Understanding Deviance and Social Norms

• To hamper means to hinder or obstruct progress.
• Homogeneous means consisting of identical parts or elements.

Deviance

• Genetic and physiological factors can influence deviant behavior.
• Early criminology theories often focused on physical traits to explain deviance.
• Norms are shared societal expectations that guide behavior.
• Deviance is behavior that violates social norms.
• Social power influences societal norms and the definitions of deviance.

Functions of Deviance (Structural-Functional Approach)

• Durkheim's theory posits that deviance is necessary for social structure.
• Merton’s strain theory states deviance arises from the disparity between cultural goals and institutional means.
• Innovation involves using unconventional means to achieve societal goals.
• Ritualism is strict adherence to norms without the goal of achieving success.
• Retreatism involves rejection of both societal goals and the accepted means of achieving them.
• Rebellion involves the creation of new goals and means, rejecting existing ones.

Deviant Subcultures

• Deviant subcultures are groups with values that differ from the dominant culture.
• Criminal gangs and countercultures serve as examples of deviant subcultures.

Labeling Deviance (Symbolic-Interaction Approach)

• Labeling theory suggests that one's identity is shaped by societal reactions.
• Primary deviance refers to minor norm violations.
• Secondary deviance refers to the internalization of a deviant identity.
• Stigma is a discrediting characteristic that leads to discrimination.
• Labeling has a considerable impact on mental illness, particularly through diagnosis and stereotypes.

Typical Criminal

• Societal biases often lead to stereotypical characteristics of criminals.

Deviance and Inequality (Social-Conflict Analysis)

• White-collar crime includes financial crimes committed by professionals.
• Corporate crime includes offenses committed by businesses.
• Organized crime includes structured illegal activities.

Types of Crime

• Crimes against the person involve violence or threats, such as assault or murder.
• Crimes against property involve theft or vandalism.
• Victimless crimes are consensual (e.g., drug use, prostitution).

Global Perspective on Crime

• There are notable differences in crime rates between the U.S. and other nations.

Criminal Justice System

• Police have law enforcement roles and use discretion.
• Courts follow a judicial process that often involves plea bargaining.
• Punishment includes retribution, deterrence, rehabilitation, and societal protection.
• Retribution is punishment that fits the crime.
• Deterrence aims to prevent future crimes.
• Rehabilitation focuses on reforming offenders.
• Societal protection involves preventing harm by isolating offenders.

Social Stratification

• Social mobility can be intragenerational or intergenerational.
• Intragenerational mobility refers to movement within one's lifetime.
• Intergenerational mobility refers to movement across generations.
• Structural mobility refers to changes in social status due to societal shifts.

Systems of Stratification

• A caste system involves a rigid, hereditary social hierarchy.
• A class system is based on achievement and mobility.
• Status consistency refers to the stability of social ranking.

Social Classes in the U.S.

• Social classes entails characteristics and distribution of wealth and power.

Global Comparisons

• Great Britain has three estates: nobility, clergy, and commoners.
• The USSR had class categories including apparatchiks, intelligentsia, workers, and peasantry.
• Meritocracy is a system based on ability and effort.

Wealth vs. Income

• Wealth includes accumulated assets.
• Income includes earnings and wages.

Types of Poverty

• Relative poverty is gauged by comparing economic standing to that of others.
• Absolute poverty is an inability to meet basic needs.
• Different types of poverty include generational, situational, and asset poverty.
• Geography of poverty in the U.S. reveals regional economic disparities.
• Factors affecting poverty include education, employment, and access to healthcare.

Gender Stratification

• Gender roles are societal expectations for men and women.
• A wage gap and occupational segregation are aspects of gender and occupation.
• Patriarchy embodies male-dominated power structures.

Theoretical Perspectives on Gender

• Structural-functional analysis, includes Parsons’ notion of complementarity of gender roles.
• Social-conflict analysis examines power disparities.
• Symbolic-interactionism examines how daily interactions shape gender norms.

Feminism

• Liberal feminism promotes legal and political equality.
• Socialist feminism focuses on economic class struggle.
• Radical feminism advocates for the elimination of patriarchy.

Race and Ethnicity

• Race is defined by physical differences.
• Ethnicity defined by cultural differences.
• A minority refers to a disadvantaged social group.

Prejudice and Discrimination

• Institutional prejudice includes systemic biases.
• Stereotypes are oversimplified generalizations.
• Racism is the belief in racial superiority.

Majority-Minority Relations

• Pluralism involves coexistence with cultural distinction.
• Assimilation involves integration into the dominant culture.
• Segregation entails physical and social separation.
• Genocide refers to systematic extermination.
• The Schelling segregation model explains patterns of racial separation.
• Blockbusting refers to real estate manipulation leading to segregation.

Global Stratification

• High, middle, and low-income nations differ in income levels.
• Forms of slavery include chattel, child labor, debt bondage, and human trafficking.
• Colonialism and neocolonialism relate to economic and political dominance.
• Modernization and dependency theory posit differing development strategies and exploitation.