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This chapter delves into the concepts of deviance and crime, examining various theories that explain deviant behavior, including differential association theory, subcultural deviance, and structural strain theories. It also explores white-collar crime, control theory, and the importance of social bonds in preventing deviance. Additionally, the chapter discusses the role of moral communities, social integration, and labeling theory in understanding and addressing deviance in society.
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Chapter 7 Crime and DevianceKey Terms
Deviance Behavior that violates norms. • CrimeActs of force and fraud undertaken in pursuit of self-interest.
Born criminals Lombroso’s term for people whose deviance he attributed to their more primitive biology. • Differential association theoryA theory that traces deviant behavior to association with other persons who also engage in this behavior.
Subcultural devianceBehavior through which a person deviates from the norms of the surrounding society by conforming to the norms of a subculture. • Structural strain Frustration or discontent caused by being in a disadvantaged position in the social structure.
Structural strain theoriesTheories that blame deviance on the stress of structural strain; for example, one such theory claims that people commit crimes because of their poverty. • White-collar crime According to Sutherland (1983), crimes committed by “a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his [her] occupation.”
Control theory A theory that stresses how weak bonds between the individual and society free people to deviate, whereas strong bonds make deviance costly. • Stake in conformity Those things a person risks losing by being detected committing deviant behavior; what a person protects by conforming to the norms.
Social bondsBonds that, as used in control theory, consist of the following: • attachments Ties to other people. • investments The costs expended to construct a satisfactory life and the current and potential flow of rewards expected. • involvements The amount of time and energy expended in nondeviant activities. • beliefs Our notions about how we ought to act.
Internalization of normsThe sociological synonym for conscience; refers to the tendency of people not simply to learn what the norms are but also to come to believe the norms are right. • Anomie A condition of normlessness in a group or even a whole society when people either no longer know what the norms are or have lost their belief in them.
Moral communitiesGroups within which there is very high agreement on the norms and strong bonds of attachment among members. • Social integration The degree to which persons in a group have many strong attachments to one another.
Moral integrationThe degree to which members of a group are united by shared beliefs. • Labeling theory A theory that explains deviant behavior as a reaction to having been socially identified as a deviant.
Primary deviance In labeling theory actions that cause others to label an individual deviant. More generally, any deviant acts that result in the commission of other deviant acts. • Secondary deviance In labeling theory actions carried out in response to having been labeled as deviant. More generally, any deviant acts committed as a result of committing other deviant acts—for example, burglaries committed to support a drug habit.
