Chapter 7. Deviance. What is Deviance?

Transcription

1 Chapter 7 Deviance What is Deviance? Deviance recognized violation of cultural norms Definition is quite broad Crime the violation of a society s formally enacted criminal law Minor traffic violations to sexual assault to murder Examples Stealing Abusing a child Driving while drunk Not all deviance involves action or even choice To the young, elderly people may seem hopelessly out of it & to some whites, the presence of people of color may cause discomfort What is Deviance? Criminal Justice System a formal response by police, courts, and prison officials to alleged violations of the law 1

2 The Biological Context Human behavior to be the result of biological instincts In 1876, Cesare Lombroso, who worked in prisons theorized that criminals stand out physically Low foreheads, prominent jaws and cheekbones, protruding ears, hairiness and unusually long arms Claimed criminals look like our apelike ancestors We now know that no physical traits distinguish criminals from non-criminals The Biological Context At mid-century, William Sheldon took a different approach, suggesting that body structure might predict criminality Concluded that delinquency was most common among boys with muscular, athletic builds In a self-fulfilling prophecy, people who expect muscular boys to be bullies may act in ways that bring about the aggressive behavior they expect The Biological Context Critical Review Biological theories offer a very limited explanation of crime We know too little about the links btwn genes and human behaviors to draw firm conclusions A biological approach looks at the individual, it offers no insight into how some kinds of behaviors come to be defined as deviant in the 1 st place 2

3 Personality Factors Walter Reckless & Simon Dinitz illustrates the psychological approach. Asked teachers to categorize 12 year old male students as either likely or unlikely to get into trouble with the law Then they interviewed the boys & their mothers to assess each boy s self-concept & how they related to others good boys displayed a strong conscience bad boys had a weaker conscience, displayed little tolerance for frustration and felt out of step with conventional culture Critical Review some connection, however most serious crimes are committed by people whose psychological profiles are normal The Social Foundations of Deviance 1. Deviance varies according to cultural norms 1. Deviance is diverse 2. It becomes deviant only in relation to particular norms 2. People become deviant as others define them that way 1. Everyone violates cultural norms at one time or another 2. Based on how others perceive the act, define and respond to it The Social Foundations of Deviance 3. Both norms and the way people define situations involve social power - law is the means by which powerful people protect their interests - Example: homeless person who stands on the street corner speaking out against the government risk arrest of disturbing the peace oppose to a mayoral candidate during an election campaign does exactly the same thing and gets police protection 3

4 Durkheim s Basic Insight 1. Deviance affirms cultural values and norms 1. There can be no good without evil and no justice without crime 2. Deviance is needed to define & sustain morality 2. Responding to deviance clarifies moral boundaries 1. Draw a boundary between right and wrong 2. Set expectations to define what is expected Durkheim s Basic Insight 3. Responding to deviance brings people together 1. People typically react to serious deviance with shared outrage; Ex. 9/11/01 4. Deviance encourages social change 1. Suggest alternatives to the status quo 2. Example rock n roll condemned as immoral in the 1950 s became a mainstream, multibillion dollar industry just a few yrs later Merton s Strain Theory Robert Merton argued that excessive deviance arises from particular social arrangements; according to Merton the strain between our culture s emphasis on wealth & the lack of opportunities to get rich gives rise this is: 1. Innovation street crime; accepting the cultural goals (wealth) but rejecting conventional means (hard work) 2. Ritualism they obsessively stick to the rules 3. Retreatism Rejecting both cultural goals and means so that one in effect, drops out. 4. Rebellion forming a counterculture & advocating alternatives to the existing social order 4

5 LABELING THEORY The assertion that deviance & conformity result not so much from what people do as from how others respond to those actions People may define the same behavior in any number of ways Example roommate takes an article of clothing, a married woman at a convention in a distant city has sex w/ an old boyfriend Primary & Secondary Deviance Skipping school or underage drinking provoke slight reaction from others primary deviance Secondary deviance, by which a person repeatedly violates a norm and begins to take on a deviant identity STIGMA A powerfully negative label that greatly changes a person s self-concept & social identity Operates as a master status, overpowering other dimensions of identity so that a person is discredited in the minds of others and consequently becomes socially isolated 5

6 Labeling Difference as Deviance People have a tendency to treat behavior that irritates or threatens them as deviance or even mental illness The Medicalization of Deviance The transformation of moral and legal deviance into a medical condition We judge people or their behavior as bad or good ; the scientific objectivity of medicine passes no moral judgment diagnoses are used as sick or well Until the mid 20 th century most people viewed alcoholics as morally weak people, however medical specialist redefined alcoholism as a disease making people sick instead of bad The Medicalization of Deviance 1 st it affects who responds to deviance Applying medical terms transfers the situation to the control of clinical specialists (counselors, psychiatrist) 2 nd how people are respond Moral approach defines deviants as offenders; medically they are patients who need treatment 3 rd the personal competence of the deviant person We take responsibility for our own behavior Once defined as sick, however we are seen as unable to control our actions 6

7 Hirschi s Control Theory 1. Attachment strong social attachments encourage conformity. Weak family, peer & school relationships leave people freer to engage in deviance 2. Opportunity the greater a person s access to legitimate opportunity, the greater the advantages of conformity 3. Involvement extensive involvement in legitimate activities. People who simply hang out waiting for something to happen have the time and energy to engage in deviant activity 4. Belief strong beliefs in conventional morality and respect for authority figures restrain tendencies toward deviance. People with a weak conscience are more open to temptation White-Collar Crime Edwin Sutherland in 1940 defined it as crime committed by people of high social position in the course of their occupation Do not involve violence and rarely bring police with guns drawn to the scene Use their powerful offices to illegally enrich themselves or others often causing significant public harm in the process Ex bank embezzlement, business fraud, bibery Corporate Crime Consists of the illegal actions of a corporation or people acting on its behalf Ranges from knowingly selling faulty or dangerous products to deliberately polluting the environment Most cases of corporate crime go unpunished The cost of corporate crimes goes beyond $ s The collapse of Enron, Global Crossing, Tyco Int. & other corporations in recent yrs cost tens of thousands of people their jobs and their pensions 7

8 Organized Crime Is a business supplying illegal goods or services Involves selling illegal goods and services, including sex, drugs or gambling to a willing public The Italian Mafia is a well-known example of organized crime Today involves; selling illegal drugs, prostitution, credit card fraud & selling false identification papers to illegal immigrants Hate Crimes Criminal act against a person or a person s property by an offender motivated by racial or other bias By states and the federal govt had enacted legislation that raises penalties for crimes motivated by hatred Supporters are gratified but opponents charge that such laws which increase the penalty for a crime based on the attitudes of the offender amount to punishing politically incorrect thoughts C R I M E Crimes against the person Violent crimes are crimes that direct violence or the threat of violence against others Crimes against property Crimes that involve theft of property belongings to others; burglary, larceny-theft, auto-theft, and arson Victimless crimes Violations of law in which there are no obvious victims Crimes w/out complaint, they include illegal drug use, prostitution and gambling They are misleading; laws differ from place to place 8

9 U.S. Criminal Justice System Due Process Police Courts Punishment Retribution moral vengeance by which society makes the offender suffer as much as the crime; eye for an eye Deterrence the attempt to discourage criminality through the use of punishment; deter in 2 ways, specific and general Rehabilitation a program for reforming the offender to prevent later offenses Societal Protection intended to protect society from crime 9