Chapter 7, Deviance, Conformity and Social Control

1. Chapter 7, Deviance, Conformity and Social Control Key Terms

2. devianceAny behavior or physical appearance that is socially challenged and and/or condemned because it departs from the norms and expectations of a group. • conformityBehaviors and appearances that follow and maintain the standards of the group.

3. social controlMethods used to teach, persuade or force a group’s members, and even nonmembers to comply with and not deviate from norms and expectations. • folkwaysCustomary ways of doing things that apply to the details of life or routine matters.

4. moresNorms that people define as essential to the well-being of their group or nation. • sanctionsReactions of approval or disapproval to others’ behavior and appearances.

5. positive sanctionAn expression of approval and a reward for compliance. • negative sanctionAn expression of disapproval for noncompliance.

6. informal sanctionsSpontaneous, unofficial expressions of approval or disapproval that are not backed by the force of law. • formal sanctionsDefinite and systematic laws, rules, regulations, and policies that specify the conditions under which people should be rewarded or punished and that define the procedures for allocating rewards and imposing punishments.

7. crimeDeviance that breaks the laws of society and is punished by formal sanctions. • conformistsPeople who have not violated the rules of a group and are treated accordingly.

8. pure deviantsPeople who have broken the rules and are caught, punished, and labeled as outsiders. • master status of deviantAn Identification marking a rule breaker first as a deviant and then as having any other identification.

9. racial profilingThe practice of using race as a basis for making decisions such as stopping drivers for traffic violations or searching cars for drugs. • secretdeviantsPeople who have broken the rules but whose violation goes unnoticed or if it is noticed, prompts no one to enforce the law.

10. falselyaccusedPeople who have not broken the rules but who are treated as if they have done so. • witch huntA campaign to identify, investigate and correct behavior that undermines a group or a country.

11. white-collar crimeCrimes committed by respected people of high social status in the course of their occupation. • corporate crimeCrime committed by a corporation as it competes with other companies for market share and profits.

12. confederateSomeone who works in cooperation with a person conducting a research study. • constructionistapproachA sociological approach that focuses on the process by which groups, activities, conditions, or artifacts become defined as problems.

13. claims makersPeople who articulate and promote claims and tend to gain in some way if the targeted audience accepts their claims as true. • conformityBehaviors and appearances that follow and maintain the standards of a group.

14. structural strainAny situation in which (1)the valued goals have unclear limits, (2) people are unsure whether the legitimate means that society provides will allow them to achieve the valued goals, and (3) legitimate opportunities for meeting the goals remain closed to a significant portion of the population.

15. innovationThe acceptance of the cultural goals but the rejection of legitimate means to obtain these goals. • ritualismThe rejection of cultural goals but a rigid adherance to the legitimate means of attaining those goals.

16. retreatismThe rejection of both cultural goals and the means of achieving those goals. • rebellionThe full or partial rejection of both the cultural goals and the means of attaining those goals and the introduction of a new set of goals and means.

17. deviantsubcultureGroups that are part of the larger society but whose members adhere to norms and values that favor violation of the larger society’s laws.