CCJ3011 FINAL EXAM REVIEW FROM BOOKS Beaver p 157 174 p 135 139 Brown ch 9 p 422 435 p 120 137 ch 11 ch 12 Brown Chapter 9 All theories covered so far share a common characteristic Focus on the act of offending Explanations vary between theories but focus on the acts itself Social process theories take a different approach Don t place emphasis on the act Focus on how the act is responded to How do social control agents respond to the act Includes formal and informal agents Individual is a passive being who is forced into criminal behavior by social forces by societal definitions or by the reactions of others Not only does the offenders behavior elicit social responses physical characteristics demeanor play a role too Race ethnicity are some of the most important Social Context Became highly popular in the 1960 s and 1970 s o Civil rights movement o Vietnam War Protests o Assassinations of JFK MLK and Robert Kennedy o Political corruption of Nixon administration e g Watergate scandal Spurred mistrust of government Wide scale questioning of authority Two social reaction theories Labeling Theory and Conflict Criminology Labeling Theory Foundation in symbolic interactionism How others view us results in changes in behavior Key concept Looking glass self o The way we believe others view us is how we see ourselves We see ourselves through How we think others see us is important o Changes how we think about ourselves o Used to create who we think we are supposed to be o Can change our behavior changes to support how we think we are supposed to act Humans constantly adapt to others o Have to react to the way we are seen o Can result in dramatic changes at essentially any time Responses from the criminal justice system may result in dramatic changes o Individual may reevaluate his her identity o Others may reevaluate perceptions of the individual Begin to see the individual as antisocial or a criminal Perceive the person as a potentially negative influence or dangerous o Results in differences in our perceptions of ourselves Becomes a self fulfilling prophecy Major issues identified by labeling theorist 1 Primary importance to labeling theorist is what transpires after the act not what caused or precipitated the act primary deviance 2 Deviance is a property conferred upon an act it is not something inherent in the act it is socially assigned 3 Labeling of an individual is a process of symbolic interactionism between the deviant and significant others secondary deviance 4 The labeling process is affected by those who label and how the labeled person reacts 5 Labeling may lead to retrospective interpretation of the individual s prior behavior for example a crazy looking haircut you did before the crime after the crime people will think you are definitely a deviant person because of how you look Deviant label becomes master status Behaviors reinforce new master status of criminal 6 A deviant label will override other personal attributes The probability of further criminal behavior secondary deviance is enhanced it increases Dramatization of Evil Frank Tannenbaum o Criminals are not inherently different from the rest of the population but that specific acts in a person s range of behaviors are brought to the public s attention o Legal relativism acts are neither inherently good nor evil There are varying degrees of good and evil and the social audience influences a label placed upon specific behaviors The same behavior engaged by individuals in a different social status or setting may have a different response being drunk at a party vs being drunk before an exam Primary and Secondary deviation Edwin M Lemert o Primary deviation occasional situational behavior that may be excused by the actor or the social audience Going 45mph in 30mph zone This deviance IS NOT fundamental or caused by the person s identity self concept but is very spontaneous and situational o Secondary deviation dynamic interaction between the individual s deviation and the societal response to the deviation Once the process of secondary deviation results in labeling the individual it is difficult to escape the classification as a deviant Official reactions such as arrests courts hearings and investigations usually exacerbate worsen the situation and cause dramatic redefinition of the self Four types of deviants and non deviants o Conformist perceived by society in terms of their actual behaviors o Pure deviant perceived by society in terms of their actual behaviors norm violating behaviors o Falsely accused identified as deviants criminals due to their sex age race social status peers and physical appearance not because of their behavior their behavior is usually conforming o Secret deviant many criminal violations never brought to the police s attention These individuals avoid detection and witnesses fail to impose a criminal deviant label on their actions Central ideas of labeling theory oppose deterrence theory o Seen as directly competing theories Labeling Theory vs Deterrence o o Labeling Theory No reason to focus on primary deviance CJS intervention causes negative changes Punishment increases subsequent criminal behavior secondary deviance o Deterrence Theory Focus on primary deviance CJS should increase punishment Punishment decreases likelihood of criminal behavior Research on labeling theory o Research tends to be fairly supportive o People with contact with the CJS are more likely to commit more crime o Engage in Secondary deviance Meta analysis Huizinga Henry 2008 o Majority of studies find that offending remains the same or increases after arrest o Very few only 2 found decreases in offending after an arrest Conflict Criminology Consensus View Most theories operate under specific assumptions about society o Common values among members exists o Society state protects the general interests of the people o Society state works to resolve conflicts in ways that best suits all members Conflict Perspective Some criminologists have questioned these assumptions o Argue that society is made up of distinct groups with opposing values and interests o Society state represents the values interests of groups with the most power Focuses on imbalances in the distribution of power o Why do some groups have more powers than others Focus on how these imbalances lead to criminal codes laws o Powerful create laws to maintain extend power o Use criminal justice system as a mechanism of control Conflict theory Karl Marx o Marxist
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