SOC 1100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Labeling Theory, Puritans, Medicalization
16 Mar 2016
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Document Summary
It isn"t the act itself, it is how society reacts to it. Crime: the violation of a society"s formally enacted criminal law. Social control: attempts by society to regulate people"s thought and behaviour. Criminal justice system: a formal response by police, courts, and prison officials to alleged violations of the law. People thought biology was the cause of behaviour. Early studies showed relationships of criminal behaviour with head shape (lombroso) and body size (sheldon), but they were faulty. Now studies show people"s overall genetic composition in combination with social influences account for variation in criminality. Individual factors like the ability to cope with frustration and identifying positively with cultural norms and values are related to fewer problems with police. I. e. stealing laptops some people would never do this, and other people say. Look its just waiting here for me and take it! There is something in their personality that they are missing to distinguish between norms.
