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Deviance And Sociology

A) WHAT IS DEVIANCE?
o Def: Behavior, beliefs or conditions that violate significant norms in society, or the group in which it occurs.
o Behavior-Belief-Condition
o Based on “beliefs” or “deviation from the mean”
o Crime is not necessarily a deviant (speeding)
o Deviance is not necessarily a crime (assisting drowning).
1) Who defines deviance?
NOT inherent in specific behavior or person.
SOCIALLY-defined and relative to the situation.
CRIME- a violation of criminal law-punished by the CJ system.
Use of force or fraud in pursuit of self-interest
Defined via political power
JUVENILE DELINQUENCY
“status offence” (ascribed status)
2) What is social control?
Def: Systematic practices developed by social groups to encourage conformity to norms, and discourage deviance.
Internal
Internalized beliefs (via socialization)
External
Sanctioned by others
Formal
Police, Court and Correction systems
Informal
Family, Friends, General Public
B) FUNCTIONAL PERSPECTIVE ON DEVIANCE
1) What causes deviance? Is deviance good? (Durkheim)
ANOMIE
Sense of futility; norms-weak, conflicting, absent
Rapid social change, lack of social integration
Deviance is UNIVERSAL; serves 3 functions
1) Deviance clarifies rules-affirms/clarifies meaning
2) Deviance unites group-solidarity is reinforced
3) Deviance promotes change-exposes “problems”
2) Strain theory: Goals and Means (Merton)
Goals and Means
Not “aligned”
Goal
American Dream (or something similar)
Means
Culturally approved access not available to all
Modes of Adaptation
Conformity, Innovation (goal w/o means), Ritualism (substitute goal b/c of means), Retreatism (give up and deny self), Rebellion
“Innovation” is crime, is a rational response to blocked means
C) CONFLICT PERSPECTIVE ON DEVIANCE
1) Deviance and Power
Laws (and norms) are defined by those with power, and do not represent consensus of right or wrong.
Ex. Marijuana Laws-Medical Marijuana
2) Deviance and Capitalism
Laws (and...