understanding deviance for social work students
- 1. DEVIANCE
- 2. “Behavior that departs from societal or group norms”
- 3. Norms are behavioural codes or prescriptions that guide people into actions and self presentations conforming to social acceptability
- 4. Who and Why? Nature Individual Society Nurture
- 6. Ground Rules and What to Expect • We educate and learn like real social workers do • We can’t discuss all of them and all about them
- 8. Lombrosian Positivism Cesare Lombroso Classification of Criminals 1. Criminoids or Occasional criminals (Had a tendency to commit crime in order to overcome their inferiority or in order to meet the needs of survival) 2.Insane criminals (Resorted to criminality on account of certain mental depravity or disorder)
- 9. 3. Atavists or Born Criminals – Retreating forehead, – Dark skin, – Long arms – Enlarged jaw and cheek bones, – Long or flat chin and so on
- 10. Patricia A. Jacobs • Males with 47XYY Chromosome had severe, indeterminately caused personality disorder. – Unstable, – Unable to conduct adequate personal relationships, – a tendency to abscond from institutions, and committing apparently motiveless crimes. Jacobs’ Syndrome
- 11. Group Heredity
- 12. The Kallikak Family Henry Goddard • Proposed Eugenics or the improvement of hereditary qualities of a race or breed by controlling human mating Good Branch Feeble Minded Branch Established Individuals Intellectuals Model Citizens Criminals Violent individuals Prostitutes and Promiscuous Drunkards
- 13. “Criminology” Raffaele Garofalo • Natural Crime is conduct that offends the basic moral sentiments of pity and probity. • Rejected free will
- 14. Moral Anomaly • Criminality is hereditarily transmissible • A criminal is abnormal and lacks proper development of altruistic sensibilities • They belong to a sub-human category as they fail to properly adapt to their social environment
- 16. Frustration-Aggression Theory John Dollard, Leonard Doob, Neal Miller, O.H. Mowrer and Robert Sears “The occurrence of aggressive behavior always presupposes the existence of frustration and, contrary wise, that the existence of frustration always leads to some form of aggression". Frustration is defined as thwarting of a goal response Goal response is defined as the reinforcing final operation in an ongoing behavior sequence
- 17. Factors Influencing Motivational Strength Towards Aggression 1. The reinforcement value of the frustrated goal response 2. The degree of frustration of this goal response, and 3. The number of frustrated response sequences.
- 18. Revised Frustration-Aggression Theory Neal Miller 1. Any hostile or aggressive behavior that occurs is caused by frustration. 2. Frustration instigates behavior that may or may not be hostile or aggressive.
- 19. Revised Frustration-Aggression Theory Leonard Berkowitz The work of Dollard et al. only focused on hostile aggression and not on instrumental aggression. Nicholas Pastore Frustrations only result in aggressive reactions when they are deemed inappropriate It is not frustration but the negative affect that generates aggressive inclinations These negative feelings generate a range of biological reactions that promote fight or flight tendencies
- 20. Differential Association Theory Edwin Sutherland Individuals become deviants when the balance of definitions for law-breaking exceeds those for law-abiding. TECHNIQUES, MOTIVES, DRIVES, RATIONALIZATION, ATTITUDES Deviance is created through “Cultural Transmissions” I should avoid getting caught We must uphold the law An eye for an eye We should respect others Only the strongest survive Compassion is important It is okay to steal for your survival Hurting others is wrong The life of others is unimportant How to run a business How to shoot a gun It is wrong to take what is not yours
- 21. Differential Association Theory • While criminal behavior is an expression of general needs and values, it is not explained by those needs and values, since non-criminal behavior is an expression of the same needs and values.
- 22. Differential Association Theory • Learning deviant behavior applies the same principles as in any other form of learning • The specific direction of motives and drives is learned from definitions of the legal codes as favorable or unfavorable. • It primarily takes place in intimate personal groups
- 23. Societal FACTORS
- 24. Structural Functionalist Perspective Emile Durkheim Deviance is simply what is defined as not normal by norms, values or laws- formation of values enforced by institutions. Deviance is a normal and necessary part of any society because it contributes to the social order.
- 25. Structural Functionalist Perspective • “Anomie…social condition in which norms are weak, conflicting, or absent.” • Functions of Deviance – Affirmation of cultural norms and values – Clarification of right and wrong – Unification of others in society – Promoting social change
- 26. Strain Theory Robert Merton anomie feelings of being disconnected from society particularly its’ norms on goals and means of achieving Deviance is a result of strain and frustration experienced by people when they are prevented from achieving culturally approved goals through institutional means. It is an adaptation of individuals to the dominant culture
- 27. Components of Social Functions • Manifest functions are recognized and intended consequences of any social pattern. • Latent functions are the unrecognized and unintended consequences of any social pattern. • Dysfunction are social patterns’ undesirable consequences.
- 28. Adaptations • Conformists: accept the goals their society sets for them, as well as the institutionalized means of achieving them. • Innovators: accept society’s goals but reject the usual ways of achieving them.
- 29. • Ritualists: rejects cultural goals but still accepts the institutionalized means of achieving them. • Retreatists: reject cultural goals as well as the institutionalized means of achieving them.
- 30. • Rebels: not only rejects culturally approved goals and the means of achieving them, but they replace them with their own goals.
- 31. Social Control Theory Travis Hirschi Deviance or delinquency is intrinsic to human nature Conformity is achieved through socialization, the formation of bond between individual and society
- 32. Social Bonds that Prevent Deviance 1. attachment -- a measure of the connectedness between individuals 2. commitment -- a measure of the stake a person has in the community
- 33. 3. involvement -- a measure of the time/energy a person is spending on activities that are helpful to the community 4. belief -- a measure of the person's support for the morals and beliefs of the community
- 34. Labeling Theory Howard Becker Also called “ Societal-Reaction Approach” which posits that it is the response to an act, and not the behavior, that determines the Deviance. Stigmas are undesirable traits or labels that are used to characterize a person. A Label is usually a Master Status
- 35. Labeling Theory Edwin Lemert Primary Deviance: Behavior that causes the initial labeling of the person Secondary Deviance: Happens when the person begins to identify with and classify themselves by the label
- 36. Social Disorganization Theory Clifford Shaw and Henry D. Mckay Deviance is a function of neighbourhood dynamics, and not necessarily a function of the individuals within neighbourhoods. There are socially organized communities and socially disorganized communities.
- 37. Concentric Zones •Zone 1:Central Business District •Zone 2 Inner City or Zone of Transition •Zone 3 Respectable working class housing •Zone 4 Middle Class Suburbs •Zone 5: Rural areas inhabited by the rich
- 38. Social Disorganization Theory • Neighborhood Characteristics that promote Social Disorganization: – Poverty – Racial/Ethnic Heterogeneity – Residential Mobility
- 39. Social Disorganization Theory • Socially organized communities have: – Solidarity – Cohesion – Integration Informal Social Control Informal Surveillance Movement Governing Rules Direct Intervention
- 40. Conflict Theory Richard Quinney “ People with power protect their own interest and define deviance to suit their own needs”
- 41. The Social Reality of Crime 1. Crime is defined by authorized agents 2. Crime is defined to describe behaviors conflicting with the interests of people with power to shape public policy
- 42. The Social Reality of Crime 3. Criminal definitions are applied by the segments of society that have the power to shape the enforcement and administration of criminal law 4. Criminal definitions shape behavioral patterns
- 43. 5. Conceptions of crime are constructed and diffused in the segments of society through different media 6. The social reality of crime is constructed by the formulation and application of criminal definitions, the development of behavior patterns related to criminal definitions, and the construction of criminal conceptions
- 44. Subcultural Theories Subcultural theories argue that certain groups develop norms and values that are different from those held by other member of society.
- 46. Albert K. Cohen • Deviance is a collective response to the dominant culture • Argued that Merton failed to account for non- utilitarian crime • Published Delinquent Boys: The Culture of Gangs in 1955
- 47. Albert K. Cohen • Deviant subculture was mostly found in the working class due to: STATUS FRUSTRATION • Material and Cultural Deprivation lead to educational failure • The deviant subculture not only rejects the mainstream culture, it reverses it. Don't ever try to judge me, dude You don't know what the fuck I've been through But I know something about you You went to Cranbrook, that's a private school What's the matter, dog, you embarrassed? This guy's a gangster? His real name's Clarence And Clarence lives at home with both parents And Clarence parents have a real good marriage This guy don't wanna battle, he shook Cause ain't no such things as halfway crooks He's scared to death, he's scared to look in his fucking year book
- 48. Focal Concerns Theory Crime is a result of the fact that there is a lower-class subculture with different norms and values to the rest of society. Walter B. Miller Focal Concerns are concerns and things that members of a lower-class subculture want to achieve.
- 49. Focal Concerns • Toughness – Miller said that people within the lower-class subculture value toughness as an important trait • Smartness – This culture also value the ability to outfox each other. • Excitement – This culture constantly searches for excitement and thrills.
- 50. Differential Opportunity Theory Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin Development of deviant behavior is influenced by differential access to legitimate and illegitimate means to succeed Deviant sub-cultures are developed as a response to lack of access to legitimate means to succeed and influenced by access to illegitimate means
- 51. Deviant Subcultures • Criminal emerge in areas where there is an established pattern of organized adult crime. Children learn from their parents and are concerned with utilitarian crime – financial reward. • Conflict develop in areas where adolescents have little opportunity for access to illegitimate opportunity structures. Lack of cohesiveness. Response is often gang violence.
- 52. • Retreatist some lower class adolescents form subcultures around illegal drug use because they have failed to succeed in both the legitimate and illegitimate structures. Double failures – as they have failed in terms of criminal and conflict subcultures.