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sociology ch. 6

Terms in this set (26)

deviance
the violation of norms (or rules or expectations)
stigma
"blemishes" that discredit a person's claim to a "normal" identity
crime
the violation of norms written into law
social order
a group's usual and customary social arrangements, on which its members depend and on which they base their lives
social control
a group's formal and informal means of enforcing its norms
negative sanction
an expression of disapproval for breaking a norm, ranging from a mild, informal reaction such as a frown to a formal reaction such as a prize or a prison sentence
positive sanction
an expression of approval for following a norm, ranging from a smile or a good grade in a class to a material reward such as a prize
genetic disposition
inborn tendencies (for example, a tendency to commit deviant acts)
street crime
crimes such as mugging, raping, and burglary
personality disorders
the view that a personality disturbance of some sort causes an individual to violate social norms
differential association
Edwin Sutherland's term to indicate that people who associate with some groups learn an "excess of definitions" of deviance, increasing the likelihood that they will become deviant
control theory
the idea that two control systems- inner controls and outer controls- work against our tendencies to deviate
degradation ceremony
a term coined by Harold Garfinkel to refer to a ritual whose goal is to remake someone's self by stripping away that individual's self-identity and stamping a new identity in its place
labeling theory
the view that the labels people are given affect their own and others' perceptions of them, thus channeling their behavior into either deviance or conformity
techniques of neutralization
ways of thinking or rationalizing that help people deflect (or neutralize) society's norms
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