Sociology of Deviancy: Doing the Abnormal Thing

1. Sociology of Deviancy:Doing the Abnormal Thing

2. Terms • Norms- Expected behavior in a given situation • Folkways- Norms that do not have a great deal of moral significance attached to them • Mores- Norms that do have a great deal of moral significance attached to them • Deviance- Behavior that violates a norm in a given situation • Taboo- Norm that has an extremely great significance and violating it tends to cause revulsion • Laws- Written rules of conduct by a government body; They are also norms • Crime- Violation of a law; deviant act as well

3. Social Control • Enforcing the norms through either internalization or sanctions • No society can survive for long without an effective system of social control • Principal means of social control is self-control which is learned through internalization • Internalization • Process by which a norm becomes a part of an individual's personality, thereby conditioning the individual to conform to society's norms • Not only do we believe that a norm is best for us but also for everyone else • We do them not because we fear punishment or to seek praise but rather because it's the "right" thing to do • Most of us follow norms and laws without a second thought but some are motivated by sanctions

4. Sanctions • Rewards or punishments used to enforce conformity to norms • Positive sanction- An action that rewards a particular behavior • Praise, cookie, "A" on a project, bonus from boss, etc • Negative Sanction- An action to punish or discourage a particular behavior • Timeouts, "F" on a project, Getting fired, Fines, imprisonment, and even death • Formal Sanction • Positive or negative sanction that given by a formal organization or agency (school, business, or government) • Informal Sanction • Spontaneous expression of approval or disapproval given by a individual or group • Ovations, pats on the back, gifts, etc • Frowns, insults, gossip, etc • Most norms are enforced informally especially during the teenage years • Many agencies of social control- Authority figures, the police, the courts, religion, family members, and public opinion • Social Change- Fight between the status quo and deviancy • Resistance to Change?

5. Deviance • Deviance- Behavior that violates significant social norms • Individuals do not internalize every norm and even sanctions can not make every one conform • Because there are so many norms governing behavior, violations (deviant acts) are unavoidable • Not all norm violations are considered deviant; Changes from situation to situation, generation to generation, region to region, society to society, and culture to culture (Yanomamo) • Labeling someone as deviant • Acts are known by society • Stigmatized by society • Stigma- Mark of social disgrace that sets the deviant apart from the rest of society • Used as a form of social control • Outward signs (marks, clothing, DUI decals, shaming, • Society's negative reaction that result from being labeled deviant (OJ and Michael) • Deviancy is not simply the acts by the offender but the reaction to those acts; Thus deviancy varies (farting in public) • "Norms make social life possible by making behavior predictable" • Social chaos • Norms bring social order • Deviance undermines predictability • Development of social control

6. Ingredients for Deviance • A rule or norm has to exist • Someone violates the norm • An “audience” to judge • Measurable reaction by the audience A, B, C’s of Deviance • Attitudes (and beliefs) - Cognitive deviance (social, religious, political, and scientific beliefs); Beliefs are not deviant simply because they are wrong. They are deviant because they violate the norm. In the same token, in any given situation, a clearly incorrect attitude or belief may not be deviant • Behaviors- Obviously these are most regarded when considering deviance (Actions speak louder than words); Our actions are normally judged far more heavily than our words or beliefs; “Dishonest character is revealed mainly by dishonest behavior; a weak will and an inability to resist temptation are revealed by drug abuse, alcoholism, adultery, gambling, and so on.” • Conditions- Of the three, these are perhaps the most unfair “reactions” in terms of deviant behavior. We tend to judge others by a physical condition that they may not have any control over (weight, physical disabilities, diseases, skin color, hair color, height, beauty)

7. Studying Deviance • Social Constructionism Perspective • Argues that it is the rules, the norms, the reactions to, and the representations of certain behavior, beliefs, and conditions need to be studied. • It is curious about how and why something comes to be regarded as or judged to be deviant • Durkheim (Functionalism), Becker (Labeling Theory), Conflict theories  • Questions • How do certain actions come to be regarded as criminal and unlawful? • How are certain beliefs conceptualized as heresy, blasphemy, godlessness, disloyalty, or ignorance? • Why are certain physical characteristics even noticed in the first place? • Why is a specific behavior, belief, or trait condemned in one society but not in another? • Why does theft generate the punishment of a beating in one society but a prison sentence in another? • How the media deal with white-collar and corporate crime? • Who gets locked up for which crimes and who doesn’t? • Why are some activities, beliefs, and traits on a society’s radar screen while others are ignored?

8. Studying Deviance • Positivism Perspective (Scientific Method) • Deviant behavior, beliefs, and conditions are to be explained through scientific observation • Judging the person who engages in deviancy • Punish the criminal rather than crime • Norms and rules are a given entity; The violator and his/her “baggage” is the variable • Merton (Strain Theory), Sunderland (Differential Association), Hirshi (Social Bond), Social Shaming, Deterrence  • Questions • What causes these things to happen or exist? • What kind of person would do such things? • What social arrangements or factors encourage such behavior? • Why is the crime rate so much higher in some societies or countries than in others? • What kinds of people violate the norms of their society? • Why are men so much more likely to engage in most forms of deviance than women? The young more than the old? Urban dwellers more than rural? • What factors or variables encourage, cause, or influence white-collar crime?

9. The Social Functions of Deviance (Durkheim) • Clarifying norms • Reminders to others (Norms) when deviants are singled out • Deterrence theory • Unifying the Group • Insiders vs. Outsiders • Deviance is created in order to define who is in and out • Diffusing Tension • Minor acts of deviance serve as a "safety value" • Relieve tension without disrupting the moral fabric of society • Promoting Social Change • Deviance is mass numbers is a sign for a need to change • Providing Jobs • Job security • As long as there are deviants, there is a need to police those deviants

10. Understanding Deviance(Theories) • Functionalist Theories • Durkheim - Deviance and especially crime is functional for a society (see above) • “Crime is useful, inevitable, and normal” • Arguments-Is deviance/crime a natural part of any society or do mainstream values generate deviant behavior? • Cloward/Ohlin- The push for success by all members of a society is strongly encouraged but unfortunately the ends are not satisfied by the means (strain) • Merton- Four deviant paths (incompatible goals and means).

11. Conformity: People who accept society’s values of success and the legitimate or conventional means by which they achieve those goals • Again this simply serves as a standard for comparison • While most in our society fall into this category, most do not achieve those goals that they have set for themselves but still do not engage in any serious deviance • Innovation: People who accept the goal of success in our society but choose to achieve it in an illegal, illegitimate, and/or deviant fashion. • Most interesting and most studied category by Merton • Covers a wide spectrum of criminal behavior and while normally centered around the lower classes, it does apply to all classes. • “Why work at McDonalds when I can make tons more as a drug dealer” theory

12. Ritualism: People who abandon their lofty goals or at the least lower them but all the while continue to abide by the “rules” of society to attain them. • Over-conformity allows them some piece of mind • Going through the motions or perhaps burned out by their job • Retreatism: People who reject both society’s idea of success and the means by which to achieve that success • Withdrawal from society into the shell of one’s self • Condition brought on perhaps by continued failure in terms of society’s norms • Homeless, substance abusers, outcasts (Into the Wild?) • Rebellion: People who not only do not accept the goals of society as well as the means but wish to change and/or overthrow them as well. • Obviously the most feared by those who maintain the status quo or the norms of society

13. Social classes tend to manifest deviant acts • Street crimes are “functional” for the lower classes • Lower classes are bombarded with images of better life and educated in a middle class school system • The result is failure at school and legitimate means to success are closed • Ohlin- Illegitimate Opportunity Structures (robbery, burglary, drug dealing, prostitution, pimping, gambling) • Role models and role of gangs • White Collar crimes are “functional” for the middle and upper classes • Street crimes are given more publicity (until recently) • Motivation for crime?

14. Symbolic Interactionist Theories • We act (or deviate) according to how we interpret situations, not according to blind dispositions • Social membership shape our view of life and thus our behavior • Differential Association Theory- Learn deviance • Role and families and other social groups • We pick the groups that we associate with and thus ultimately our behaviors • Control Theory- Balance between doing what is "right" and what is "wrong" • Inner and Outer Controls • Social Bonds- Hirshi • Attachment to conventional people and institutions • Commitment to conformity (education, work, career building) • Involvement in conventional activities (sports, hobbies, etc) • Belief in the validity of social rules • Labeling Theory • Stigmas or labels to deviant behavior • Eventually become part of self-concept • Rejecting labels: How people neutralize deviance • Denial of Responsibility • Denial of Injury • Denial of a Victim • Condemnation of the Condemners • Appeal to Higher Loyalties

15. Conflict Theory • Competition and social inequality lead to deviance • Struggle between the "haves" and "have-nots" • The "Have-nots" commit crime and/or deviate because • Obtain economic rewards • Have low self-esteem and feelings of powerlessness • Ruling classes create ideologies (belief systems) to protect power base and explain deviance as a problem found primarily in lower classes • People without power commit the types of crime that are most likely to be detected and punished • Laws as an instrument of oppression • Vice crime laws • Occasional White-Collar scapegoat cases • Bypassing of normal court system

16. Crime • Crime- Any act that is labeled as such by those in authority, is prohibited by law, and is punishable by the government • Deviance vs. Crime • Criminals vs. Victims • Influence of mass media in terms of perceptions of crime • Trends in terms of race, gender, age, and socio-economic status • UCR/NIBRS (Uniform Crime Report) vs. NCVS (National Crime Victimization Survey) • Street Crime/Index Crimes • Violent Crime • Murder, Rape, Robbery, Assault • Statistics • Perpetrators • Victims • Property Crimes • Burglary, Larceny, Motor Vehicle theft and Arson • Much more likely than violent crime • Statistics • Perpetrators • Victims

17. Victimless Crime • Offenses in which the “offender” and the “victim” are the same individual or in which the behavior is consensual • Prostitution, gambling, drugs, and vagrancy • Do have an affect on family and society • White Collar • Crime that is committed by an individual or individuals of high social status in the course of their professional lives • Ends are the same but the means are different • Historically ignored but getting more "play" recently • Economic and personal harm • Organized Crime • Crime syndicates/professional criminals • Control some vice or business through violence or the threat of violence • Legal fronts/money laundering

18. The Criminal-Justice System • Police • Many job opportunities • First step in process of whether someone is imprisoned or not (police discretion) • Seriousness of crime • Wishes of victim • Attitude of suspect • Bystanders • "Race card"- racial profiling The practice of assuming nonwhite Americans are more likely to commit crimes than white Americans • Courts • Determines guilt or innocence of an accused person • Assigns punishment • Plea Bargaining (90%)- Process of legal negotiation that allows an accused person to plead guilt to a lesser charge in return for a light sentence • Corrections- • Sanctions- Probation, Imprisonment, and Parole • Basic Functions • Retribution • Deterrence • Rehabilitation • Social Protection • Recidivism-Repeated criminal behavior 

19. Ultimate Societal Retribution • Death Penalty- Society’s reaction to worst of deviant acts • Other taboos worthy? • Perpetrator Catharsis • Denial/Isolation • Depression • Bargaining • Anger • Acceptance