Deviant Behavior and Social Control Deviance is only considered to be deviance when the actions go against what are considered the norms of the group. Is a group of cannibals in the South American jungle eating fellow human beings considered deviant behavior? Is kissing your loved one in a public place to show affection considered deviant behavior? What about a person laying down a small rug and praying wherever they are at certain times throughout the day. There is no definite…
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describe deviance as being relative? Provide an example of a deviant behavior and identify how it is relative. Deviance is behavior that a considerable number of people in a society view as reprehensible and beyond the limits of tolerance. In most cases it is both negatively valued and provokes hostile reactions. Deviance does not exist independently of norms. Without norms, and without the application of norms in interpreting behavior, there is no deviance. Society bases their views on what is…
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“Becoming a deviant involves a social process of definition”. The purpose of this essay is to show how this sociological perspective can assist in understanding drug taking in society. In the essay I will discuss the notion of deviance and will demonstrate that people do not become deviants on the strength of their behaviour alone, but by the sanctions of a society whose norms that the offender has deemed to have violated. I will examine approaches to deviance through biological, psychological…
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natural sciences to study deviance the three strands are made up of biological, psychological and sociological positivism. Biological positivism is based on the idea that those who are deviant have certain physical characteristics which observed and measured. Cesare Lombroso was instrumental in the study of deviance using the methods of the natural sciences. In his book the criminal mind Lombroso believed that those who are deviant (criminally) have physical attributes which make them more susceptible…
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Student Study Guide for Ronald L. Akers and Christine S. Sellers’ Criminological Theories: Introduction, Evaluation, and Applications Fourth Edition Prepared by Eric See Youngstown State University Roxbury Publishing Company Los Angeles, California 1 Student Study Guide by Eric See for Criminological Theories: Introduction, Evaluation, and Application , 4th Edition by Ronald L. Akers and Christine S. Sellers Copyright © 2004 Roxbury Publishing Company, Los Angeles, California…
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Deviance is social behavior that departs from the usual or accepted standards set by society. There are many explanations as to why people or groups choose to be deviant. After reading chapters one and two in Cultural Criminology, the readings Deviant Places: A Theory of the Ecology of Crime, and Broken Windows, I have a new understanding as to why some people may deviate from society’s norms. There are a plethora of theories that focus on “kinds of people” such as their culture, biological factors, who…
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Rational Choice Theory VS. Trait Theory Student Name Criminology : Park University Online Program In this essay I will be comparing and contrasting the Rational Choice Theory(s) and the Trait Theory(s). We will start with the history of the two theories and progress toward some of the individual principles in the theories. Next step will be explaining how each theory contributes to criminal behavior. My closing paragraph will conclude…
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Summary The earliest theories that attempted to explain crime saw the cause as weakness and evil spirits within the person. Many times these theories were based on religious or moral beliefs, rather than empirical research. There are various modern day perspectives concerning crime causation such as: the classical perspective, the biological perspective, the psychological perspective, and the sociological perspective. The classical and neoclassical theories of crime, founded by Cesare Beccaria…
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criminality, criminal behavior and deviance in different ways. Questions have always come up but the most thought of and controversial question is whether or not criminal behavior is genetic or environemtal and what are the dangers that come along with suggesting that criminal behavior is biological. Crime is not biologically inherent nor does it have biological characteristics but is a product of society therefore leaving crime with no essence, accept one which is social. The behaviors leading up to a…
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identification (a re-conceptualization of differential association theory).Identify two key criticisms of differential association theory. Then defend the theoretical postulates against the criticism. Use a concrete example to support the criticism, and articulate your position on the issue. In an attempt to explain individual and social crime and delinquency, Edwin Sutherland developed a scheme consisting of nine propositions. This theory claims that through interaction with others we learn our own…
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