Basically, defendants accused of a crime can acknowledge that they committed the crime but argue that they are not responsible for it because of their mental illness, by pleading "not guilty by reason of insanity." The insanity defense is part of a class
Eickman offers a useful definition for deviance saying that ‘deviance is behaviour that violates the standards of conduct or expectations of a group or society’. Deviance is not only explained to be relative because it varies between different societies. It is also relative because some actions can be seen as deviant in some instances but not others in the same society. Factors that can play a part in this are time, place and social situation. For example it was once considered deviant for a woman to consume alcohol but over time society view on that has changed.
Once a label is given to an individual they become part of all the generalizations that go with that label (Siegel). For example, someone who has been convicted of a crime might be seen as someone who has no respect for the law. These labels also present a self-fulfilling prophecy. Being identified as a deviant, a person is usually ostracized from conventional social groups, and therefore is forced to become part of less desirable ones (Fitch). Being a member of less desirable social groups will only reinforce that they are a deviant, and increase their chances of engaging in deviant behaviors (O’Conner).
Anomie theory provides an explanation of the concentration of crime. The theory leans on one founder of sociology, Emile Durkheim, who used the term to describe the lack of social regulation as one manner that could evaluate higher suicide rates. Durkheim stated that he observed that social periods of disruption brought about greater anomie and higher rates of crime, suicide, and deviance. Some people may lose sight of what is socially acceptable and have difficulty in dealing with society. This theory is also sociological in its emphasis on the role of social forces in creating deviance.
Minority and Dominant Groups Minority and dominant groups do affect the confidence and behaviors of an individual. A minority group consists of individuals who are singled out because of unequal treatment; they consider themselves as objects of shared discrimination. Dominant groups are the groups with more power, privilege, and social status. Unfortunately we only have so much control of which group we belong to. Both minority and dominant groups hold their own characteristics and ways in which they became a part of either group; not surprisingly, depending on which class and individual belongs to, their whole life can change.
HOW GANGS BECOME IDENTIFIED AS DEVIANT. Gang membership is considered to be deviant in our society because they violate societal norms. Norms are “established rules of behaviour or standard of conduct” (Kendall, Murray, Linden, 2003:79). Every society has its own specific behavioural expectations or norms. The majority people in society accept the norms that are set by a group of people.
Together as a society, a single persons destiny weaved together with others symbolizes a combined destiny. One can try to detach its self from civilization, but never can be entirely disconnected from it because everyone is affected by the issues of society. There are many other issues that relates to Kings case against racial segregation. Not only do people judge skin color, but other things like religion, sexual orientation, and culture. Other social issues like these affect even more people because any kind of segregation can make individuals feel like a less important person because they have been personally attacked.
Using material from item A and elsewhere, assess the usefulness of functionalist approaches in explaining crime. (21 marks) “Crimes are those actions deemed so disturbing to citizens of disruptive to society as to justify state intervention.” Pease (2002). Crime is any act which breaks the laws of society. For example, murder or rape. Deviance, on the other hand, is behaviour which moves away from conventional norms and values such as burping and farting in public.
Everyone has their own image of how individuals or groups of people should be portrayed. Also many people don’t realize that they are stereotyping, it may just be a habit. People are also raised to look at an individual and classify them into a certain group. Stereotyping cannot be avoided, it is an image that society has constituted to classify individuals to groups of people. Looking back, I realize that we have been raised in a society that substitutes a person’s lifestyle and personal choices to a stereotype.
The Power of Social Norms Social norms are described as being laws that governs a society’s behavior. They are enforced either formally or informally and those that do not follow these norms are labeled by society as deviant and that can lead to them being considered as “outcasts” or people who don’t fit into the norm of the society that they live in. “Normal” is different from place to place and depends on the culture where the social interaction is taking place as well. Norms in every culture create conformity that allows for people to become socialized to the culture in which they live in but can also cause a split within society. Theorists such as Talcott Parsons and Karl Marx have both came up with theories for why they believed norms are needed in society.