Deviance, Crime, and the Topic Test – Flashcards

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Competition leads to deviance and social inequality leads to deviance.

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Anomie

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Deviance is known as behavior that violates significant social norms.

Natural part of society

Competition and inequality lead to deviance, ruling class vs lower class

Strain theory is a theory of deviant behavior that views deviance as the natural outgrowth of the values, norms, and structure of society.

a. Conformity: Accept goals b. Innovation: Develop new means c. Ritualism: Abandon goals d. Retreatism: Reject goals e. Rebellion: Substitute new goals

Anomie is a situation that arises when the norms of society are unclear or are no longer applicable.

Influence of interaction - Control theory - Cultural transmission theory - Differential association - Techniques of neutralization

Control theory is a theory of deviant behavior in which deviance is seen as natural occurrences and conformity is seen as the result of social control.

Cultural transmission theory is a theory that views deviance as a learned behavior transmitted through interaction with others.

Differential association is a proportion of associations a person has with deviant versus non-deviant individuals.

Techniques of neutralization are ways of suspending moral beliefs to commit deviant acts.

The label theory is a theory that focuses on how individuals come to be labeled as deviant.

Primary deviance is nonconformity undetected by authority in which the individuals who commit deviant acts do not consider themselves to be deviant, and neither does society.

Secondary deviance is the nonconformity that results in the individuals who commit acts of primary deviance being labeled as deviant and accepting that label as true.

- Use of illegal drugs - Attacking another person with a weapon - Talking to self in public

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Commitment of a deviant act and stigmatized

Mark of social disgrace

1. Clarifying norms - Defines boundaries of acceptable behavior 2. Unifying the group - Reinforces differences between conformists and nonconformists 3. Diffusing tension - Demonstrations of social discontent without destroying social order 4. Promoting social change - Identifying problem areas 5. Providing jobs - Police officers, judges, lawyers

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Primary deviance

Society places a high value on certain goals. However, not everyone can achieve these goals. Nonetheless, society expects them to meet these goals and society judges them according to how well they do. When they fail, individuals fall victim to anomie. They are left without sufficient guidelines for behavior, thus confusing both the individuals and society.

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The practice that assumes that nonwhite Americans are more likely to commit crimes than white Americans.

The process of legal negotiation that allows an individual to plead guilty to a lesser charge in return for a lighter sentence.

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Victimless crimes are crimes such as prostitution, illegal gambling, illegal drug use, and vagrancy.These are viewed as victimless crimes because they supposedly harm no one except for the person committing the crime.

The most important components of the criminal-justice system are police, courts, and corrections.

The process of labeling an individual as deviant which is usually performed in some type of a public setting in which the individual is found guilty, denounced, and given the new identity of deviant.

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Retribution: punishment serves as an act of revenge for the victim and society. Deterrence: corrections intended to discourage the individual and society from committing future crimes. Rehabilitation: places to reform criminals so they can return to society as law-abiding citizens. Social Protection: this limits the freedom of the offenders, thereby protecting society from the offender committing further acts.

The considerable power that the police have to decide who is actually arrested.

A crime refers to any act that is labeled as such by those in authority, is prohibited by law, and is punishable by the government.

Terrorism is the use of threatened or actual violence in the pursuit of political goals.

White-collar crime is crime that is committed by an individual or individuals of high social status in the course of their professional lives.

A crime syndicate is a large-scale organization of professional criminals that controls some vice or business through violence or the threat of violence.

Repeated criminal behavior