Definition:
behavior that
departs from
societal or
group norms
Social Controls
Ways to encourage conformity to society’s norms. Without Social Controls
life would be unpredictable or chaotic
Norms
Def: rules defining
appropriate and
inappropriate behavior.
Example: Everyone in
an elevator faces the
door and not each
other.
Sanctions- rewards or punishments that
encourage conformity to social norms
Positive Sanctions
Def: Intended to encourage
acceptable behavior. Ex: Child says
thank you and the mother smiles
Negative Sanctions
intended to discourage unacceptable behavior
Speeding Ticket
Nasty look
Strain Theory- something
blocks someone from obtaining their
goals so they turn to deviance
90% of high school seniors have been accepted to
college. 5% do not want to go to college and the
remaining 5% want to go but cannot for whatever
reason. All students want to be successful and
college is generally the first step in achieving that
goal. The 5% who want to attend but were blocked
may act in a deviant manner since they feel cheated
by society.
Anomie- feelings of being
disconnected from society
Innovation- people find
illegal ways to succeed.
Ritualism- acts as if you
want to succeed but do not exert
much effort towards success
Retreatism- stops
trying to achieve success
Rebellion- makes up
their own way for achieving the
goal because they do not
accept the status quo
Conformity- most
people accept the social norms
and how we achieve the good
life is through hard work and
education
Control Theory- resist the
pressure to become a deviant
Attachment- the stronger the attraction to the
group the more likely you are to conform
Commitment- the greater your commitment
to the social group the more likely you are to
conform
Involvement- participation in approved social
activities increases the probability of
conformity
Belief- belief in the norms and values
promotes conformity
Differential Association
Theory- adolescence learn deviance
from the group for which they associate
with.
An adolescent changes schools and his
new peer group smokes marijuana, the new
student is more likely to smoke marijuana.
On the other hand, if a student moves to a
new school where no one smokes
marijuana, he is less likely to take up the
habit.
Labeling Theory
: theory that society
creates deviance by identifying particular members as
deviants
Unwed teenage mothers are labeled as
deviants even though the unwed teen father
is not stigmatized
Middle class youth who steal a car receive
less of a punishment than a lower class
youth who steals a car because we expect
the lower class youth to be a “criminal”.

Primary Deviance
Deviance involving occasional
breaking of norms that is not a
part of a persons lifestyle or
self-concept
Ex: An adolescent who smokes
cigarettes with other
adolescents is not at risk of
being labeled a deviant among
her peers, since they all
smoke. Even though
adolescents who smoke
cigarettes are considered
deviant by the larger American
society, that teenager’s actions
go relatively unnoticed,
unpunished, and therefore
unchanged. The primary
deviance is of little
consequence.
Secondary Deviance
- deviance in which an
individuals life and identity are
organized around breaking
society’s norms
Ex:The same adolescent moves
to a new school where his
peers never smoke and
where smoking is considered
a deviant behavior. The
students call him names and
exclude him from all of their
social activities. Because of
their reactions to his smoking,
he feels like an outcast and
begins to smoke more,
perhaps engaging in other
deviant activities, such as
alcohol or drugs.
Conflict Perspective
Theory
Theory which looks at deviance in the terms of
social inequality and power. Most powerful
members of society determine who and what is
deviance.
the elite can often afford expensive lawyers and
are sometimes on a first-name basis with the
individuals in charge of making and enforcing
laws. Members of the working class generally do
not have these advantages
“Celebrity law”

Victim Discounting
process of reducing the seriousness of the crimes
that injure people of lower status. If a victim is
less valuable the crime is less serious and penalty
is less severe
If a prostitute is raped and beaten to death the
crime is not viewed as awful as it would be if a
student at Dulles was raped and beaten to
death.
Crime:
acts committed in violation of the law
A.
White Collar Crime- job related crimes committed by high status
people. They are less likely to be imprisoned. If convicted they
are sent to federal prisons with tennis courts and private rooms.
B. Deterrence- discouraging criminal acts by threatening
punishment
C. Incarceration- a method of protecting society from criminals by
keeping them in prison
D. Rehabilitation- process of changing or reforming a criminal
through socialization. 30-60% return to prison within 2-5 years of
being released.
Types of Crime
Crimes against peopleviolence, threatening
(ex) mugging
Crimes against propertytheft, damage
(ex) arson
Victimless crimes- laws
are violated but no victim is
identified
(ex) prostitution
