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Deviance

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The violation of social norms (or rules or expectations) regardless of how serious or minor the violation may be

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Conformity

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The opposite of deviance; following of norms

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relative deviance

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Because different groups and cultures have different norms, what is deviant to some is not deviant to others

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Social Order

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A group's predictable, usual and customary social arrangements, on which its members depend and on which they base their lives; no human group can exist without its norms

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Social Control

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A group's formal and informal means of enforcing its norm,

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examples of informal agents of social control

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family, friends, religion

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examples of formal agents of social control

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laws, police courts, corrections (jails, prisons, probation)

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norms

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expectations or rules of behavior that reflect and enforce values

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three types of norms

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folkways, mores, taboos

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folkways

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norms that are not strictly enforced. example: polite manners

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mores

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norms that are essential to our core values. examples: criminal laws

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taboos

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a norm so strong that it often brings revulsion if violated

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sanctions

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used to punish those who violate norms (negative) and to reward those who follow norms (positive)

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Sociobiologists

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look for answers inside individuals and genetic predispositions

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Psychologists

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Focuses on abnormalities within individuals; personality disorders, deviant personalities

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Sociologists

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Look for answers outside individuals and external influences such as social class and subcultures to see why people commit crimes

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Differential Association Theory

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People learn to deviate by associating with others who deviate. We learn to either conform or deviate by those we associate with. Families, friends, neighbors, and subcultures all give us messages about conformity and deviance.

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Symbolic Interactionist Perspective

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Control Theory: we all want to commit deviant acts but don't because of inner controls and outer controls

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social bonds

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The stronger our bonds with society, the more effective our inner controls are against deviance. Based on attachments, commitments, involvements, beliefs

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inner controls

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morality, conscience, religious principles

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outer controls

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family, friends, the police

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Symbolic Interactionist

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Labeling Theory: focuses on the names and reputations we are given which become part of our self-concept and channel us either into deviance or conformity; Reputations can give people different expectations of behavior and labels can shape how we see ourselves.

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Techniques of Neutralization Theory

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Techniques to reject society's norms and resist negative labels: Denial of Responsibility, Denial of Injury, Denial of Victim, Condemnation of the Condemners, Appeal to Higher Loyalties

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Denial of Responsibility

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"I am not responsible because..."

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Denial of Injury

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"No one got hurt"

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Denial of a Victim

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"He/She deserved what they got"

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Condemnation of the Condemners

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"Who are you to judge me?"

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Appeal to Higher Loyalties

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"I had to do it to help my friends"

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The Saints and The Roughnecks Research

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Research conducted by sociologist William Chambliss on the power of labels studying two groups of boys. The reputations of the two groups put the boys on two distinct paths; teachers and police and society saw what they expected to see -the self fulfilling prophecy. Labels can open or close doors of opportunity.

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Functionalist Perspective

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Society is viewed as composed of various parts, each with a function that, when fulfilled, contributes to society's balance in three ways: Belief that deviance contributes to social order in 3 ways: Clarifies moral boundaries and affirms norms; promotes social unity; promotes social change.

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Strain theory

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Refers to the frustrations people feel when they want success but find their way to it blocked. Theory that deviance is the result of the tensions caused by the gap between cultural goals and the institutionalized means people have to achieve these goals; the imbalance between cultural goals and structurally available means can compel individuals into deviant behavior.

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Merton's Structural Strain Theory

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5 different responses: Conformity, Innovator, Ritualism, Retreatism, Rebellionism

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Illegitimate Opportunity Structures

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Social Class Produces Distinct Styles of Crime: Street Crime, White-Collar Crime, Gender and Crime

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Conflict Perspective

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Class, Crime and Criminal Justice. Belief that the power elite uses the legal system to control workers and to stablilize the social order with the goal of keeping itself in power; belief that power and social inequality are the main characteristics of society

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Reactions to Deviance

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Street crime and prisons, the decline of crime, recidivism, the death penalty bias

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social stratification

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the division of large numbers of people into layers according to their relative property, power, and prestige. Applies to both nations and to people within a nation, society, or other group. Some societies have greater inequality than others. Does not refer to individuals. Gender is a basis for stratifying people in every society.

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power

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the ability of individuals or groups to achieve goals, control events and maintain influence over others despite opposition; the ability to carry out your will, even over the resistance of others.

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property

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wealth; the money and other economic assets that a person or family owns; the total value of everything someone owns; net worth

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prestige/social status

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respect, recognition or regard attached to social positions

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systems of stratification within a nation

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Slavery; Caste System; Estate System; Class Systemr

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slavery

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a form of social stratification in which some people own other people

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caste system

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A form of social stratification in which one's status is ascribed (determined by birth and is life long)

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ascribed status

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Determined by birth and is life long; can include race, gender, nationality, body type and age

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What is the underlying basis of India's caste system?

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Religion; Remains part of everyday life as it has been for almost three thousand years; system made up of four main castes (varnas). The lowest caste (Dalit) is considered to be "untouchable" and ablutions or washing rituals are required to restore purity for those contaminated by individuals from this group.

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Estate stratification system

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Developed in Europe during middle ages; includes First Estate (nobililty, wealthy families who rule country); Second Estate (clergy - Roman Catholic); Third Estate (serfs, belonging to the land)

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Class system of stratification

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A system which is much more open than caste system and allows for social mobility and is based on social class - a category of people who have a similar rank or standing in society based on wealth, education, power, prestige and other resources. People can change social class by what they achieve or fail to achieve making social class an open stratification system.

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Global stratification and the status of women

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gender is a basis for social stratification

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The Global Superclass

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6000 members, richest 1000 have more wealth than the 2.5 billion poorest people in the world.

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Karl Marx

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Believed social class is divided into the bourgeoisie (those who control the means of production) and the proletariats (those who are exploited by the bourgeoisie

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Max Weber

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Believed social class is defined as people who share similar levels of power, property and prestige. Did not believe that property was the sole basis of a person's position in the stratification system.

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Davis and Moore Functionalist View

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Functionalist View of Why Social Stratification is Universal: For society to function, all positions must be filled; some positions are more important than others. The result is stratification: Those who perform the difficult tasks that required more intelligence were entitled to more power, prestige, and property. Those in the lower income positions have less property, wealth, power, and prestige.

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Melvin Tuman

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Disagreed with Davis and Moore's Functionalist View on Stratification. Found that gender and income of an individual's family were often more important predictors than ability or what type of work and individual would do; men are typically placed in a higher social stratification than women, regardless of ability; people born into poverty are more likely to be shut out of positions that aer associated with power, property, and prestige.

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Conflict Perspective on Social Stratification (Mosca)

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Gaetano Mosca argued that every society will be stratified by power and that stratification is inevitable because no society can exist unless it is organized and this requires leadership of some sort; leadership, by definition, requires inequalities of power; and human nature is self-centered, therefore, people in power will use their positions to seize greater rewards for themselves.

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Conflict Perspective on Social Stratification (Marx)

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The bourgeoisie (capitalists) own the means of production and the proletariat (workers), those who work for the owners. Belief that social class is determined exclusively by one's relationship to the means of production.

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Social Class

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A large group of people who rank closely to one another in property (wealth), power, and prestige. It can be acquired (achieved) and is an Open Stratification System-can change based on what a person achieves or fails to achieve.

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Property (wealth)

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The money and other economic assets that person or family owns, including property and income.

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Income

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A flow of money

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Wealth

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A person's net worth; property plus income minus debt.

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Wright Mills-The Power Elite

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Those persons in society who hold positions of great wealth and power and who make the big decisions that affect the life of the nation. The wealthy and powerful elites have a similar viewpoint of the world and their special place in it because of their shared backgrounds and vested interests. They maintain their influence by using their power and wealth to protect their interests.

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Prestige

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Respect, recognition or regard attached to social positions, usually based on wealth, family background, fame, leadership, power, educational background, or occupations

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Occupations and prestige

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Jobs with the most prestige share 4 features: They pay more, They require more education, They entail more abstract thought, they offer greater autonomy.

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Status consistency

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Ranking high or low on all three dimensions of social class property, property (wealth and income), power and prestige. Most people rank at the same level in all three components.

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Status inconsistency

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Ranking high on some dimensios

Sociology – Chapters 6, 7, 8 – Flashcards

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