Deviance
the recognized violation of cultural norms
Crime
the violation of a society's formally enacted criminal law
TRUE
T/F Norms guide virtually all human activities.
Social Control
attempts by society to regulate people's thoughts and behavior
Criminal justice system
the organizations-police,courts,and prison officials- that respond to alleged violations of the law.
Law enforcement, Court system, and Correctional system
Name the three main branches of the criminal justice system:
Tardiness to class, men with long hair, smoking cigarettes in the house, cross-dressing, profanity in my father's house, being of legal drinking age and over indulging.
List some acts that you would consider deviant but not criminal:
Larceny-theft, homicide, assault, speeding, drug possession
List some deviant acts that are considered criminal:
Parents, spouse, family, friends, co-workers, religion
Name some individuals that use informal means of social control in your everyday life (sanctions):
Law enforcement, supervisor, court system, education system, prison, and other authorized agents.
Name some individuals that use formal sanctions as a means of social control:
deviance
Most familiar examples of ___________ are negative instances of rule-breaking.
deviant
Especially righteous people also might be called "__________".
Different, unexpected
__________" or "_________" are often used to describe deviance from a sociological perspective.
TRUE
T/F Criminal deviance spans a wide range of behaviors.
Criminal Justice System
A formal response by police, courts, and prison officials to alleged violations of the law.
TRUE
T/F Biological factors might have a real but modest effect on whether a person becomes a criminal.
TRUE
T/F Personality/psychological explanations of deviance is viewed as unsuccessful "socialization".
Psychological/personality
_____________ explanations of deviance focus on individual abnormality.
TRUE
T/F Most psychologists think personality is shaped primarily by social experience.
1) Deviance varies according to cultural norms
2) People become deviant as others define them that way.
3) Both norms and the way people define rule breaking involve social power.
Name the three social foundations of deviance:
TRUE
T/F No thought or action is inherently deviant; it becomes deviant only in relation to particular norms.
TRUE
T/F Whether behavior defines us as mentally ill, criminal, or deviant depends on how others perceive, define, and respond to it.
TRUE
T/F Norms and how we apply them reflect social inequality.
structural-functional approach
The key insight of the ___________ ___________ ___________ is that deviance is a necessary element of social organization.
Emile Durkheim
_________ ___________ made the statement that there is nothing abnormal about deviance.
1) Deviance affirms cultural values and norms
2) Responding to deviance clarifies moral boundaries.
3) Responding to deviance brings people together.
4) Deviance encourages social change.
According to the structural-functional approach, deviance performs four essential functions:
TRUE
T/F Durkheim considered deviance to be a natural and necessary part of all social organization.
Merton's Strain Theory
According to this theory, the extent and kind of deviance depend on whether a society provides the means (job/education) to achieve cultural goals (financial success).
Symbolic-interaction approach
__________ __________ __________ explains how people come to see deviance in everyday situations; definitions of deviance and conformity are surprisingly flexible.
Labeling theory
the idea that deviance and conformity result not so much from what people do as from how others respond to those actions.
Stigma
a powerfully negative label that greatly changes a person's self-concept and social identity.
Degradation ceremony
public rituals whose purpose is to attach a stigma; a person stands before the community to be labeled in negative rather than positive terms.
Medicalization of deviance
the transformation of moral and legal deviance into a medical condition. (alcoholism)
Social-conflict approach
_________ ________ _________ links deviance to social inequality; that is, who or what is labeled "deviant" depends on which categories of people hold power in a society.
White-collar crime
crime committed by people of high social position in the course of their occupations.
Corporate crime
the illegal actions of a corporation or people acting on its behalf.
Organized Crime
a business of supplying illegal goods or services.
TRUE
T/F What people consider deviant reflects the relative power and privilege of different categories of people.
Hate crime
a criminal act against a person or a person's property by an offender motivated by racial or other bias.
hate crime
A ______ ______ may express hostility toward someone based on race, religion, ancestry, sexual orientation, or physical disability.
Crime
______ is the violation of criminal laws enacted by a locality, a state, or the federal government.
Act, criminal intent
All crimes are composed of two distinct elements:
Crimes against the person, crimes against property, victimless crimes
There are three categories of criminal offenses:
Crimes against the person, crimes against property
The two major types of serious crime (that make up the FBI "crime index"):
Crimes against the person
(violent crimes) crimes that direct violence or the threat of violence against others.
Crimes against property
(property crimes) crimes that involve theft of money or property belonging to others.
Victimless crimes
violations of the law in which there are no obvious victims.
murder, manslaughter, aggravated assault, forcible rape, robbery
Give examples of crimes against the person:
burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, arson
Give examples of crimes against property:
illegal drug use, prostitution, gambling
Give examples of victimless crimes:
criminal justice system
The _______ _______ _______ is a society's formal response to crime.
Due process
the idea that the criminal justice system should operate under the rule of law; guides the actions of police, court officials, and corrections officers.
Plea bargaining
a legal negotiation in which a prosecutor reduces a charge in exchange for a defendant's guilty plea.
Plea bargaining
_______ ________ is widespread because it spares the system the time and expense of trials.
TRUE
T/F Plea bargaining pressures defendants (who are presumed innocent) to plead guilty.
TRUE
T/F Plea bargaining may be efficient, but it undercuts both the adversarial process and the rights of defendants.
Retribution, Deterrence, Rehabilitation, Societal protection/incapacitation
Name the four justifications for punishment:
Retribution
an act of moral vengeance by which society makes the offender suffer as much as the suffering caused by the crime.
Deterrence
the attempt to discourage criminality through the use of punishment.
Rehabilitation
a program for reforming the offender to prevent later offenses.
Societal protection/incapacitation
rendering an offender incapable of further offenses temporarily through imprisonment or permanently by execution.
Retribution
___________ is the oldest justification for punishment.
TRUE
T/F Societal protection is a rational approach to punishment intended to protect society from crime.
Criminal recidivism
later offenses by people previously convicted of crimes.
Community-based corrections
correctional programs operating within society at large rather than behind prison walls.
Reduce costs, reduce overcrowding in prisons, allow for supervision of convicts while eliminating the hardships of prison life and the stigma that accompanies going to jail.
Three main advantages to community-based corrections:
TRUE
T/F In general, the idea of community-based corrections is not so much to punish as to reform.
Probation, Shock probation, Parole
Name the three forms of community-based corrections:
Probation
a policy of permitting a convicted offender to remain in the community under conditions imposed by a court.
Shock probation
a policy by which a judge orders a convicted offender to prison for a short time and then suspends the remainder of the sentence in favor of probation.
Parole
a policy of releasing inmates from prison to serve the remainder of their sentences in the local community under the supervision of a parole officer.
Community-based corrections
_____ ______ _______" refers to ways of dealing with offenders without sending them to prison.
differential association theory
Sutherland's _____ _______ _______ links deviance to how much others encourage or discourage such behavior.
control theory
Hirschi's ______ _______ states that imagining the possible consequences of deviance often discourages such behavior.
TRUE
T/F According to the control theory, people who are well integrated into society are less likely to engage in deviant behavior.
TRUE
T/F Official statistics show that arrest rates peak in late adolescence and drop steadily with advancing age.
TRUE
T/F More whites than African Americans are arrested for street crimes.
TRUE
T/F By world standards, the U.S. crime rate is high.
police
The _______ maintain public order by enforcing the law.
TRUE
T/F Police use personal discretion in deciding whether and how to handle a situation.
TRUE
T/F Research suggests that police are more likely to make an arrest if the offense is serious, if bystanders are present, or if the suspect is African American or Latino.
probation, parole
Community-based corrections include ______ and ______.
TRUE
T/F Courts rely on an adversarial process in which attorneys present their cases in the presence of a judge who monitors legal procedures.
TRUE
T/F In practice, U.S. courts resolve most cases through plea bargaining.
TRUE
T/F Though plea bargaining is efficient, this method puts less powerful people at a disadvantage.