1. Deviance and Crime: Definitions and Measurement
● Deviance: A violation of social norms.
○ Characteristics of Deviance:
■ Can be a trait, a belief, or a behavior.
■ Accompanied by social stigmas.
■ Varies across and within societies and situations.
■ Can be formal or informal.
■ Perceptions of deviance change over time.
● Stigma: A negative label that devalues a person and changes her or
his self-concept and social identity.
● Who Decides What's Deviant? Groups with authority or power,
public attitudes, behavior, and laws.
● Crime: A violation of society’s formal laws.
● Measuring Crime:
○ FBI’s Uniform Crime Report (UCR): Consists of crimes
reported to the police and arrests made each year.
○ National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS): A
Victimization survey that interviews people about being crime
victims, including both reported and unreported crimes.
2. Types of Crime
● Hate Crime: A criminal act motivated by hostility toward a person's
race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity, gender, or
gender identity.
● White-Collar Crime: Crimes committed by high-status people in the
course of their occupation, typically non-violent acts for personal or
organizational gain.
● Corporate Crimes: Illegal acts committed by executives to benefit
their companies (e.g., fraud, pollution).
● Cybercrime: Illegal activities committed using a computer on the
Internet (e.g., identity theft, online fraud).
● Organized Crime: Activities of individuals and groups that supply
illegal goods and services for profit (e.g., drug trafficking, money
laundering).
● Victimless Crimes: Acts that violate laws but involve individuals who
don't consider themselves victims (e.g., illegal drug use, prostitution,
gambling).
3. Sociological Explanations of Deviance
● Deviance: A violation of social norms.
○ Characteristics of Deviance:
■ Can be a trait, a belief, or a behavior.
■ Accompanied by social stigmas.
■ Varies across and within societies and situations.
■ Can be formal or informal.
■ Perceptions of deviance change over time.
● Stigma: A negative label that devalues a person and changes her or
his self-concept and social identity.
● Who Decides What's Deviant? Groups with authority or power,
public attitudes, behavior, and laws.
● Crime: A violation of society’s formal laws.
● Measuring Crime:
○ FBI’s Uniform Crime Report (UCR): Consists of crimes
reported to the police and arrests made each year.
○ National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS): A
Victimization survey that interviews people about being crime
victims, including both reported and unreported crimes.
2. Types of Crime
● Hate Crime: A criminal act motivated by hostility toward a person's
race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity, gender, or
gender identity.
● White-Collar Crime: Crimes committed by high-status people in the
course of their occupation, typically non-violent acts for personal or
organizational gain.
● Corporate Crimes: Illegal acts committed by executives to benefit
their companies (e.g., fraud, pollution).
● Cybercrime: Illegal activities committed using a computer on the
Internet (e.g., identity theft, online fraud).
● Organized Crime: Activities of individuals and groups that supply
illegal goods and services for profit (e.g., drug trafficking, money
laundering).
● Victimless Crimes: Acts that violate laws but involve individuals who
don't consider themselves victims (e.g., illegal drug use, prostitution,
gambling).
3. Sociological Explanations of Deviance
