Transcript VOCABULARIES OF MOTIVE

VOCABULARIES OF
MOTIVE
C Wright Mills and Vocabulary
of Motive
• The problem: Why do “good” people do
“bad” things?
• The answer: People acquire ways of
thinking that “release” deviant behavioursthey furnish motives.
• Hence the term, “vocabulary of motive.”
Lyman and Scott on “Accounts”
• VoM’s (per Mills) were invoked before engaging
in deviance.
• Lyman and Scott suggested that mental
“accounting” often has to occur afterwards, as a
form of defence.
• L&S termed these defences “accounts.”
• 2 distinct forms of accounts:
– Excuses: “I know it was wrong, but…”
– Justifications: “It wasn’t wrong, because…”
Sykes and Matza on “Drift”
• The problem: Nobody is deviant all the
time.
• The solution: Persons “drift” in an out of
deviant identities and behaviours by
“neutralizing” their attachments to
conventional morality.
Techniques of Neutralization
• Denial of responsibility: “I am one of many.”
• Denial of injury: “They’ll never miss it.”
• Denial of victim
– Depicting attacker as avenger: “I’m protecting my
community.”
– Alleging the culpability of abstract “perpetrators”:
“Capitalism is the real evil here.”
• Condemnation of condemners: “Who are THEY to
accuse ME?”
• Appeal to higher loyalties: “My religion instructs
me.”
Some Applications of the VoM
Perspective
• Scully and Marolla on rapists’ VoM
• Substance abuse and addiction
– “Instant addiction” is a myth
– Initial uses are unpleasant or ambiguous
– VoM’s enable addiction in several ways:
• Teaches that sensations are pleasurable
• Teaches that recurrent use decreases unpleasant effects
• Provides social support for addicts
– Overall, drug use would be impossible without
learning- crack does NOT “sell itself”