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deviance
a state or condition markedly different from the norm
Deviance is the recognized violation of cultural norms.
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nonconformity
failure to follow accepted standards of behavior
Most familiar examples of noncomformitiy are negative instances of rule breaking, such as stealing from a campus bookstore, assaulting a fellow student, or driving while intoxicated.
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able-bodied
having a strong healthy body
Able-bodied people often view people with disabilities as an out-group, just as rich people may shun the poor for falling short of their standards.
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theorize
construct a hypothesis about
In 1876 Cesare Lombroso, an Italian physician who worked in prisons, theorized that criminals stand out physically, with low foreheads, prominent jaws and cheekbones, protruding ears, hairy bodies, and unusually long arms.
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predictor
information that supports a probabilistic estimate of future events
The researchers conclused that genetic factors together with environmental factors were strong predictors of adult crime and violence.
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insight
clear or deep perception of a situation
In addition, because a biological approach looks an the individual, it offers no insight into how some kinds of behaviors come to be defined as deviant in the first place.
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psychological
mental or emotional as opposed to physical in nature
Like biological theories, psychological explanations of deviance focus on individual abnormality.
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socialization
the adoption of the behavior of the surrounding culture
Deviance, then is viewed as the result of "unsuccessful" socialization.
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delinquency
nonpayment of a debt when due
Because all the boys lived in areas where delinquency was widespread, the investigators attributed staying out of trouble to a personality that controlled deviant impulses.
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attribute
a quality belonging to or characteristic of an entity
Because all the boys lived in areas where delinquency was widespread, the investigators attributed staying out of trouble to a personality that controlled deviant impulses.
- containment
the act of keeping something from spreading
Based on this onclusion, Reckless and Dinitz called their analysis containment theory.
- inherently
in an
essential manner
No thought or action is inherently deviant; it become deviant only in relation to particular norms.
- unique
the single one of its kind
Further, most cities and towns have at lease one unique law.
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diverse
distinctly dissimilar or unlike
Around the world, deviance is even more diverse.
- moral
concerned with principles of right and wrong
As moral creatures, people must prefer some attitudes and bheaviors to others.
- virtue
the quality of doing what is right
But any definition of virtue rests on an opposing idea of vice.
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vice
a specific form of evildoing
But any definition of virtue rests on an opposing idea of vice.
- reaffirm
assert once again
In doing so, Durkheim explained,
they reaffirm the moral ties that bind them together.
- status quo
the existing state of affairs
Deviant people push a society's moral boundaries, suggesting alternatives to the status quo and encouraging change.
- cloister
residence that is a place of religious seclusion
Imagine a society of saints, a perfect cloister of exemplary individuals.
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means
how a result is obtained or an end is achieved
Specifically, the extend the the kind of deviance depend on whether a society provides the means (such as schooling and job opportunties)to achieve the cultural goals (such as financial success).
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goal
the state of affairs that a plan is intended to achieve
Specifically, the extend the the kind of deviance depend on whether a society provides the means (such as schooling and job opportunties)to achieve the cultural goals (such as financial success).
- conventional
following accepted customs and proprieties
Merton called this type of deviance innovation - using unconventional means (street crime)rather than conventional means (hard work at a "straight job") to achieve a culturally approved goal (wealth).
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attain
gain with effort
But not everyone who wants conventional success has the opportunity to attain it.
- innovation
the act of starting something
for the first time
Merton called this type of deviance innovation - using unconventional means (street crime)rather than conventional means (hard work at a "straight job") to achieve a culturally approved goal (wealth).
- ritualism
exaggerated
emphasis on the importance of rites or ritualistic forms in worship
The inability to reach a cultrual goal may also prompt another type of deviance that Merton calls ritualism.
- counterculture
a lifestyle and set of values that oppose societal
norms
Like retreatists, rebels such as radical "survivalists" reject both the cultural definition of success and the conventional means of achieving it but go one step further by forming a counterculture supporting alternatives to the existing social order.
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legitimate
in accordance with accepted standards or principles
Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin (1966) extended Merton's theory, proposing that crime results not simply from limited legitimate opportunity, but also from readily accessible illegitimate opportunity.
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illegitimate
contrary to or forbidden by law
Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin (1966) extended Merton's theory, proposing that crime results not simply from limited legitimate opportunity, but also from readily accessible illegitimate opportunity.
- notorious
known widely
and usually unfavorably
The life of Al Capone, a notorious gangster, illustrates Cloward and Ohlin's theory.
- norm
a standard or model or pattern regarded as typical
Deviance affirms cultural norms.
- stigma
a symbol of disgrace or infamy
As people develop a deeper commitment to their deviant behavior, they typically acquire a stigma.
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discredited
being unjustly brought into disrepute
A stigma operates as a master status, overpowering other dimensions of identity so that a person is dicredited in the minds of others and consequently becomes socially isolated.
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degradation
a change to a lower state
Sometimes, however, an entire community stigmatizes a person in a public way through a degradation ceremony.
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retrospective
concerned with or related to the past
Once people signatize a personal as deviant, they may engage in regrospective labeling, an reinterpretation of a person's past in light of some present deviance.
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objectivity
judgment based on observable phenomena
However, the scientific objectivity of medicine passes no moral judment, instead using clinical diagnoses, such as "sick" or "well."
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promiscuity
indulging in promiscuous sexual relations
In the same way, obesitiy, drug addiction, child abuse, sexual promiscuity, and other bheaviors that used to be strictly moral matters are widelyl defined today as illnesses for which people need help rather than punishment.
- differential
a quality that distinguishes between similar things
This is Sutherland's theory of differential association.
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extensive
large in spatial extent or range or scope or quantity
Extensive involvement in legitmate activities - such as holding a job, going to school, or playing sports, inhibits deviance.
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restrain
hold back
Strong believes in convential morality and respect for authority figures restrain tendencies toward deviance.
- egalitarian
favoring social equality
People who threaten the ealthy are likely to be labeled as deviant, whether it's by taking people's property (commone thieves) or advocating a more egalitarian society (political radicals).
- conversely
with the terms of the relation reversed
Conversely, the rich
who take advantage of the poor of less likely to be labeled as deviant.
- unworthy
lacking in value or merit
Welfare recipients are considered unworty freeloaders, ppor people who rate at their plight are labeled as rioters, and anyone who rages at the government is labeled as a radical or
communist.
- freeloader
someone who takes advantage of the generosity of others
Welfare recipients are considered unworty freeloaders, ppor people who rate at their plight are labeled as rioters, and anyone who rages at the government is labeled as a
radical or communist.
- plight
a situation from which extrication is difficult
Welfare recipients are considered unworty freeloaders, ppor people who rate at their plight are labeled as rioters, and anyone who rages at the government is labeled as a radical or communist.
- suite
the group following and attending to some important person
For this reason, sociologists sometimes call white-collar-offenses "crime in the suites."
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embezzlement
the fraudulent appropriation of funds or property
The most common white-collar crimes are bank embezzlement, business fraud, bribery, and violating anti-trust laws that require businesses to be competitive.
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oversimplification
a simplification that goes too far
At the very least, this is an oversimplification because the law also protects workers, consumers, and the environment, sometimes opposing the interests of coporations and the rich.
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assault
attack someone physically or emotionally
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force reports that one in five lesbians and gay men has been physically assaulted and more that 90 percent have been verbally abused because of sexual orientation.
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enact
order by virtue of superior authority; decree
By 2008, forty-five states had enacted legistlation that raises penalties for crimes motivated by hatred.
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gratified
having received what was desired
Supporters are gratified.
- constraint
the state of being physically limited
In other
parts of the world, constraints are still great.
- subculture
a distinctive social group within a national society
Where the structure of opportunity favors criminal activity,Cloward and Ohline predict the development of criminal subcultures, such as Capone's
criminal organization or today's inner-city street gangs.
