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Chapter 6
Deviance and Crime
• Deviance
– Violates significant social norms
– Relative to societal context
– Differs in degree of seriousness
• Behavioral
• Belief system
• Condition or characteristic
AIDS
“To avoid or reduce stigma,
many people seek to conceal the
characteristic or condition that might
lead to stigmatization”
• Crime
– Violation of a law
– Punishable with fines, jail time
and/or other negative sanctions
• Criminology
• Juvenile Delinquency
– Violation of Law
– Commission of status offense
running away from home)
(i.e.,
When sociologists study deviance, they do not
judge certain kinds of behavior or people as
being “good” or “bad.”
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What behaviors are defined as deviant?
Who does the defining?
How and why do people become deviants?
How does society deal with deviants?
Functionalist Perspectives
Deviance . . .
• clarifies rules
• unites a group
• promotes social change
– civil disobedience
However: if too many people violate the norms,
everyday existence may become unpredictable,
chaotic and even violent.
Merton’s Strain Theory of Deviance
People feel strained when they are exposed to cultural goals that
they are unable to obtain because they do not have access to
culturally approved means of achieving these goals.
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Conformity
Innovation
Ritualism
Retreatism
Rebellion
Opportunity Theory
• Illegitimate opportunity structures
• Three types of gangs:
• Criminal Gang
• Conflict Gang
• Retreatist Gang
“[there appears to be] a close association
between certain forms of deviance and social
class position”
Symbolic Interactionist Perspective
Differential Association Theory
association with deviants influences the
likelihood of individuals’ deviant behavior
- differential reinforcement theory
Deviant
Conventional
Why are some people deviant and some
are not ?
• Positive self-esteem
• Good group cohesion
Insulators
• Inner containments
• Outer containments
Social Bond Theory
the probability of deviant behavior increases when
a person’s ties to society are weakened or broken
1. attachment to other people
2. commitment to conformity
3. involvement in conventional activities
4. belief in the legitimacy of conventional
values and norms.
Labeling Theory
• deviance is a socially-constructed process
• certain people are designated as deviants
• they then act accordingly
Three stages:
1. Primary Deviance – initial act of rule-breaking
2. Secondary Deviance – new identity is accepted;
behavior continues
3. Tertiary Deviance – the behavior is relabeled by
the deviant as “normal”
Crime Classification (The Law)
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Felonies
Misdemeanors
Uniform Crime Report (UCR)
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Index Crimes
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murder
rape
robbery
assault
burglary
motor vehicle theft
arson
larceny
Crime Classification (Sociologists)
•Conventional (street) crime
•Occupational (white collar) and
corporate crime
•Organized crime
•Political crime
Punishment is any action designed to deprive a person
of things of value (including liberty)
Retribution
punishment should
fit the crime
Rehabilitation
Functions of
punishment
change offenders
behavior for
release back into
society
Incapicitation
Deterrence
they cannot commit the
crime again while
incarcerated
people fear
punishment so they
will follow the law
Questions?
Comments?