SOCL 2001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Social Control, Symbolic Interactionism, Genetic Predisposition
Document Summary
What is deviance, the violation of norms. Example: driving over the speed limit, murder, etc. Neutral term that refers to any act with a negative response. Stigma: blemishes that discredit a person"s claim to a normal identity, violations of norms including appearance, ability, and memberships. Examples: huge nose, blindness, brother of a rapist, etc: norms make social life possible by making behavior predictable, crime. The violation of norms written into law: example: profiteering, shoplifting, etc, social order. A group"s usual and customary social arrangements on which its members depend and on which they base their lives: why deviance is seen as threatening. Social control: a group"s formal and informal means of enforcing its norms, at the center are sanctions, sanctions. Negative: 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 fine or prison sentence.
