1) defining deviance is difficult and subjective (sociologists don’t agree).
2) for our purpose deviance must
A) violate significant norms.
B) Result in negative evaluation for reaction.
1) Conflict theory.- stress that the power elite uses the legal system to control worker and to stabilize the social order, all with the goal of keeping itself in power. The poor pose a threat, for if they rebel as a group they can dislodge members of the power elite from their place of privilege. To prevent this, the power elite makes certain that heavy penalties come down on those who’s crimes could upset the social order.
2) Functional theory- Argue that crime is a natural part of society. Stress that the sociall classes differ in opportunities for income and education, so they differ in opportunities for crime. As a result, street crime is higher among the lower social classes and white-collar crime is higher among the higher social classes. The growing crime rates of women illustrate how changing gender roles have given women more access to what sociologist call “illegitimate opportunities.”
3) Social foundations-
Labeling Theory-questions who applies what label to whom, why they do this, and what happens as a result of this labeling. The significance of reputations, how they help set us on paths that propel us into deviance or that diver us away from it.
Anomie Theory-concept developed by Emile Durkheim to describe an absence of clear societal norms and values. In the concept of anomie individuals lack a sense of social regulation: people feel unguided in the choices they have to make.
Differential Association-a theory developed by Edwin Sutherland proposing that through interaction with others, individuals learn the values, attitudes, techniques, and motives for criminal behavior (how people learn to become criminals).
Crime
1). Elements –
2). Categories-
Mental illness 1) Dr. Thomas Szasz – mental illness are neither mental nor