Deviance
A behavior, trait, belief, or other characteristic that violates a norm and causes a negative reaction.
Structural strain theory
Robert Merton's argument that in an unequal society the tension or strain between socially approved goals and individual's ability to achieve those goals through socially approved means will lead to deviance as individuals reject either the goals of the m
Innovators
Individuals who accept society's approved goals but not society's approved means to achieve them.
Ritualists
Individuals who have give up hope of achieving society's approved goals but still operate according to society's approved means.
Retreatists
Individuals who reject both society's approved goals and the means by which to achieve them
Rebels
Individuals who reject society's approved goals and means and instead create and work toward their own (sometimes revolutionary) goals using new means.
Social control
The formal and informal mechanisms used to increase conformity to values and norms and thus promote social cohesion.
Differential association theory
Edwin Sutherland's hypothesis that we learn to be deviant through our associations with deviant peers
Labeling theory
Howard Becker's idea that deviance is a consequence of external judgements, or labels, that modify the individual's self-concept and change the way others respond to the labeled person
Primary deviance
In labeling theory, the initial act or attitude that causes one to be labeled deviant
Secondary deviance
In labeling theory, the subsequent deviant identity or career that develops as a result of being labeled deviant.
Tertiary deviance
Redefining the stigma associated with a deviant label as a positive phenomenon.
Self-fulfilling Prophecy
An inaccurate statement or belief that, by altering the situation, becomes accurate a prediction that causes itself to become true.
Stigma
Erving Goffman's term for any physical or social attributes that devalues a person or group's identity and that may exclude those who are devalued from normal social interaction.
Passing
Presenting yourself as a member of a different group than the stigmatized group you belong to.
In-group orientation
Among stigmatized individuals, the rejection of prevailing judgements or prejudice and the development of new standards that value their group identity. (I.e. NAAFA, the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance)
Outsiders
According to Howard Becker, those labeled deviant and subsequently segregated from "normal" society.
Deviance avowal
Process by which an individual self-identifies as deviant and initiates her own labeling process. ("Fat Amy")
Cyberbullying
The use of electronic media to tease, harass, threaten, or humiliate someone.
Crime
A violation of a norm that has been codified into law
Uniform Crime Report
An official measure of crime in the U.S., produced by the FBI's official tabulation of every crime reported by more than 17,000 agencies.
Violent crime
Crimes in which violence is either the objective or the means to an end, including murder, rape, aggravated assault, and robbery.
Property crime
Crimes that did not involve violence, including burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson.
White collar crime
Crime committed by a high-status individual in the course of his occupation.
Desistance
The tendency of individuals to age out of crime over the life course
Pilfering
Stealing minor items in small amounts, often again and again.
Deterrence
An approach to punishment that relies on the threat of harsh penalties to discourage people from committing crimes.
Retribution
An approach to punishment that emphasizes retaliation or revenge for the crime as the appropriate goal
Incapacitation
An approach to punishment that seeks to protect society from criminals by imprisoning or executing them.
Rehabilitation
An approach to punishment that attempts to reform criminals as part of their penalty.
Criminal justice system
A collection of social institutions, such as legislatures, police, courts, and prisons, that create and enforce laws.
Capital punishment
The death penalty
Positive deviance
Actions considered deviant within a given context but are later reinterpreted as appropriate or even heroic. (Civil rights movement)