Chapter 6: Deviant Behavior and Social Control Dining Hall at Alcatraz

Chapter 6:
Dining Hall at Alcatraz
Deviant Behavior and Social Control
What to Expect in This Chapter...




What is Deviance?
Functions and Dysfunctions of Deviance
Mechanisms of Social Control
Theories of Crime and Deviance
• Biological Theories
• Psychological Theories
• Sociological Theories

Crime in the United States
• Measuring Crime
• Types of Crime

The Criminal Justice System
What is Deviance?


Deviance is any behavior that fails to
conform to the rules or norms of a group
or society
In defining norms and rules, society
invokes a moral code and makes moral
judgments about what is appropriate and
what is inappropriate behavior
American Society of Criminology Home Page
Functions and Dysfunctions of
Deviance

French sociologist Emile Durkheim identified
several functions of deviance
• Deviance intensifies the loyalty of group members in
response to the deviant act
• Deviance clarifies the norms of the group
• Deviance may serve as a safety valve to release
pressure, thereby avoiding more harmful acts

There are also dysfunctions of deviance
•
–
–
–
Deviance can be a threat to the social order
Deviance can cause confusion about norms
Deviance may undermine trust
Deviance diverts valuable resources from other social
needs
Mechanisms of Social Control


Social control mechanisms are means by which
society can influence people’s behavior to
conform to expectations
Two types of social control mechanisms
• Internal Mechanisms—as part of the socialization
process, individuals internalize society’s expectations
• External Mechanisms—externally imposed by others,
in the form of rewards and punishments

The rewards and punishments used in external
control are called sanctions
A Typology of Sanctions
Positive
Informal
Formal
Negative
Smiles
Pats on the back
Thumbs up
Encouraging word
Frowns
Avoidance
Obscene gesture
Gossip
Awards
Promotion in job
Recognition ceremony
“Teacher of the year”
Fines
Fired from job
Imprisonment
Demotion
Theories of Crime and
Deviance
Biological Theories of
Deviance





Cesare Lombroso believed that criminals are
evolutionary throwbacks to a more ape-like
being
E.A. Hooten, also suggested that criminals were
“born” inferior
William Sheldon identified body types—
ectomorph, mesomorph, and endomorph.
Delinquents are more likely to be mesomorphs—
a muscular body type
XYY Chromosome Theory attributes criminality
to an extra “Y” chromosome in some males
More recent biological theories identify genetic,
hormonal and neurological sources of deviance
Psychological Theories of
Deviance

Psychoanalytic theory is based on the
work of Sigmund Freud
• Freud suggested that much deviance
results from the inability of the ego and
superego to control the urges of the id


Behavioral theory suggests that people
respond to stimuli, and seek to
maximize rewards and punishments
Rational choice theory also
emphasizes rewards and punishments,
but suggests that people act rationally
on the basis of perceived
consequences
Sociological Theories of
Deviance
Anomie and Strain Theory

Anomie theory is based on the work of Emile Durkheim
• He suggested that when there was insufficient definition of social
norms a state of anomie results
• Under such conditions, a culture does not provide sufficient
guidelines for behavior

Strain theory, developed by Robert Merton, builds on
Durkheim’s ideas
– Merton suggested that society holds out universal goals of
material success; however, society does not hold out the
legitimate means to attain this success equally across the
population.
– This results in certain “strain” which can be resolved in one of
several ways
Merton’s Typology of Adaptation to Strain
Mode of
Adaptation
Culture’s Goals
Institutionalized
Means
Conformity
Accept
Accept
Innovation
Accept
Reject
Ritualism
Reject
Accept
Retreatism
Reject
Reject
Rebellion
Reject
Replace with Alternative
Reject
Replace with Alternative
Control Theory



Control theory maintains that we all have the
capacity to commit deviant acts
Most people don’t commit deviant acts,
however, because of a “bonding” to
conventional society.
Travis Hirschi identifies 4 elements to this
social bond:
– Attachment to others—emotional attachments to
parents, teachers, etc.
– Commitment to conformity—investment of time in
conforming behavior such as school, sports, etc.
– Involvement in conventional activities—leaving
little time for deviant activities
– Belief in validity of social rules—acknowledging
the moral authority of law and rules
Cultural Transmission Theory


Insists that deviant behavior is learned in the
process of interaction with others
Edwin Sutherland developed a general
cultural transmission theory called
differential association
• Suggested that deviant and criminal behavior is
learned in interaction with others who define
deviance in positive terms

Another cultural transmission theory
developed by Sykes and Matza uses the
notion of “techniques of neutralization
Techniques of Neutralization

Sykes and Matza suggest that juvenile
delinquents learn to neutralize conventional
norms with the following techniques:
Labeling Theory

Labeling theory shifts the focus from
why people engage in deviant acts
to:
– how and why certain acts are defined as
deviant in the first place
– how and why certain individuals are
labeled deviant
– the impact of the label on future
behavior
Crime in the United States


Deviance which violates the legal code
of a society is called crime.
Crimes are classified according to their
seriousness:
– Felonies—serious crimes which carry a
sentence of a year or more in a state
penitentiary
– Misdemeanors—less serious crimes that
carry a sentence of less than a year in a
county jail
Types of Crime
The Criminal Justice System

The criminal justice
system is comprised of:
– Police
– Courts
– Prisons
Prisons

Prisons serve four primary
functions or goals:
•
•
•
•

Separation of criminals from society
Punishment of criminal behavior
Deterrence of criminal behavior
Rehabilitation of criminals
Two issues facing prisons today
are a growing shortage of prisons,
and an increasing female prison
population with special needs