SOC 1100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Differential Association, Labeling Theory, Attachment Theory

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 1100
• Professor: Deanna Behnke- Cook

Document Summary

Society teaches us all to conform, law is simply one part of a complex system of social control. Deviance is the recognized violation of cultural norms which guide almost all human activity: crime is the violation of a society"s formally enacted criminal law. Social control: attempts by society to regulate people"s thoughts and behaviour. Criminal justice system: a formal response by police, courts, and prison officials to alleged violations of the law. Early studies showed the relationship of criminal behaviour with head shape (lombroso) and body size (sheldon), but they were faulty. Genetic factors together with environmental factors were strong predictors of adult crime and violence but offers limited explanation of crime. Criticisms: offers no insight into the process by which certain behaviours are defined as deviant in the first place. Most psychologists think that personality is shaped primarily by social experience, deviance, is then viewed as the result of unsuccessful socialization.