Deviance: The Recognized Violation of Cultural Norms

Deviance
The recognized violation of cultural norms
Copyright
Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis

2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.
Deviance
The recognized violation of cultural norms
Norms guide almost all human activities

Most familiar examples are negative instances of
rule-breaking.
Especially righteous people also might be called
deviant.
Different or unexpected are often used to
describe deviance from a sociological perspective.
Crime (laws)
Violation of a societys formal criminal law
Criminal deviance spans a wide range of behaviors
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Social Control
The attempts a society makes at regulating thought and

behavior
Criminal justice system

A formal response by police, courts, and prison
officials to alleged violations of the law.
Biological context
Biological factors might have a real but modest
effect on whether a person becomes a criminal.
Personality factors
Deviance is viewed as unsuccessful
socialization.
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Social Foundations of Deviance

Deviance varies according to cultural
norms.
No thought or action is inherently deviant.
People become deviant as others define

them that way.
How other perceive and label us
Both norms and the way people define

rule-breaking involve social power.
Rule-makers, rule-breakers, and ruleenforcers
Norms and applying them are linked to
social position.
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Durkheim's Basic Insight

Deviance affirms cultural values and norms.
There can be no good without evil and no justice
without crime.
Responding to deviance clarifies moral

boundaries.
People draw a boundary between right and wrong.
Responding to deviance brings people together.

People typically react to serious deviance with shared
outrage.
Deviance encourages social change.

Deviant people push a societys moral boundaries.
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Mertons Strain Theory

argued that society can be set up in a way
that encourages too much deviance.
Specifically, the extent and type of
deviance people engage in depend on
whether a society provides the means
(such as schooling and job opportunities)
to achieve cultural goals (such as financial
success).
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Mertons Strain Theory

Conformity
Pursuing conventional goals through normal means
Innovation
Unconventional means to achieve approved goals
Ritualism
Accept institutional means; reject goals
Rebellion
Define new goals and means to achieve goals
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Figure 9.1
Mertons Strain
Theory of Deviance
Combining a
persons view of
cultural goals and
the conventional
means to obtain
them allowed
Robert Merton to
identify various
types of deviance.
Source: Merton (1968).
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Deviant Subcultures
Cloward and Ohlin
Extended Mertons theory
Cohen
Delinquency is most common among lower-class
youths because they have the least opportunity for
conventional success.
Miller
Delinquent subcultures: trouble, toughness, smartness,
need for excitement, belief in fate, desire for freedom
Anderson
In poor urban neighborhoods, most people conform to
conventional values.
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Labeling Deviance
Symbolic-interaction analysis
The assertion that deviance and conformity result not so
much from what people do as from how others respond
to those actions.
Primary deviance
Norm violations that most people take part in with little
harm to self-concept
Secondary deviance
When people make something of anothers deviant
behavior
Stigma
Powerful negative label that greatly changes a persons
self-concept and social identity
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Labeling Deviance
Retrospective labeling
Re-interpreting someones past in light of
present deviance
Projective labeling
Predicts future deviant behavior
Medicalization of deviance
Transform moral and legal deviance into a
medical condition
How people respond
Personal competence of the deviant person
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Sutherlands
Differential Association
A persons tendency toward conformity or deviance

depends on the amount of contact with others who
encourage or reject conventional behavior.
Deviant behavior is learned.
Frequency of association is central to the
development of deviance.
If associates are prone to violation of norms, then
one is also more likely to take part.
Conformity reaps rewards while the lack of it reaps
punishment.
Hirschis Control Theory

The
social
control
depends
on
people
anticipating the consequences of their behavior.
Hirschi assumes that everyone finds at least
some deviance tempting. But the thought of a
ruined career keeps most people from breaking
the rules; for some, just imagining the reactions
of family and friends is enough. On the other
hand, individuals who feel they have little to lose
by deviance are likely to become rule breakers.
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Hirschis Control Theory

Attachment
Strong social attachments encourage conformity.
Opportunity
The greater the access to legitimate opportunity, the
greater the advantages of conformity.
Involvement
Extensive involvement in legitimate activities inhibits
deviance.
Belief
Strong belief in conventional morality and respect for
authority controls deviance.
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Social-Conflict Analysis
Deviance and Power

Norms or laws reflect interests of
rich and powerful.
Powerful have resources to resist
deviant labels.
Belief that norms and laws are
natural and good masks political
character
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Deviance and Capitalism

Steven Spitzers likely targets of labeling
People who interfere with capitalism.

People who cannot or will not work.
People who resist authority.
Anyone who directly challenges the status quo
White-collar crime
Those committed by people of high social position in the
course of their occupations
Corporate crime
Illegal actions of a corporation or people acting on its
behalf
Organized crime
A business supplying illegal goods or services
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Deviance, Race, and Gender

Hate crime
A criminal act against a person or persons
property by an offender motivated by racial or
other bias
Gender
The world applies more stringent normative
controls to women.
Strain due to reality of gender-based
inequality
Judge the behavior of women and men
differently
Why do women commit fewer crimes than
men?
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Applying Theory
Deviance
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Crime
The violation of criminal laws enacted by a locality,
state, or the federal government
Two elements
The act itself
Criminal intent
Crimes against the person
Direct violence or threat of it
Crimes against property
Involves theft of property
Criminal statistics
Victimization surveys: Crime rate is two to four times
higher than official reports
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National Map 9.1 The Risk of Violent Crime across the United States
This map shows the risk of becoming a victim of violent crime. In general, the risk is
highest in low-income, rural counties that have a large population of men between the
ages of 15 and 24. After reading this section of the text, see whether you can explain
this pattern.
Source: American Demographics magazine, December 2000 issue. Copyright (c) 2004 by Crain Communications, Inc.
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The Street Criminal: A Profile

Ages 15-24
14% of population
39% of arrests for violent crime, 45% of property
crimes
Gender
Males commit 68% of property crimes and 82% of
violent crimes
Social class
Violent crimes committed by a few in poor
neighborhoods
White collar and corporate crime committed by more
affluent
Race and ethnicity
70% of arrests involve white people
People of color are over-criminalized
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Figure 9.2
Crime Rates in the United States, 1960-2005
The graphs show the rates for various violent crimes and property crimes during recent
decades. Since about 1990, the trend has been downward.
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (2006)
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Crime in Global Perspective

United States
The US crime rate is high by world standards.
The rate of US violent crime is several times higher than in
Europe.
Elliott Currie: Crime stems from our cultures emphasis on
individual economic success, frequently at the expense of strong
families and neighborhoods.
Other countries
Crime rates are high in some of the worlds largest cities, which
have rapid population growth and millions of poor.
The traditional character of low-income societies and their strong
families allow informal crime control outside of big cities.
Different countries have different strategies for dealing with
crime.
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Criminal Justice System
Due Process
The criminal justice system must operate

according to law.
This principle is grounded in the constitution.
Anyone charged with a crime must receive:
1. Fair notice of the proceedings
2. A hearing on the charges conducted according
to law and with the ability to present a
defense,
3. A judge or jury that weighs evidence
impartially
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Criminal Justice System
Due Process
Police: Primary point of contact between population
and criminal justice system
The police maintain public order by enforcing the
law.
Officers quickly size up situations in terms of six
factors.
Gravity of situation
Victims wishes
Cooperation of suspect
Has suspect been arrested before?
Presence of observers increases chances of
arrest
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Global Map 9.1

Capital Punishment in Global Perspective
The map identifies 68 countries and territories in which the law allows the death penalty for
ordinary crimes; in 10 more, the death penalty is reserved for exceptional crimes under military law
or during times of war. The death penalty does not exist in 89 countries and territories; in 30 more,
although the death penalty remains in law, no execution has taken place in more than 10 years.
Compare rich and poor nations: What general pattern do you see? In what way are the US and
Japan exceptions to this pattern?
Source: Amnesty International (2007a)
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Justifications for Punishment

Retribution
An act of moral vengeance by which society
makes the offender suffer as much as the
suffering caused by the crime
Deterrence
The attempt to discourage criminality through
the use of punishment
Rehabilitation
A program for reforming the offender to prevent
later offenses
Societal protection
Rendering an offender incapable of further
offenses temporarily through imprisonment or
permanently by execution.
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Summing Up
Four Justifications for Punishment
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Community-Based Corrections
Correctional programs operating within society
at large rather than behind prison walls.
Probation
A policy permitting a convicted offender to
remain in the community under conditions
imposed by a court
Shock probation
When a judge orders a convicted offender to
prison for a short time, then suspends the
remainder of the sentence.
Parole
Releasing inmates from prison to serve the
remainder of their sentences in the community.
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Deviance

The recognized violation of cultural norms

Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis

Norms guide almost all human activities

Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis

The attempts a society makes at regulating thought and

Criminal justice system

Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis

Social Foundations of Deviance

People become deviant as others define

Both norms and the way people define

Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis

Durkheim's Basic Insight

Responding to deviance clarifies moral

Responding to deviance brings people together.

Deviance encourages social change.

Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis

Mertons Strain Theory

Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis

Mertons Strain Theory

Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis

Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis

Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis

Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis

Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis

A persons tendency toward conformity or deviance

Hirschis Control Theory

Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis

Hirschis Control Theory

Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis

Deviance and Power

Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis

Deviance and Capitalism

People who interfere with capitalism.

Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis

Deviance, Race, and Gender

Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis

Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis

Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis

Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis

The Street Criminal: A Profile

Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis

Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis

Crime in Global Perspective

Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis

Criminal Justice System

The criminal justice system must operate

Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis

Criminal Justice System

Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis

Global Map 9.1

Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis

Justifications for Punishment

Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis

Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis

Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis

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