session 11 deviance

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Session 11Crime and Deviance: Defining Normality and Outsiders

Lecturer: Dr. Cheris Shun-Ching Chan

What is Deviance?

What is deviance? Behaviors deviate from a socially acceptable

mode, from norms and social expectations of a particular social group

Can receive negative or positive sanctions Vary temporally and spatially, e.g.

homosexuals Socially constructed, e.g. killings

Since the 1950s: mass conformity to middle-class values & lifestyles the concept of “deviance” became prominent

Definition

How to explain Deviance?

Functionalist PerspectiveMarxian PerspectiveSymbolic Interactionist Perspective2

3

1

Functionalist Perspective

Anomie Theory (Robert Merton)

Theory of Status Frustration (Albert Cohen)

1. Anomie Theory (Robert Merton) Builds on Durkheim’s anomie but broader

and more specific: crime, delinquency, mental disorder, alcoholism,

drug addiction, and many others Frequency and pattern of deviant behaviors vary

within different social structures Key ideas: discrepancy b/w culturally defined

goals and availability of institutionalized (legitimate) means to achieve such goals

Deviant acts due to two conditions: i) pressure to achieve the culturally defined goals + ii) not available of legitimate means


Different types of adaptation in different positions in a social structure

Conclusion: Different distribution of legitimate opportunities different rate

of deviance among different social classes Deviance is a normal reaction to an abnormal social situation


Conformity

Culturally defined goals

Legitimate means

Ritualism

Retreatism or Rebellion

Innovation

Yes

No

Yes No

Functionalist Perspective2. Theory of Status Frustration (Albert Cohen)

As a critique of Merton’s Anomie Theory Gradual process of deviant adaptation Crimes are in collective, in gang, rather than individualistic

Advancement of Merton’s Theory Dominant set of middle-class values, e.g. rational,

postponing gratification, individualistic, respect for property, control of physical aggression

Working class has another set of characteristics Working class children in middle-class school setting: value

conflict → status frustration, they behave in a way that middle class school think problematic

Status frustration → delinquent subculture: redefines the criteria of status, turning disvalued characteristics into status-giving assets(they are valued in these subculture)(e.g those who dare enough to challenge the teacher will get their status)

Equivalent to “rebellion” in Merton’s theory → they don't buy into the culturally defined goal and also they don't use the legitimate means to achieve the goal, they set up their own goal, but more specific

Marxian Perspective

Critical Theory

Marxian Perspective Concept of Society: conflict of interests

(composed of diff social groups, ow which interests are in conflict)

Questions: why crime and deviance are found more in lower class? Who define what is deviant and what is not?

Answers: socially and economically powerful groups have

more influence in defining crime and problem more capable of escaping from a charge, they can hire best

lawyers to defend them, they could gain sympathy not about ethically right or wrong

Major Concerns:

The formation and enforcement of certain rules and lawspolitical, economic, and social structures

Critical Theory1. Crime in Capitalist Society (Richard Quinney)

Role of the state: to protect the interests of the dominant class

Role of the law: coercive force of the state, serving the interests of the dominant class, e.g. private property in capitalist society → primary duty of the state

Different types of crimes produced by capitalismi) Crimes of economic domination, e.g. price fixing, monopoly, importation of labor(suppress wage of labour force) marxian perspective, they are crimeii) Crimes of control, e.g. violence used by police force and armies(physical violence against suspects) iii) Crimes of social injuries, e.g. pollution, harsh working environmentiv) Crimes of accommodation, e.g. burglary, robbery, assault, murder(commonly defined)v) Crimes of resistance, e.g. strike, protest(sometimes commonly defined)

What are commonly defined as crimes? Which crimes receive most attention?

Other types are for the interest of the dominant class, those with economic and political capital, they are committed to the adv of the dominant class, not defined as crime in our society

Critical Theory2. A Study of Law Enforcement in Seattle (William

Chambliss) What are crimes

bribery, gambling, prostitutes, illegal liquor selling, other consensus crimes

What are the most common crimes? Bribery in gambling industry, loan sharks, drugs(involved ppl

with money and power), pornography, vice and prostitute What did get arrested?

70% of all arrests (in 1962-1972) were for public drunkenness → working class plp

Conclusion Everyone commits crime of some sorts; crime is a matter of

who can pin the label on whom Criminal acts serving the interests of the ruling class

usually go unsanctioned Enforcement of law is biased against ppl who are powerless

Symbolic Interactionist Perspective

Labeling Theory Outsiders (Howard Becker)Primary and Secondary Deviation (Edwin Lemert)

1. Labeling Theory Why some killings are “homicides” and others are not?

Is a police officer killed by an ex-convict a homicide? yes

Is a robber killed by a police officer a homicide? no

Is stabbing an old lady in the back a homicide? yes

Is stabbing one’s enemy in wartime a homicide? no

Is someone poisoned by someone a homicide? yes

Is someone dying slowly of cancer caused by polluting factor a homicide?

No


Symbolic Interactionist Perspective Homicide or not → social reactions → punishments or

awards What is homicide is not the behavior per se, but the manner of

reaction to a killing, based on the perceived motives of the killings

Focus How people define situations, persons, processes, or events as

problematic and deviant Major concerns

Conditions under which control agents successfully label others Social contingencies under which potential deviants resist or

escape the labeling(other factors involved that lead to the results) The power behind the labeling process: different power related to

age, sex, ethnicity, class, occupation… The symbolic and practical consequences of the labeling

Symbolic Interactionist Perspective Critique of official statistics

Perceptual biases of control agents(like the police)

Appearance and socio-economic backgrounds Situational dynamics of the labeling process

Cooperative posture Complaints, quota

Visibility of potential deviants Numerous invisible crimes

Organizational characteristics of control bureaucracies

Strict vs lenient, e.g. Russia → corruption of police is normal

Political agenda of the official data Asking for more resources vs being a tourist paradise Report more crimes in order to get more resources Under reported crime in hawaii → create image of

crime free city


2. Outsiders (Howard Becker) Deviance is created by society

By making rules Reaction to someone's behaviour → deviance

Variation of reactions to an act Who commits the act Who feels being harmed by the act The consequence of the act

Symbolic Interactionist Perspective3. Primary and Secondary Deviation (Edwin Lemert)

Primary deviation Initial acts of deviation that calls societal reaction Causes: random, diverse factors

Secondary deviation Acts of deviation as a reaction to societal

reaction Traumatization of self-concept: looking glass self

(Cooley) → when I see other ppl's reaction, I will perceive myself in this lense

Deviant role: recurring deviant acts(some ex-convicts deliberately commit crimes in order to get back to the prison)

E.g. paranoia Self-fulfilling prophecy

session 11 deviance

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