Deviance

Deviance

Crime, Punishment, and Society

Deviance• The recognized violation of cultural norms• Norms guide human activities – the concept of

deviance is broad

Deviance is…

• Its more than the matter of individual choice or personal failing.

• How a society defines deviance• Who is branded deviant• What people decide to do about deviance

Categories of Deviance• Crime – the violation of society's formally

enacted criminal laws–Minor traffic violations to sexual assault to murder

CrimeTwo elements:– Act itself (or failure to act)– Intent (willful conduct to negligence)

Types of Crime:1. Crimes against the person –Murder, aggravated assault. rape

2. Crimes against property– Theft, arson, burglary

3. Victimless crimes – Prostitution, drug use, gambling

Punishment• Social Control – attempts by society to

regulate people’s thoughts and behavior– Informal – parents scold/praise their child

• Criminal Justice System – a formal response by police, courts, and prison officials to alleged violations of the law

Response Thermometer

#1• The US should continue to use the death

penalty.

#2The death penalty stops criminals from committing crimes

#3The death penalty keeps people safe from future crimes

3 Analyses of Deviance• Structural-Functional Analysis• Symbolic-Interaction Analysis• Social-Conflict Analysis

Robert Merton• Deviance is… a conscious

choice• An individual who remains in

their circumstances by their own free will instead of by force

1. Conformity • Individuals accept social norms and the means

to obtain them

2. Innovation• Goals such as wealth and power are accepted

by any means possible• Ex: insider trading for a stockbroker

3. Ritualism• Instead of accepting the goals and rejecting the

means a ritualistic deviant rejects the goal but accepts the means

• Ex: hating your job but doing it

4. Retreatism • Combo of innovative and ritualistic deviance• Rejects both the goals of society and

legitimate means of obtaining the goals • Ex: drug addicts, habitually unemployed

people

5. Rebellion• Individuals that reject both the cultural means

of society and the venues for obtaining them • Difference: they pursue alt. and seek to

replace existing cultural norms • Ex: terrorists, gangs, revolutionaries