Sei sulla pagina 1di 12

Defining Crime and

Deviance

Definitions of Crime and Deviance

What do you think the difference between the


two are?

Crime- Behaviour which breaks laws and is


punishable by the legal system.

Deviance- Behaviour which goes against the


norms, values and expectations of a social
group or society.

Can you think of any examples?

Crime and Deviance are Socially


Constructed

Crime and deviance are culturally


determined. What is considered criminal has
less variance than what is considered deviant.
Foucault wrote how definitions of sexual
deviance, criminal deviance and madness
have changed over time. E.g. 100 years ago it
was considered deviant for women to wear
trousers. Deviance is relative.
Whats deviant in some cultures is conformity
for others.

Plummer (1979)

The same act can be deviant or nondeviant according to the situation


Societal deviance: acts seen by most
of society as deviant in most
situations
Swearing at an authority figure
Random acts of violence
Child abuse

Plummer (1979)

Situational Deviance means acts


which can be defined as deviant or
normal depending on the
circumstance
Being naked Ok in your own home
deviant on the high street
Wearing fishnets and PVC ok in a
goth club deviant in an office
Killing someone Ok if youre a
soldier killing enemy soldiers

Social Order and Social Control


Create a Consensus

Most behaviour in society isnt criminal or


deviant. Social order and social control
maintain the status quo and create a value
consensus of how to behave. People are
socialised to follow social norms.
Some norms have a second nature, e.g.
Conversational behaviours
Others are followed because we are consciously
aware of them, e.g. Stopping at a red light
Sanction are rewards and punishments that
reinforce social norms

Positive Sanctions
these reward
people for
conforming to
norms

Negative Sanctions
these punish
people for
deviating from a
norm

Formal sanctions
carried out by an
official agency

-A certificate for
passing an A-level
exam
-A medal for bravery
in the armed forces
-A cup for winning a
sporting final

-A fine for breaking


the law
-Points on a driving
license
-A yellow card from
the referee

Informal sanctions
carried out by the
public

-A pat on the back


-Saying well done
for good behaviour

-Deliberately ignoring
someone
-A telling off for bad
behaviour

Sociologists are interested in the


social causes of crime and
deviance

The key questions are:

Does crime have a purpose?


What are the causes of crime?
Who commits crime?
What is the extent of crime?

Non-sociological theories about the


existence of crime

Early theories in the 19th Century were


based on physiological or psychological
characteristics of deviance.
Lombroso (1876) said criminals were
physically different. Outward signs such
as a large jaw, extra fingers or toes.
More recently Moir and Jessel (1995)
argue hormonal and chemical imbalances
make individuals more likely to be
criminal.

Psychological theories

Bowlby (1946) argued that


individuals who are deprived of
maternal love in the first years of lige
are likely to develop personality traits
which lead them to commit crime
Eysenck (1964) concluded that
individuals commit crime have
inherited psychological
characteristics which predispose
them to crime.

Does the cause of crime lie within the


individual or does the cause of crime
lie in society?

Practice Questions

Give an example of behaviour which is


deviant but not criminal
What is situational deviance?
Give an example of a formal negative
sanctions and an informal positive sanction
Give an example of a psychological theory
of crime
Give one difference between physiological
and psychological theories of crime

Potrebbero piacerti anche