Understanding Poverty and Deviance: Theories and Social Control
– Inequality of conditions: unequal distribution of income, wealth, and material goods (e.g., housing, homelessness). – Inequality of opportunities: unequal distribution of life chances (education, health status, treatment by the criminal justice system). We study it as a problem with 3 dimensions: structural conditions, ideological support, and social reforms.
Explaining Poverty
- Blame the poor: they are responsible for their own poverty. Society has plenty of opportunities for people to work, but they’re poor because of their lack of motivation, skills, or schooling.
- Blame society: society is responsible because there isn’t enough work to support families.
Theories of Poverty
- Functionalist: Inequality is inevitable and desirable and plays an important function in society. Important positions in society require more training and should receive more rewards, meritocracy based on ability.
- Conflict: Inequality as a result of groups with power dominating less powerful groups. Social inequality prevents societal progress as the ones in power repress the powerless to maintain the status quo. This work of domination is achieved through ideology, a process called ‘Cultural Hegemony’.
Lesson 6: Deviance and Social Control
What is Deviance?
Deviance is the violation of society’s norms, which evokes negative reactions from others. This is imprecise because of the constantly changing ideas and laws about which acts are considered deviant. It is socially constructed: members of groups in society define what is deviant. Some acts are deviant at one time and place and not at others. According to structural-functional theory, deviance serves vital functions: setting examples of what is considered unacceptable, providing guidelines for behavior that is necessary to maintain the social order, and bonding people together. Sociologists consider that socialization processes and interpersonal relationships, group and social class differences, cultural and subcultural norms, and power structures are what influence individuals to conform or deviate from social expectations.
- Deviance, the violation of social norms, including those that are formal laws, is a complex behavior that has both positive and negative consequences for individuals and for society.
- At the meso level, organized and occupational crimes may cost billions and create great risk to thousands of lives.
- At the macro level, some crimes are facilitated by global networks and by global inequities of power and wealth.
Social Control Theory
Why people conform most of the time and don’t commit deviant acts. To live with other people requires control of the behavior based on social standards and sanctions (social control: results from social norms that promote order and predictability in the social world). When people fail to adhere to these norms or when they are unclear, the stability and continuance of the system may be threatened. People are bonded to society by:
- Attachment to other people who respect the values and rules of the society.
- Involvement in activities that keep them busy.
- Commitment to conventional activities.
Rational Choice Theory
When individuals make decisions, they calculate the costs and benefits of the action. Humans seek to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. It is based on the assumption that the offender sees himself as an individual; they have to maximize their goals and are self-interested.
Differential Association Theory or Reinforcement Theory
Refers to 2 processes that can result in individuals learning to engage in crime. It focuses on the process of learning deviance from family, peers, fellow employees… The emphasis is on how others shape one’s definition of what is acceptable.
- Association with others who share criminal values and commit crimes results in learning how to carry out a criminal act.
- Social learning also results in reinforcement of criminal behavior.
The possibility of becoming deviant depends on 4 factors: duration, intensity, priority, and frequency.