Theoretical Perspectives on Deviance and Crime

Learning Objectives

• Describe the functionalist view of deviance through four sociologists' theories.
• Explain conflict theory's understanding of deviance and crime.
• Describe the symbolic interactionist approach to deviance, including labeling and other theories.

Introduction

• Deviance and crime have been explained through various sociological theories.
• The major paradigms are functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism.

Functionalism

• Key Idea: Deviance is a necessary element of society.

mile Durkheim: The Essential Nature of Deviance

• Deviance challenges present views and reaffirms social norms.
• Laws express collective conscience and vary in severity based on societal complexity.

Robert Merton: Strain Theory

• Expands on Durkheim's ideas; focuses on access to socially acceptable goals.
• Society encourages the American Dream, but not everyone has equal means.
• Five responses to the gap:
  • Conformity: Pursue goals through accepted means.
  • Innovation: Use criminal means to achieve goals.
  • Ritualism: Lower goals to be achievable by accepted means.
  • Retreatism: Reject society's goals and means.
  • Rebellion: Replace society's goals and means.

Social Disorganization Theory

• Crime arises in communities with weak social ties and lack of control.
• Poverty and family disruption correlate with high crime rates.

Conflict Theory

• Key Idea: Deviance arises from social and economic inequalities.

Karl Marx: An Unequal System

• Society is divided into bourgeois (wealthy) and proletariat (workers).
• Laws are structured to maintain power for the bourgeois.

C. Wright Mills: The Power Elite

• Power elite are a small, influential group with societal control.
• Rules favor the elite, leading to minimal punishment for their crimes.

Crime and Social Class

• Wealthy individuals' crimes often go under-punished.
• Historical sentencing disparities highlight inequality in legal systems.

Symbolic Interactionism

• Key Idea: Deviance is shaped by societal interactions and perceptions.

Labeling Theory

• Deviance is determined by societal reactions to behaviors.
• Edwin Lemert identified primary and secondary deviance.
• Techniques of Neutralization: Ways people rationalize deviant labels.

Edwin Sutherland: Differential Association

• Deviance is learned through interactions with others.
• Multigenerational crime links to learned behaviors.

Travis Hirschi: Control Theory

• Social control is affected by the strength of social bonds.
• Identified four types of social bonds: Attachment, Commitment, Involvement, Belief.

Social Policy and Debate

• Felony disenfranchisement in voting raises questions of fairness and societal inclusion.

Associated Theorists and Concepts

• Strain Theory: Robert Merton
• Social Disorganization Theory: University of Chicago researchers
• Unequal System: Karl Marx
• Power Elite: C. Wright Mills
• Labeling Theory: Edwin Lemert
• Differential Association Theory: Edwin Sutherland
• Control Theory: Travis Hirschi

Conclusion

• Various sociological theories offer different explanations for the occurrence of deviance and crime, each emphasizing different societal aspects and consequences.