04 01 2014 Chapter 6 Social Control and Deviance Overview Social control defined Deviance defined Theoretical framings of deviance Social Control Means by which members of society encourage conformity to norms Positive and negative sanctions o Conformity brings rewards o Nonconformity carries penalties Informal vs Formal Control Informal social control use of informal sanctioning to facilitate normative conformity unwritten rules cultural norms and values Formal social control use of formally defined sanctioning mechanisms to facilitate normative conformity o Laws codified norms enforced by the state Conformity and Obedience Conformity going along with the group without necessarily being formally obligated to do so Obedience compliance with the directions of authority figures o Example the Milgram study shocks Deviance What is Deviance Behavior that violates the norms of a group or society o Violation of informal or formal norms What is deviant is not set in stone o Differs across and within cultures o Changes over time o Example vandalism murder heroism o Anomie social condition where norms lose their hold on social behavior The Functionalist Perspective Deviance can be both functional and dysfunctional for society o Helps to define acceptable behavior and thus contributes to o Can create a source of social solidarity having characteristics social stability that keep us whole o Can rise to a level where social stability is disrupted Relates to functionalist because it s the idea that society and the individual are functioning parts The maintenance of values is crucial to the function of society The Conflict Perspective Definition of deviance serves the interest of elites o Control the criminal justice system and the legal system o Law is an instrument of oppression o Example white collar vs street collar crime powder vs crack cocaine racial sentencing disparities The Interactionist Perspective Differential Association Theory one learns deviant and criminal behavior through interactions with others o Not just techniques but motives and rationalizations values and norms associated with them o What is deviant and how we understand that depends on group membership Labeling Theory notion that social labels shape self perceptions and our perceptions of others o Labels channel behavior into deviance or conformity o Key question is who has the power to apply these labels In Sum Social control is maintained through group sanctioning What is considered deviant is socially constructed The definition of deviance has profound consequences for society Chapter 6 Crime Overview Defining crime Trends in crime Underreporting issues Crime The violation of norms codified into law o Enforced by state appointed authorities through the use of formal sanctions o Example law enforcement the court system the corrections The U S crime rates are very high compared to other developed system nations It has been suggested that Americans live in a culture of fear Most crime is not violent o Non violent crime approximately 7 times more common o For the record being robbed is a crime against people and burglary is against your home o victimsofcrime org o Aggravated assault robbery rape murder are 4 violent ones Crime is overwhelmingly not random o For example murder Much more likely to be friendly Risk of victimization peaks at age 25 Overwhelmingly male 85 of perps 70 of victims Mostly intra racial Disproportionately impacts the poor Trends in Crime Why the decline in crime o Economic expansion of the late 1990s o Tapering off of crack epidemic o New initiatives in community policing o New gun control laws o Increasing size of prison population o Population aging and immigration The Trouble with Crime Statistics 2 major sources of crime data o Police reports official o Victimization surveys non official like NCVS Under reporting is a major issue In Sum Crime is a persistent feature of modern society We need crime Crime is a form of deviance but more harsh and codified into a Its definition and social perceptions of threat have far reaching specific punishment consequences Crime is overwhelmingly not random rather it is highly patterned