Readings:

On Being Sane in Insane Places

The Punitive Paradox

The Saints and the Roughnecks

The Culture of Prozac

 

Deviance     

•Deviance is any behavior that violates certain social norms

–No universals

–Relative in definition (I.E. incest)

Biological Theories Explaining Deviance

•Some Biological abnormality is responsible for deviant behavior.

–Lombroso - Physical Features Theory (long arms, high foreheads, beady eyes)

–Sheldon - Body Type Theory (mesomorph, endomorph, and ectomorph)

–Owen - Chromosome Theory (XX Female, XY Male, XYY Criminal)

Sociological Theories

•Anomie Theory

•Cultural Transmission Theory

•Labeling Theory

Anomie

•Emile Durkheim -

–A mental state of normlessness

–Being in a situation where you have no behavior rules to follow

Robert Merton’s Anomie

•Robert Merton -

–A social situation where there is a discrepancy between the normative social goals for citizens and the normative means of achievement.

1. Conform – accepts the means of achievement and the goal.

2. Innovate – rejects the means of achievement, but accepts the goal.

3. Ritual – compulsively continues the means of achievement, but has lost track of the      

                     goal.

4. Retreat – rejects the means of achievement and the social goal.

5. Rebellion – reject the means of achievement and the social goal, but creates a new

                           goal and a new means of achievement and tries to convert followers.

Cultural Transmission Theory

Mckay and Shaw

Cultural Transmission Theory

•All societies are comprised of subcultures and some of the subcultures are deviant in a few ways.  Deviance already exists in all societies as a cultural pattern for behavior.

•As the self moves from one small group association to another, the expression of different norms and values are required for survival in the group.

Cultural Transmission Theory: Edwin Sutherland’s contribution

•Sutherland added the process of Differential Association to the theory and popularized the idea

 

•Differential Association means - The greater the amount of time spent in the subculture group, the deeper the internalization of the required norms and values.

•Therefore, through differential association the SELF internalizes deviant norms and values, and then produces behavior consistent with the deviant norms and values.

Cultural Transmission Theory: Implications

• Spending more time with one group, makes survival and success in another group less likely.

• As the norms and values of one group become more internalized, the self feels less comfortable with other groups.

– Teenagers feel less comfortable with family, because they spend more and more time with friends.

• The speed of internalization of group norms and values increases with the need for survival. The greater the survival need, the faster the internalization.

• The more people that are systematically exposed to criminally deviant norms and values, the greater the number of criminally deviant people.

–The vast majority of people sent to prison get released.

•Therefore,  the more prisons a society builds, the more criminals there are in the society.

Recidivism Rate

•The rate (percent) of people who serve the full sentence in prison for a specific crime, but when released from prison return to society and commit the same offense or a higher level offense.

•In the U.S.A. the national recidivism rate is ______%.

•75%

Labeling Theory

•Developed from the work of George Herbert Mead

–The theory maintains that a person becomes deviant only when some deviant (non-deviant) label has been successfully applied to the person.

•Labeling takes place through the role taking of significant others around the person.

–Through role taking the person recognizes the label being presented to them from the other. The person will eventually internalize the label and all of the related norms and values that are attached.

Labeling Theory

•The person generates a SELF that is a composite list of all the attributes related to the SELF (i.e. good or bad math student)

Labeling Theory : A
Two Stage Process

•Primary Stage

–If some significant other attempts to apply a label to the individual. 

–Whether or not the attempt is successful will depend on the relative weights of the significant others and the degree of agreement regarding the labels.

•Secondary Stage

–Begins at the point where the person accepts the label as a component of self.

–The person then begins to act out behavior that is reflective of the norms and values perceived to be attached to the label.

Labeling Theory: Implications

•Can poor math students become good math students simply because the student starts to believe they are good?

•Can poor runners become good runners simply because the runner starts to believe they are good runners?

•How much does believe and confidence play in our conceptions of self?

Positive Significant Others--ΰ Positive Self Conception--ΰ more Positive Significant Others input--ΰ Norm and Value Supporting the Behavior--ΰ more Positive Significant Others--ΰ more Self Supportive Behavior--ΰ

Crime

•Crime

–refers to any behavior that has been formally prohibited by a political authority.

Two Basic Reasons for Trying to Control Crime

•Criminal  behavior is considered to be socially disruptive.

 

 

2.  Criminal behavior is too dangerous to be trusted to socialization alone for adequate prohibition.

There are three Basic Categories.

•Street Crime - General crime committed by individuals.

•Occupational Crime – Job related crime committed by individuals.

•Corporate Crime – Crime committed by corporate organizations, not individuals.

Street Crime 

•Essentially entails the F.B.I.’s list of the Eight Index Crimes

Types of Street Crimes: The Eight Index Crimes

Murder –

•The willful killing of one human being by another.

•In 1982 there were 21,012 people arrested for murder.

•What has happened to the number of murders since 1982?

Aggravated Assault –

•The attack of one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe bodily harm.

•In 1982 there were  650,042  people arrested for aggravated assault.

•What has happened to the number of aggravated assaults since 1982?

Robbery –

•The taking of property from the possession of another trough force or threat of force.

•In 1982 there were 536,888 people arrested for robbery.

•What has happened to the number of robberies since 1982?

Burglary –

•The unlawful entry of a structure for the purpose of committing a felony theft.

•In 1982 there were 3,415,540 people arrested for burglary.

•What has happened to the number of people arrested for burglary since 1982?

Larceny –

•The taking of property from the constructive possession of another.

•In 1982 there were  7,107,663 people arrested for larceny.

•What has happened to the number of people arrested for larceny since 1982?

Auto Theft –

•Stealing or attempting to steal an automobile.

•In 1982 there were 1,048,310 people arrested for auto theft.

•What has happened to the number of people arrested for auto theft since 1982?

Arson –

•The burning or attempting to burn a building or any structure, with or without the intent to defraud.

•In 1982 there were 20,500 people arrested for arson.

•What has happened to the number of people arrested for arson since 1982?

Rape -

•The carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will.

•In 1982 there were 77,763 people arrested for rape.

•What has happened to the number of people arrested for rape since 1982?

Street Crime

•The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that each year the country loses about 3-4 billion dollars because of street crimes

•Each year between 18-25 thousand people lose their lives because of street crimes.

•The U.S. has more than 2 million citizens in prison – a higher percentage of citizens in prison than any other nation on the planet.

•More than 1/3 of all people in prison are there for DRUG offenses.

Drugs and Society

•What are some good reasons for making a drug illegal?

•What are the most addictive drugs?

•What are the most deadly drugs?

Occupational Crimes

•Occupational Crime

–is a crime committed by a person(s) during the course of their occupation, for the personal benefit of the perpetrator.

Sub-Categories of Occupational Crime

1. White Collar Crime

2. Blue Collar Crime

White Collar Crime

•Refers to crimes committed by a person of high social status, during the course of his/her occupation.

 

–Examples - embezzlement, theft, and insider trading

–White Collar Crimes costs the country about 200-500 billion dollars annually.

–The best example involves the many cases associated with the Savings and Loan scandals of the 1980’s.

–Fraudulent loans involving millions of dollars - all covered by taxpayer insurance FDIC

Blue Collar Crime

•Refers to crime committed by a person of ordinary status during the course of his/her occupation.

•Examples - inventory shrinkage and cash pilfering.

•Blue Collar Crime costs the country about 30-40 billion dollars annually.

•Blue Collar Crime is the rationale for employee drug testing, lie detector test, and personality testing that is becoming increasingly common in the USA.

Corporate Crime

•Crime committed by a corporation to benefit the corporation.

Corporate Crime

•Each year the U.S. loses about 1 trillion dollars because of corporate crime.

•Each year we lose about 30,000 consumers because of the production of defective products, known to be defective by the corporation (i.e. the ford pinto case)

•Each year the U.S. loses about 100,000 workers because of known safety violations.

How should corporations be punished for corporate crime?

•Fines?

•Closings?

•Jail?