Extent of disapproval
Degree of societal outrage
Sociology -Ms. Anderson
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3. Deviance from the Functionalist
Perspective (remember this…?)
According to Emile Durkheim and the functionalist
perspective, deviance has some positive social
functions, which helps to maintain stability:
Deviance affirms cultural values and norms (without good,
there is no evil)
Responding to deviance clarifies moral boundaries (If
cheating is wrong, then plagiarism must be punished)
Responding to deviance promotes social unity (9/11
attacks)
Sociology -Ms. Anderson
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5. Deviance from the Functionalist
Perspective
According to Emile Durkheim and the functionalist
perspective, deviance can perform some positive
social functions, which helps to maintain stability:
Deviance affirms cultural values and norms (without good, there is no evil)
Responding to deviance clarifies moral boundaries (If cheating is wrong, then
plagiarism must be punished)
Responding to deviance promotes social unity (9/11 attacks)
Deviance encourages social change (rock and roll of 1950s)
Deviance can relieve tension (open fire hydrants on a hot day)
Sociology -Ms. Anderson
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7. Deviance from the Functionalist
Perspective
According to Emile Durkheim and the functionalist perspective, deviance can
perform some positive social functions, which helps to maintain stability:
Deviance affirms cultural values and norms (without good, there is no evil)
Responding to deviance clarifies moral boundaries (If cheating is wrong, then
plagiarism must be punished)
Responding to deviance promotes social unity (9/11 attacks)
Deviance encourages social change (rock and roll of 1950s)
Deviance can relieve tension (open fire hydrants on a hot day)
And some negative ones…(which disrupt stability)
Deviance disrupts norms (burning American flag
during Vietnam War)
Deviance makes life unpredictable (school shootings
make everyone think twice about safety)
Deviance can hurt people and property (duh!)
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8. Deviance from the Functionalist
Perspective (continued)
Structural strain
Develops when people cannot reach the goals that are admired
by a society (the structure of society becomes strained)
Result: people can turn to deviance
Sociologist Robert Merton believed that if a society provided the
means for all to reach cultural goals, then no deviance would
exist
Sociology -Ms. Anderson
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9. Sociologist Robert K. Merton:
“Failure to attain US social goals leads to deviant
behavior.”
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10. Deviance from the Functionalist
Perspective (continued)
Structural strain develops when people cannot reach the goals that are admired by a society (the structure
of society becomes strained) and therefore turn to deviance
Sociologist Robert Merton believed that if a society provided the means for all to reach cultural goals, than
no deviance would exist
For him, the primary cultural goal in the US is financial success,
and obviously, some fail to attain this
Conformists – pursue social goals through accepted means;
not deviant
Innovators – find alternate ways to reach society’s goals (Al
Capone; modern drug dealers)
Ritualists – go through the accepted motions but feel that
their behavior is pointless (low level bureaucrats and middle
managers who know that they will never be promoted)
Retreatists – reject both cultural goals and means of
reaching them by dropping out of society (drug addicts,
alcoholics, and “bums”)
Rebels – reject both goals and means and develop new ones
(idealists, socialists, militarists)
Sociology -Ms. Anderson
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12. Which Deviance Typology is Milton?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSU0RQoyfv8
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13. Deviance from Interactionist
Perspectives (remember this…?)
Labeling theory states that deviance is
based not on the action but on our
response to it
That “bad kid” in 1st grade…will the label
follow him the rest of his life? Will s/he
become a criminal?
Cultural transmission theory states that a
person learns deviant behaviors through
social interaction
Sociology -Ms. Anderson
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14. Deviance from Conflict Perspectives:
Norms and laws of a society generally reflect
the interests of the rich and powerful
The rich and powerful have the resources to
avoid being considered deviant
Evidence: white collar crime, corporate crime,
organized crime, and hate crime are rarely
punished compared to other crimes
Poor do not
Armed robbery, muggings, etc.
Any different than the white collar crimes above?
Sociology -Ms. Anderson
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15. Crime
Why do societies develop standards of right and wrong?
Crime is the violation of a society’s formally enacted
criminal law
This form of deviance often requires more intensive,
formal social control
Societies differ in the ways they define deviance, who is
branded as a deviant, and how deviance is dealt with
Interestingly, because human behavior was once viewed
only as a expression of “nature,” it was once believed that
criminals could be identified by physical features (1876),
body shape (1949), and personality traits (1967)
Today we understand that both nature and nurture
contribute to a person’s tendency toward criminality
Sociology -Ms. Anderson
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16. Crime (continued)
Crime is deviant behavior that is prohibited by law
and punishable by the government
A crime consists of two components
1.
2.
In the U.S., there are approximately 1.6 million
violent crimes reported/year
The act (or failure to act)
The criminal intent (can be planned or caused by
negligence)
A decrease from the 1990s (but on the increase again)
Local and national crime prevention programs
Large increase in the prison population
Reduction in the youth population
Are actual crime statistics higher or lower?
Sociology -Ms. Anderson
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17. Types of Indexed Crime
Conventional Crime
All violent crime
Property Crime
“Morals” crime (prostitution, illegal
gambling)
Moral crimes are often referred to as victimless
crimes (is this necessarily true?)
Occupational/Corporate Crime
“White Collar Crime”
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18. Types of Crime
Organized Crime
The Mafia, money laundering, drug
trafficking
Political Crime
Crimes against or from within the
government
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19. 7 FBI Index Crimes
9.9%
0.1%
Larceny
Theft
3.5%
Rape
59.8%
Assault
18.0%
Burglary
Robbery
Auto Theft
7.9%
Murder
0.8%
Sociology -Ms. Anderson
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20. Crime Around the World – A Global
Perspective
By world standards, the U.S. crime rate is high
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
murder every 34 minutes
rape every 6 minutes
robbery every minute
assault every 34 seconds
auto theft every 27 seconds
violent crime every 22 seconds
burglary every 15 seconds
larceny theft every 5 seconds
property crime every 3 seconds
U.S.’s violent crime rate is 5x greater than Europe’s, and our property
crime rate is 2x greater than Europe’s
India and Japan have some of the lowest crime rates
Why is the U.S. crime rate high?
Diversity?
Economic inequality?
Gun ownership?
Sociology -Ms. Anderson
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21. Why is punishment practiced?
Retribution (revenge is necessary to keep
moral balance of world in check; punishment
should fit the crime)
Deterrence (discourage criminality through
suffering)
Rehabilitation (reform the offender through
individually tailored improvement plan)
Societal protection (make offender incapable
of further offenses)
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22. Does incarceration (jail) work?
Criminal recidivism refers to the
subsequent offenses by people convicted
of crimes
½ will return to jail
¾ of those in jail have been jailed before
Will the stigma associated with being jailed
increase the likelihood of a future arrest?
1/3 of crimes are known to the police,
and of those, only 1/5 result in an arrest
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23. The Death Penalty: Is it an effective
deterrent?
Lethal injection is the most widely used method of
execution, but hangings, firing squad, and gas
chamber executions were all performed in the
1990s
TX, CA, and FL use the death penalty most
frequently; overall, 5 states account for ½ of the
prisoners on death row
Today, the U.S. does not execute juveniles (though
it has in the past) nor the mentally disabled
The U.S. and Japan are the only two high-income
nations that utilize the death penalty
The world is moving away from legalizing the
death penalty
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