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Ch 7 - Deviance and Crime
N/A
33
Sociology
Undergraduate 2
07/18/2011

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Term
deviance
Definition
any behavior, belief, or condition that violates significant cultural norms in the society or group in which it occurs
Term
crime
Definition
behavior that violates criminal law and is punishable with fines, jail terms, and other sanctions
Term
juvenile delinquency
Definition
a violation of law or the commission of a status offense by young people
Term
social control
Definition
systematic practices developed by social groups to encourage conformity to norms, rules, and laws and to discourage deviance
Term
criminology
Definition
the systematic study of crime and the criminal justice system, including the police, courts, and prisons
Term
strain theory
Definition
the proposition that people feel strain when they are exposed to cultural goals that they are unable to obtain because they do not have access to culturally approved means of achieving those goals
Term
merton's strain theory of deviance
Definition
deviance occurs when access to the approved means of reaching culturally approved goals is blocked. Conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism, rebellion may result
Term
conformity
Definition
accepts culturally approved goals; pursues them through culturally approved means
Term
innovation
Definition
accepts culturally approved goals; adopts disapproved means of achieving them
Term
ritualism
Definition
abandons society's goals but continues to conform to approved means
Term
retreatism
Definition
abandons both approved goals and the approved means to achieve them
Term
rebellion
Definition
challenges both the approved goals and the approved means to achieve them but seeks to replace with alternate means and goals
Term
illegitimate opportunity structures
Definition
circumstances that provide an opportunity for people to acquire through illegitimate activities what they cannot achieve through legitimate channels
Term
criminal gang
Definition
devoted to theft, extortion, and other illegal means of securing an income
Term
conflict gang
Definition
seek to acquire a rep by fighting over turf and adopting a value system of toughness, courage and similar qualities
Term
differential association theory: sutherland
Definition
deviant behavior is learned in interaction with others. a person becomes delinquent when exposure to law-breaking attitudes is more extensive than exposure to law-abiding attitudes
Term
rational choice theory of deviance
Definition
the belief that deviant behavior occurs when a person weighs the costs and benefits of nonconventional or criminal behavior and determines that the benefits will outweigh the risks involved in such actions
Term
social bond theory: hirschi
Definition
social bonds keep people from becoming criminals. when ties to family, friends, and other become weak, an individual is most likely to engage in criminal behavior
Term
labeling theory: becker
Definition
acts are deviant or criminal because they have been labeled as such. powerful groups often label less-powerful individuals
Term
primary deviance: lemert
Definition
the initial act of rule breaking
Term
secondary deviance: lemert
Definition
the process that occurs when a person who has been labeled a deviant accepts that new identity and continues the deviant behavior
Term
tertiary deviance: lemert
Definition
deviance that occurs when a person who has been labeled a deviant seeks to normalize the behavior by relabeling it as nondeviant
Term
violent crime
Definition
actions - murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault - involving force or the threat of force against others
Term
cloward/ohlin: opportunity theory
Definition
lower class delinquents subscribe to middle class values but cannot attain them. as a result, they form gangs to gain social status and may achieve their goals through illegitimate means
Term
conflict perspective: critical approach to deviance
Definition
the powerful use law and the criminal justice system to protect their own class interests
Term
property crime
Definition
crimes including burglary, motor vehicle theft, larceny-theft, and arson
Term
victimless crimes
Definition
crimes that involve a willing exchange of illegal goods or services among adults
Term
occupational/white collar crime
Definition
illegal activities committed by people in the course of their employment or financial affairs
Term
corporate crime
Definition
illegal acts committed by corporate employees on behalf of the corporation and with its support
Term
organized crime
Definition
a business operation that supplies illegal goods and services for profit
Term
political crime
Definition
illegal or unethical acts involving the usurpation of power by government officials, or illegal/unethical acts perpetrated against the government by outsiders seeking to make a political statement, undermine the government or overthrow it
Term
terrorism
Definition
the calculated unlawful use of physical force or threats of violence against persons or property in order to intimidate or coerce a government, organization, or individual for the purpose of gaining some political, religious, economic, or social objective
Term
punishment
Definition
any action designed to deprive a person of things of value (including liberty) because of some offense the person is thought to have committed
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