01:920:101 Chap.11 Deviance and Crime
Deviance and Crime
The final topic of the semester returns to norms, the shared expectations introduced with culture. Deviance is behaviour that violates a norm and draws a reaction, and crime is the narrower set of acts that break a law. The review sheet lists several pairs that are easy to confuse, and this chapter is built as an error clinic that separates them one by one.
The first pairs are social versus statistical deviance and deviance versus crime. Being unusual is not the same as being deviant, and an act can be deviant without being criminal or criminal without being seen as deviant. The chapter uses a two-by-two figure to place examples in each cell. Social control, with positive and negative sanctions, and stigma complete the vocabulary. Five theories explain deviance.
Functionalist theory sees it as a normal part of society that clarifies boundaries; conflict theory sees rules and enforcement as reflecting the interests of the powerful; control theory focuses on the bonds that keep people conforming; broken windows theory links visible disorder to serious crime; and labelling theory argues that the reaction to an act can create a deviant identity. The review sheet also asks for U.S.
crime and incarceration rates, how they compare internationally and by race and ethnicity, including in New Jersey, and the history of crack and powder cocaine sentencing. The chapter explains the pattern those figures show and points to the lecture slides for the specific numbers. The last recitation's norm-breaking experiment is used as a template for answering any deviance question.
Deviance items on Exam 2 frequently present a short scenario and ask which theory it illustrates, so learn each theory's prediction rather than only its name. The review sheet also flags several numbers to know, including U.S. incarceration rates in context and the number of Black men in prison at the peak of incarceration; take those from the lecture slides.
Definition items test the pairs this chapter separates: social and statistical deviance, deviance and crime, positive and negative sanctions.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Norms, deviance and crime
- 02
Social and statistical deviance
- 03
Social control, sanctions and stigma
- 04
Functionalist, conflict and control theories
- 05
Broken windows and labelling
- 06
Incarceration trends and sentencing
Worked example · free
Writing up a norm-breaking experiment
- 2Name the norm and how you know it exists.
- 2Describe the violation and others' reactions.
- 2Identify the sanctions and the lesson about norms.
Key terms
- Deviance
- Behaviour that violates a social norm and draws a reaction from others.
- Labelling theory
- The theory that deviance is created when others apply a deviant label, which can push the labelled person toward a deviant identity.
- Social control
- All the means a society uses to encourage conformity, including positive sanctions that reward and negative sanctions that punish.
- Stigma
- A lasting mark of disgrace that spoils a person's identity once a deviant label sticks.
- Control theory
- The theory that people conform when bonds to family, school, work and community are strong, and deviate when those bonds weaken.
- Broken windows policing
- A policing approach that targets minor disorder on the theory that it prevents more serious crime.
Deviance and Crime FAQ
What is the difference between deviance and crime?
Deviance is any violation of a social norm that draws a reaction, from rudeness to violence. Crime is the subset of acts that break a formal law. Some deviant acts are legal, and some illegal acts are widely tolerated.
What does broken windows theory predict, and what do critics say?
It predicts that tackling visible disorder and minor offences prevents more serious crime. Critics argue that such policing concentrates arrests in poorer neighbourhoods and communities of colour, and labelling theory adds that minor records can push people toward further offending.
What is the difference between social and statistical deviance?
Statistical deviance means being unusual, such as being left-handed or very tall. Social deviance means breaking a norm and being sanctioned for it. Something can be rare without drawing any disapproval.
What does labelling theory say about deviance?
It argues that deviance is created when others apply a deviant label to a person. The label can bring stigma and exclusion, pushing the person toward a deviant identity, so the social reaction matters more than the first act.
Exam move
Place six examples of your own into the deviance and crime two-by-two grid, then explain one of them with two different theories and say which one the evidence favours. Close with the incarceration figures you need from the slides.
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