Flashcards About Sociology Ch. 7
Unlock all answers in this set
Unlock answersquestion
Deviance
answer
Any behavior, belief, or condition that violates significant social norms in the society or group in which it occurs
question
Behavioral Deviance
answer
Based on a person's intentional or inadvertent actions Example: In intentional deviance by drinking too much or robbing a bank, or inadvertent deviance by losing money in a casino or laughing at a funeral
question
Stigma
answer
As any physical or social attribute or sign that so devalues a person's social identity that it disqualifies the person from little social acceptance
question
Crime
answer
Behavior that violates criminal law and is punishable with fines, jail terms, and/or other negative sanctions
question
Juvenile Delinquency
answer
Refers to a violation of law or the commission of a status offense by young people
question
Status Offense
answer
Are illegal only when committed by younger people Example: Cutting school or running away from home
question
Social Control
answer
Refers to the systematic practices that social groups develop in order to encourage conformity to norms, rules, and laws to discourage deviance
question
What does internal social control take place through?
answer
Socialization
question
What does external social control involve?
answer
The use of negative sanctions that proscribe certain behaviors and set forth the punishments for rule breakers and nonconformists
question
Criminology
answer
The systematic study of crime and the criminal justice system, including the police, courts, and prisons
question
According to functionalists,
answer
A certain amount of deviance contributes to the smooth functioning society
question
What did Emile Durkheim believe?
answer
That deviance is rooted in societal factors such as rapid social change and lack of social integration among people
question
Anomie
answer
A social condition in which people experience a sense of futility because social norms are weak, absent, or conflicting
question
According to Durkheim, as social integration decreased,
answer
Deviance and cime increased
question
What are the three important functions of deviance that contemporary functionalists suggest?
answer
1. Deviance clarifies rules 2. Deviance unites a group 3. Deviance promotes social change
question
Robert Merton's Strain Theory
answer
People feel strain when they are exposed to cultural goals that they are unable to obtain because they do not have access to culturally approved means of achieving those goals
question
According to Merton, what are the five ways in which people adapt to cultural goals and approved ways of achieving them?
answer
Conformity, Innovation, Ritualism, Retreatism, and Rebellion (CIRRR) Everything except conformity is an adaption of deviance
question
Conformity
answer
Occurs when people accept cultural approved goals and pursue them through approved means
question
Innovation
answer
Occurs when people accept society's goals but adopt disapproved means for achieving them Examples: Theft and drug dealing
question
Ritualism
answer
Occurs when people give up on societal goals but still adhere to the socially approved means for achieving them Example: Seek to maintain the respect of others by being a "hard worker" or a "good citizen"
question
Retreatism
answer
Occurs when people abandon both the approved goals and the approved means of achieving them
question
Rebellion
answer
Occurs when people challenge both the approved goals and the approved means for achieving them and advocate an alternative set of goals or means Example: Rebels may use violence (such as rioting) or many register their displeasure with society through acts of vandalism or graffiti
question
Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin's Theory
answer
Illegitimate Opportunity Structures: Circumstances that provide an opportunity for people to acquire through illegitimate activities what they cannot achieve through illegitimate channels
question
What are the three basic gang types that Cloward and Ohlin identified?
answer
Criminal, conflict, and retreatism
question
Criminal Gangs
answer
Devoted to theft, extortion, and other illegal means of securing an income Example: Running drug houses and selling drugs on street corners make it possible for them to support themselves and their families as well as purchase material possessions to impress others
question
Conflict Gangs
answer
Emerge in communities that do not provide either legitimate or illegitimate opportunities Example: Seek to acquire a "rep" by fighting over "turf" and adopting a value systems of toughness, courage, and similar qualities
question
Retreatist Gangs
answer
Are unable to gain success through legitimate means and are unwilling to do so through illegal ones. As a result, the consumption of drugs is stressed, and addiction is prevalent
question
What do the different branches of conflict theory say about deviance?
answer
- Power as the central factor in defining deviance and crime: people in positions of power maintain their advantage by using the law to protect their interests - Relationship between deviance and capitalism - Focuses on feminist perspectives and the confluence of race, class, and gender issues in regard to deviance and crime
question
Liberal Feminist Approach
answer
Women's deviance and crime are a rational response to the gender discrimination that women experience in families and the workplace
question
Radical Feminist Approach
answer
Views the cause of women's crime as originating in patriarchy (male domination over females) From this video, arrests and prosecution for crimes such as prostitution reflect our society's sexual double standard whereby it is acceptable for a man to pay for sex but unacceptable for a woman to accept money for such services
question
Marxist (Social) Feminist Approach
answer
Based on the assumption that women are exploited by both capitalism and patriarchy Because many females have relatively low-wage jobs (if any) and few economic resources, crimes such as prostitution and shoplifting become a means to earn money or acquire consumer goods
question
What does the symbolic interactionist approach say?
answer
According to this approach, deviance is learned in the same way as conformity - through interaction with others
question
What does Edwin Sutherland's Differential Association Theory say?
answer
That people have a greater tendency to deviate from societal norms when they frequently associate with individuals who are more favorable toward deviance than conformity
question
What does Ronald Akers' Differential Reinforcement Theory suggest?
answer
That both deviant behavior and conventional behavior are learned through the same social processes. People need to learn to evaluate their own behavior through interactions with significant others
question
Rational Choice Theory of Deviance
answer
States that deviant behavior occurs when a person weighs the costs and benefits of nonconventional or criminal behavior and determines that the benefits will outweigh the risks involved in such actions
question
Situational Factors
answer
The place of the crime, suitable targets, and the availability of people to deter the behavior
question
Personal Factors
answer
What rewards they may gain from their criminal behavior
question
What is a major strength of the Rational Choice Theory?
answer
Explains why high-risk youths do not constantly engage in delinquent acts
question
What does Walter Reckless' Control Theory suggest?
answer
That conformity is often associated with a person's bods to other people
question
Inner Containments
answer
Self-control, a sense of responsibility, and resistance to diversions
question
Outer Containments
answer
Supportive family and friends, reasonable social expectations, and supervision by others
question
What is Travis Hirschi's social control theory based on?
answer
The assumption that deviant behavior is minimized when people have strong bonds that bind them to families, schools, peers, churches, and other social institutions
question
Social Bond Theory
answer
Holds that the probability of deviant behavior increases when a person's ties to society are weakened or broken
question
Labeling Theory
answer
States that deviance is a socially constructed process in which social control agencies designate certain people as deviants and they, in turn, come to accept the label placed upon them and begin to set accordingly
question
According to Howard Becker, moral entrepreneurs
answer
Are often the ones who create the rules about what constitutes deviant or conventional behavior
question
Primary Deviance
answer
Refers to the initial act of rule breaking
question
Secondary Deviance
answer
Occurs when a person who has been labeled a deviant accepts the new identity and continues the deviant behavior
question
Tertiary Deviance
answer
Occurs when a person who has been labeled a deviant seeks to normalize the behavior by relabeling it as non-deviant Example: Drug users who believe that using marijuana or other illegal drugs is no more deviant than drinking alcoholic beverages and therefore should not be stigmatized
question
What does the labeling theory not explain?
answer
What used the original acts that constituted primary deviance, nor does it provide insight into why some people accept deviant labels and others do not
question
What do postmodern theorists emphasize?
answer
That the study of deviance reveals how the powerful exert control over the powerless by taking away their free will to think and act as they might choose Examples: Institutions such as prisons, schools, and mental hospitals use knowledge, norms, and values to categorize people into "deviant" subgroups such as slow learners, convicted felons, or criminally insane, and then to control them through specific patterns of discipline
question
Panoptican
answer
A structure that gives prison officials the possibility of complete observation of criminals at all times
question
Felony
answer
A serious crime such as rape, homicide, or aggravated assault, for which punishment typically ranges from more than a year's imprisonment to death
question
Misdemeanor
answer
A minor crime that is typically punished by less than one year in jail
question
What is the major source of information on crimes reported in the United States? Who compiles it?
answer
The Uniform Crime Report (UCR), which is compiled by the FBI
question
Violent Crime
answer
Consists of actions - murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault - involving force or the threat of force against others
question
Property Crimes
answer
Include burglary (breaking into private property to commit a serious crime), motor vehicle theft, larceny-theft (theft of property worth $50 or more), and arson
question
Public Order Crimes
answer
Involve an illegal action voluntarily engaged in by the participants, such as prostitution, illegal gambling, the private use of illegal drugs, and illegal pornography
question
Victimless Crimes
answer
Involve a willing exchange of illegal goods or services among adults
question
Occupational (White-Collar) Crime
answer
Compromises illegal activities committed by people in the course of their employment or financial affairs
question
Corporate Crime
answer
Illegal acts committed by corporate employees on behalf of the corporation and with its support Examples: Anti-trust violations; tax evasion; misrepresentations in advertising; infringements on patents, copyrights, and trademarks; price fixing; and financial fraud
question
Internet Crime
answer
Consists of FBI-related scams, identity theft, advance fee fraud, nonauction/nondelivery of merchandise, and overpayment fraud
question
Advance Fee Fraud
answer
Occurs when a perpetrator seeks to convince the victim to pay a fee to receive something of value, such as a car, but then nothing of value is delivered to the victim
question
Nonauction/Nondelivery Fraud
answer
The purchase does not receive the items that he or she has paid for in an outline auction, or other fraudulent sales offering
question
Overpayment Fraud
answer
Occurs when an online seller receives instructions to deposit in his or her bank account as a money order made out for a higher amount than what the seller is asking for an item being sold on the Internet, and then the extra amount must be returned to the offender
question
Organized Crime
answer
A business operation that supplies illegal goods and services for profit Examples: Drug trafficking, prostitution, loan-sharking, money laundering, and large-scale theft such as truck hijackings
question
Political Crime
answer
Refers to ilegal or unethical acts involving the usurpation of power by government officials or illegal/unethical acts perpetrated against the government by outsiders seeking to make a political statement, undermine the government, or overthrow it
question
Terrorism
answer
The calculated, unlawful use of physical force or threats of violence against persons or property in order to intimidate or coerce a government, organization, or individual for the purpose of gaining some political, religious, economic, or social objective
question
Criminal Justice System
answer
Refers to the local, state, and federal agencies that enforce laws, adjudicate crimes, and treat and rehabilitate criminals Examples: Systems includes the police, the courts, the correctional facilities, and the people in myriads of police agencies, courts, prosecutorial agencies, correctional institutions, and probation and parole departments
question
Discretion
answer
Refers to the use of personal judgment by police officers, prosecutors, judges, and other criminal justice system officials regarding whether and how to proceed in a given situation
question
Racial Profiling
answer
The use of either or racial background as a means of identifying criminal suspects - remains a highly charged issue
question
Sworn Officers
answer
Those who have taken an oath and been given the powers to make arrests and use necessary force in accordance with their duties
question
Community-Oriented Policing
answer
An approach to law enforcement in which officers maintain a presence in the community, walking up and down the streets or riding bicycles, getting to know people, and holding public service meetings at schools, churches, and other neighborhood settings
question
Structured Sentencing (Determinate Sentencing or Mandatory Sentencing)
answer
Sets the term of imprisonment at a fixed period of time for a specific offense
question
Plea Bargain
answer
A process in which the prosecution negotiates a reduced sentence for the accused in exchange for a guilty plea
question
Parens Patriae (Thes tate as parent)
answer
The official purpose of juvenile courts has been to care for, rather than punish, youthful offenders
question
What do juvenile courts seek to do?
answer
Change or resocialize offenders through treatment or therapy, not to punish them. The offender is not "sentenced"; rather, the case is "adjudicated" or "disposed of"
question
Who are jails run by? What are they designed for?
answer
Jails are run by local governments or a sheriff's department. They're designed to hold people before they make bail, when they're awaiting trial, or when they're serving short sentences for committing a misdemeanor
question
Who are prisons run by? What are they designed for?
answer
Prisons are operated by state governments and the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and are designed to hold individuals convicted of felonies
question
Punishment
answer
Any action designed to deprive a person of things of value (including liberty) because of some offense the person is thought to have committed
question
What are the four major goals of punishment?
answer
1. Retribution 2. General deterrence 3. Incapacitation 4. Rehabilitation
question
Retribution
answer
Punishment that a person receives for infringing on the rights of others. The greater the degree of social harm, the more the offender should be punished Example: An individual who murders should be punished more severely than one who shoplifts
question
General Deterrence
answer
Seeks to reduce criminal activity by instilling a fear of punishment in the general public Special deterrence: Inflicts punishment on specific criminals to discourage them from committing future crimes
question
Incapacitation
answer
Based on the assumption that offenders who are detained in prison or are excited will be unable to commit additional crimes Selective Incapacitation: Means that offenders who repeat certain kinds of crimes are sentenced to long prison terms
question
Rehabilitation
answer
Seeks to return offenders to the community as law-abiding citizens by providing therapy or vocational or educational training
question
Restoration
answer
Designed to repair the damage done to the victim and the community by an offender's criminal act
question
Restorative Justice Perspective
answer
States that the criminal justice system should promote a peaceful and just society; therefore, the system should focus on peacemaking rather than on punishing offenders
question
What are included in the field of corrections?
answer
Halfway ouses, probation, work release and education programs, parole supervision, counseling, and community service
question
Structural Solution
answer
Such as more and better education and jobs, affordable housing, more equality and less discrimination, and socially productive activities - are needed to reduce street crime
question
What are the seven strategies that Steven E. Barker proposed for reducing crime and delinquency that are more structural in nature?
answer
1. Create decent jobs that pay a living wage 2. Provide economic aid for people who are unemployed or are barely making it 3. End racial segregation in housing 4. Strengthen social integration and social institutions in urban neighborhoods 5. Reduce housing and population density 6. Change male socialization 7. Reduce economic inequality
