1. Is it Deviance?
 In the following 10 slides, determine if
what you see constitutes Deviance.
 You may base your decisions on
behavior, beliefs, or the condition of the
person.

2. Deviance? - #1

3. Deviance? - #2

4. Deviance? - #3

5. Deviance? - #4

6. Deviance? - #5

7. Deviance? - #6

8. Deviance? - #7

9. Deviance? - #8
I’m single, I have
a career, and I’m
happy with my
life.

10. Deviance? - #9

11. Deviance? - #10

12. Section 1
Deviance and Social Control

13. What is Deviance?
 Any behavior, belief, or condition that
violates significant social norms in the
society or group in which it occurs
 Interestingly – one who is considered
“deviant” by one category of people may
be seen as “conformist” in another group
 We are all technically deviant at some
point or another in our lives.

14. The Nature of Deviance…
 Ranges from criminal behavior (recognized by
almost all members of society as deviant) to
wearing heavy make-up (considered deviant by
some religious groups).
 Incidents of deviance get a great deal of attention
because they involve prominent figures whose
behavior is broadcast on TV.
Lindsay Lohan Snooki
Mike Tyson

15. Not Always Clear Cut…
 Deviance is not always so clear-cut because it is a
matter of social definition. Societies change and
evolve. Deviance varies from group to group,
society to society. We can see this within the
United States – laws differ from state to state.
 When asked what constitutes deviant behavior in
the United States-answers included things like child
molesters, prostitution, drug addicts, religious
radicals, and criminals.
 It also included liars, reckless drivers, bearded
men, artists, divorcees, smartstudents,
among other things.

16. Deviance and Stigmas
 Stigmas: the disapproval attached to
disobeying the expected norms
 Reactions include:
 Ridiculed
 Ostracized
 Labeled
 Sanctioned
 Avoided

17. Deviance Can Be Positive or Negative
 Negative deviance is behavior
that fails to meet the accepted
norms-they reject the norms
(if the norm is to be thin, they
are obese)
 Positive deviance is overconformity to the norm-(if the
norm is to be thin, they are
anorexic)

18. From the Sociologist’s Viewpoint…
 Sociologists generally reserve the term
deviance for violations of significant norms.
 To a sociologist, a deviant person is one who
has violated one of society’s most valued
norms.
 Informal deviance = minor
transgressions
 Formal deviance = crime
 Crime = forms of deviance in which formal penalties
are imposed by society

19. Social Control
 All societies have ways of promoting order,
stability, and predictability in social life.
 We assume people will stop for red lights,
waiters won’t pour soup in our laps…
 Without social control, ways to promote
conformity to norms-social life would be
unpredictable, even chaotic.
 There are two types of social control:
Internal
External

20. What is internal social
control?
 Control that lies within the
individual.
 This is developed during
socialization - we learn what is
right and wrong
 For example, the norm against
stealing has become a part of
most of us.
 We have internalized this.
 Other examples include norms
against killing and adultery.

21. What is external control?
 For some, socialization does not ensure that all
people will conform
 So for this reason, social control has to be based
on social sanctions-(rewards and
punishments designed to encourage desired
behavior)
 Positive sanctions can include an increase in
allowance, a promotion or a smile
 Negative sanctions can include criticism,
fines, or imprisonment.
 Sanctions can also be informal and formal
(formality depends on who is giving the sanction)

22. Deviance Perspectives
Sociological Deviance is…
Perspective
Deviance results
from…
Functionalism A source of
social cohesion
Structural strains
on society
Symbolic
A learned
Interactionism behavior
Social labeling
Conflict Theory Controlled and
defined by the
dominant class
Inequality in society

23. Section 2
Functionalism and Deviance

24. Costs and Benefits of
Deviance
 The functionalist
emphasize social
stability and the way the
different parts of society
contribute to the whole.
 Functionalists believe
that some deviance can
contribute to the smooth
operation of society.

25. What are some negative
effects of deviance?
 Deviance erodes trust
 If people expect certain things to happen
and they don’t, widespread suspicion and
distrust grows.
 If deviance is not punished or corrected,
deviance can cause others to misbehave
as well.

26. More Negative Effects of
Deviance
 Deviant behavior can be
expensive.
 It diverts resources both
human and monetary.
 Police spend time dealing
with speeding, loitering,
drugs, etc. rather than
dealing with the more
serious things.

27. How does social deviance benefit
society?
 Deviance clarifies what the norms are by
exercising social control to defend its
values.
 We define, adjust, and reaffirm the
norms.
 When parents lose custody of their kids
for deviant behavior, it teaches the rest of
society was is expected.

28. More Benefits of Deviance
 Deviance can also serve
as a temporary safety
valve.
 Teen’s music, clothing,
and behavior is
relatively deviant
behavior which may
serve to relieve some of
the pressure teens feel
from authority figures in
their lives.

29. Benefits (cont.)
 Deviance increases unity within a society
or group. When deviance remind people
of something they value, it strengthens
their commitment to the value. Bonds
them together.
 Deviance promotes social change - Civil
Rights Movement and civil disobedience.
Riots too sometimes help bring reform.
 Deviance provides jobs for those who deal
with deviants.

30. Strain Theory
 Robert Merton, a sociologist, created the strain
theory in 1968.
 The strain theory is the theory that suggests
that deviance is more likely when a gap exists
between cultural goals and the means
(ability/way) to achieve these goals by
legitimate methods.

31. Strain Theory – The Norm
 Our society stresses goals of success
and material possessions.
 Education and hard work are the
accepted means to those goals.
 When people accept these goals and
means, there is conformity.

32. How do people respond to strain?
 Innovation- accepting the goal but using
illegal means to achieve it. This is the most
widely spread deviant response to the strain.
 Ritualism- legitimate means are used but the
goals are rejected. People go through the
motions but don’t believe in the process.
 Retreatism- reject means and the goals are
rejected. As if they drop out of society
 Rebellion- reject success and the approved
means to get there, and they substitute a new
set of goals and means.

33. GOALS
ME
ACCEPT
REJECT
Create
AN ACCEPT C onformity Ritualis m
S REJECT Innovation Retreatis
m
Create
Re be llion

34. Control Theory
 Travis Hirischi’s control theory says that
compliance with social norms requires us to have
strong bonds between individuals and society.
 According to the control theory, social bonds
control the behavior of deviants. The more a
person is bonded with society, the more he will
follow norms. The less bonded, the less a person
will follow norms.
 People conform because they don’t want to lose
face with family and friends.

35. What are the basic elements of
social bonds?
 Attachment- stronger attachment leads to
conformity.
 Commitment- greater commitment to social goals
leads to conformity. (believe hard work leads to
rewards)
 Involvement- participation in social activities
increases the probability of conformity.
 Belief- belief in norms and values leads to
conformity.

36. Section 3
Symbolic Interactionism and
Deviance

37. Differential Association
Theory
How is Deviance
Learned?
 Differential Association
theory emphasizes the role of
primary groups in
transmitting deviance.
 We learn deviance through
association.
 The more that we are
exposed to those breaking
the law, the more apt we are
to become criminals
ourselves.

38. Three characteristics affect differential
association
 The ratio of deviant to non-deviant individuals
-Someone who knows mostly deviants is more likely to
learn deviant behavior.
 Whether the deviant behavior is practiced by
significant others - Someone is more likely to learn
the behavior from significant others.
 The age of exposure - Younger children learn
deviant behavior more quickly than older children)

39. Labeling Theory
 The Strain theory, Control theory, and
Differential Association theory help us
understand why deviance occurs.
 The Labeling theory explains why
deviance is relative (when two people
break the same norm and only one is
labeled deviant).

40. Is deviance defined by the act
or by the individual?
 Deviant behavior is always a
matter of social definition, but
there is a relativity to deviance.
 For example: when a teenage
couple gets pregnant, the girl is
labeled the deviant because
society expects the female to set
the boundaries and to say “no”
 Of course it is also easier to
stigmatize the girl because the
pregnancy is visible.

41. Labeling Theory and Class
 Labeling theory also
explains why lower
class people go to jail
for stealing, whereas
middle class kids get
in trouble for
“borrowing.”
 Society “expects” that
criminals are lower
class youths, not
middle class kids.

42. Are there degrees of
variance?
 There is a distinction between primary
and secondary deviance.
 Primary deviance means that a
person is engaged only in isolated acts of
deviance.
 EX: The vast majority of college kids
have never been arrested, convicted, and
labeled as criminals, but they have done
questionable things.

43. Another degree of variance
 Secondary deviance, on
the other hand refers to
deviance as a lifestyle and a
personal identity.
 The individual’s life is
organized around breaking
society’s norms.
 They identify themselves
and others label them as
such.
 Deviance becomes a way of
life.

44. Are there consequences of
labeling?
 Stigmas are undesirable traits or labels
that are used to characterize a person.
 One stigma may be your record, which is
then used to discredit the individual’s
entire worth.
 Stigmas are almost impossible to
change.

45. Section 4
Conflict Theory and Deviance

46. Deviance in the Industrial
Society
 To the Conflict theorist,
deviance in an industrial
society is behavior that
those in control see as
threatening to their
interests.
 As a result, the powerful
and rich use their positions
to determine the acts of
deviance and how the
deviants should be
punished.

47. Conflict Theory Defense
 The culture of the industrial society defends itself
using these statements:
 “If you criticize an industrial society, you must be
deviant because you are criticizing our belief in
economic, political, and social ways.”
 An industrialized society requires a work force, so if
“you don’t work, you are deviant.”
 Those who threaten private property, especially that
owned by the rich, are prime target for punishment.
 Because industrial societies need respect of authority,
any challenge to that is deviant (protests included).

48. Gender and Crime
 Femininity Theory – “abuses suffered by
women are rooted in the patriarchal capitalists
[rich men] system”
 Causes: gendered division of labor, and
socialization of children
 Cultural attitude of crimes against women differ
based on the status of women in society.
 Women are less often in a position to commit
crimes and often commit crimes that are
different from crimes committed by men.

49. Race, Ethnicity, and Crime
 What is the relationship between
race, ethnicity, and crime?
 Conflict theorists believe that minorities
get unequal treatment in the justice
system.
 They cite statistics that show African –
Americans and Hispanic – Americans
are dealt with more harshly than
Caucasian - Americans.
 Even when the offense is the same,
minorities get harsher sentences and
serve more time in prison than
Caucasian – Americans.
 African – Americans make up 12% of
the total population, but they account
for 43% of the inmates on death row.

50. Race, Ethnicity, and Crime (cont.)
 Prosecutors are less likely to
seek the death penalty when
the victim is African - American.
 Judges and juries are less likely
to impose the death penalty on
Caucasian - Americans.
 Nearly half of all homicide
victims are African -American.
 Yet, there is an overwhelming
majority of prisoners on death
row for killing Caucasian –
Americans not African Americans.

51. Race, Ethnicity, and Crime (cont.)
 Why are different races and ethnicities
treated so differently?
 Conflict theorists say that minorities get
harsher treatment because many don’t have
the resources to buy good legal services.
 Another idea may be due to what sociologists
call: victim discounting- the process of
reducing the seriousness of a crime that
injures people of lower socio-economic status.
 According to this idea, if the victim is less
valuable, the crime is less serious, the penalty
is less severe.

52. White Collar Crime
 White-collar crime is a
financially motivated, economic,
non-violent crime committed for
illegal monetary gain.
 White collar crime includes
things like price fixing, insider
trading, illegal rebates,
embezzlement, tax evasion,
toxic polluting.

53. What are the costs of white
collar crime?
 The costs of white collar crime
are 18 times higher than the
costs of street crime according
the Depart of Justice.
 Illegal work environments
(places that expose people to
toxic chemicals) account for
more than 1/3 of all workrelated deaths in the U.S.
 Five times more Americans
are killed each year from
illegal job conditions than are
murdered on the streets.

54. What kinds of punishment do
the majority of white collar
criminals get?
 It costs the taxpayers
billions of dollars every year
but many white collar
criminals are given very
lenient sentences.
 Most is tried in Federal
court and probation is
granted 40% of the time for
anti-trust violations, 61% for
fraud, 70% for
embezzlement.
 If imprisoned, they get
shorter sentences, private
rooms and extra privileges.

55. Section 5
Crime and Punishment

56. Measurement of Crime
 Crime- actions that violate the law.
 How much crime is there in the United
States?
 One larceny (theft) every 4.5 seconds
 One burglary (breaking in with intent to steal) every
14.7 seconds
 One motor vehicle theft every 25.5 seconds
 One aggravated assault every 36.9 seconds
 One robbery every 1.3 minutes
 One rape every 5.6 minutes

57. How are crime statistics
collected?
 American crime
statistics comes from
the FBI’s “Uniform
Crime Reports
(UCR)
 Their stats come
from police
departments across
the country.

58. What do UCR statistics
cover?
 9 types of crime are tracked:
 Murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault,
burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft,
arson, and hate crimes.
 Violent and property crime have declined
since 1990.
 The murder rate in the United States has
declined more than 39% since 1980.
 One of the major reasons for the decrease
in crime rate includes a reduction in juvenile
crime.

59. How reliable are UCR
statistics?
 There are some limitations with the UCR:
 It tends to over-represent the lower classes and
undercount the middle and upper classes.
 Some crimes (minor assaults) are not as likely
to be reported to the police
 About 2/3rds of crimes are not reported at all
 Crime reports vary from place to place and
white-collar offenders are seldom included.

60. Are any other crime statistics
available?
 In response to these criticisms the National Crime
Victimization Survey was launched in 1970’s.
 This is conducted twice a year by the Bureau of
Justice Statistics (Census Bureau)
 It helps because it makes up for
underrepresented crimes and its surveys are
more scientifically sound. (methodology)
 Together, both sets of statistics give a more
accurate account of crime.

61. Based on your notes....
 Identify the different types of crime
 List specific kinds of crime under that
type
 Classify the severity of the crimes using
movie ratings (X, R, PG13, PG, G)
 Assign a punishment
61
61

62. Juvenile Crime
 Juvenile crime refers
to violations from
those under 18.
 Juvenile offenders
make up the third
largest category of
criminals.

63. What is the trend in juvenile
crime?
 Violent juvenile crime reached its lowest level in
a decade in 1999.
 Juvenile murder arrest rate dropped 68%
 Arrests for juveniles with weapons declined by
1/3
 Juvenile rape arrest went down by 31%

64. Why has the Juvenile rate gone
down?
 One reason-there has been a
decline in the demand for crack
cocaine.
 Repeat violent offenders have
been given stiffer sentences.
 Police have been cracking
down on illegal guns on the
streets.
 Freakonomics Theory: Roe v.
Wade effects

65. Approaches to Crime Control
 The criminal justice system is made up
of the institutions and processes
responsible for enforcing criminal statutes.
 It includes the police, courts, and the
correctional system.
 The justice system draws on four
approaches to control and punish
lawbreakers: deterrence, retribution,
incarceration, and rehab.

66. Does punishment discourage
crime?
 The deterrence approach uses the threat of
punishment to discourage crimes because it
serves as an example for others.
 Research is mixed on the effectiveness of this.
 They have found that deterrence works IF
people know they are likely to be caught and
the punishment will be severe.

67. Does punishment discourage
crime?
 However, in the United States, punishment for
crime is not usually certain, swift, or severe.
 As a result, punishment does not have the
deterrence effect that it could have.
 Capital punishment is a special case.
 Over 4000 people have been executed in the
United States since 1930.
 Even the death penalty does not deter crime, we
know this because the murder rates have remained
constant and have even dropped when the death
penalty has not been an option.

68. Do Americans believe capital
punishment deters criminals?
 Yes, despite the findings, about
3/4th of us believe the death
penalty is a deterrent to crime.
 3/4ths also say that they would
still favor the death penalty even
if they were confronted with
evidence that the death penalty
did not deter crime.
 Feelings of revenge and
retribution appear to be the
reasoning behind this.

69. Approaches to Crime Control
 Why does the attitude towards the death
penalty vary?
 Attitudes towards the death penalty vary according
to race and ethnicity.
 75% of Caucasian – Americans support it
 40% of African – Americans support it
 52% of Hispanic – Americans support it
 The discrepancy is understandable considering
that African – Americans and Hispanic – Americans
are more likely to get the death penalty than
Caucasian - Americans.

70. What is retribution?
 A type of
punishment
intended to make
the criminals pay
compensation for
their acts.

71. Why does society keep
criminals in prison?
 The basic idea behind incarceration –
keeping prisoners in jail is so that they
cannot commit more crimes.
 Revenge and/or retribution
 Remove dangerous individuals from society
 Deterrence

72. Do prisons rehab criminals?
 Rehab is an approach that
attempts to re-socialize criminals.
 Most prisons have programs
aimed at helping criminals rehab
provide both work and social skills
that will help them assimilate back
into society.
 Unfortunately, 30 to 60% are sent
back to prison in 2-5 years.
 The criminal return rate is called
recidivism

73. The reasons for recidivism?
 The basic nature of the offenders
 Influences learned from the more
hardened criminals
 The stigma of being an ex-convict
 Inside the prison sub-culture, there
is an “inmate code” that stresses
loyalty among inmates.
 The toughness learned in prison is
then sometimes transferred to the
outside world.

74. What are some alternatives to
prisons?
 If prisons do not rehab, then what?
 A combination of prison and probationa mix or split sentence known as “shock
probation” prisoners serve part of their time
in an institution and the rest on probation.
The hope is that the shock of prison life would
deter someone from committing crime again.

75. What are some alternatives to
prisons?
 Community based programs- designed to
reintroduce criminals into society. They get out
of prison for at least part of the day and
become a part of the community under
guidance and supervision.
 Diversion strategy- a referral to a
community based program rather than to
prison. The offenders are handled outside of
the criminal justice system and are not labeled.

76. Will any of the alternatives work?
 They have not yet
been sufficiently
evaluated.
 Recently, Americ
gans have taken a
harsher view towards
criminals, so support
for alternatives may
be eroding.