3, October 2006 STUDY GUIDE - SOC. 366, FIRST EXAM 1. What are the different ways of defining deviance? 6 ways---Absolutist, Reference to Harm, Statistical, Criminal, Reactive, Normative. Why is the normative approach the best way for defining deviance? What are the problems with the other approaches to defining deviance? Believes anything contrary to norms or inconsistent with shared beliefs about how people are supposed to act is deviant. Good b/c implies relativity--can vary over time and from place to place. Also, implies a collective quality to deviance in that at least two people must both agree on its being deviant. All other definitions don't follow this pattern...they change and vary over time, from situation to situation, from person to person, dependant on laws of the land or customs of country/region, etc. What are identity norms and how are they useful for defining deviance? Shared beliefs about how people ought to be; Erving Goffman says the ideal person is young, white, married, Northern, employed, and with a recent record in sports. Using these identity norms is probably most reliable/best way to define deviance. What is the just-world hypothesis and what is its relevance for deviance? Belief that good things happen to good people, and bad things happen to bad people. Here is the problem, we think of someone with gross facial deformities as a bad person automatically without even knowing---Why do we have this hypothesis about the world?---b/c it gives people the illusion of control...or rather makes them feel that life and what you do with it is justified. *If I believe that I am a good person, then these things won't happen to me, is thinking of world. They don't want to believe/accept that sometimes bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people and there is NOTHING THEY CAN DO ABOUT IT!!!! Honestly, they are selfish and only care about themselves and their life...and this scares them b/c they don't have control on their on life. **They don't care if the world is just really, but rather only that their life is. What are reactive norms? What are some examples of reactive norms? The predicted reactions of people to deviance. These reactions are not random, they are systematic. ie When someone stutters, you can finish what they were saying for them or be patient. These are common responses, or reactive norms. If you pistol whipped the guy you would be acting unpredictably or out of reactive norms for the behavior.
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What is a master status and how is it relevant for deviance? A master status defines all of the person's other roles and characteristics. So if you are gay, you are a gay student, gay son, gay cheerleader, gay brother, gay skateboarder, etc. A master status is normally highly devalued or highly deviant. It sets you apart from all other lawyers, singers, students, etc. What is a courtesy stigma? Nonbehaviorial deviance, such as devalued traits or characteristics. Courtesy stigmas are stigmas by association. Guy who confessed to killing Jon Benet Ramsey has a stigma, but his family and friends now have a courtesy stigma because they knew him. Guy had cancer, and once he died little kid didn't want to go to the house because the house became stigmatized. What is Moynihan's notion of defining deviance down? Level of deviance must have a balance. 1) Even in society of saints, there must be deviance to hold the society together. We HAVE to have deviance to keep control---something will always stick out from the norm, no matter how good or bad it is. 2) If too much deviance, we define deviance down" to make social unit more functional. What used to be considered deviant is now normal and only the most outrageous deviance remains. Essentially, we make traditional deviance no longer deviant...USA is great example of this. Black subculture/MTV/illegal drugs/skimpy clothing/expensive everything/big trucks everywhere/etc. What are ways that deviance can be functional? What does Erikson identify as the functions of deviance? Helps people stand out. Gives people originality. This goes back to master statuses. If everyone is just a lawyer, that is boring. We want to be the lawyer that dresses or is a skater, is gay, is a outdoor enthusiast, triathlon competitor, etc. There will be just as much deviance in a society of saints as there would be with sinners. School uniforms follow the same lines, but people would just find different distinctions within the uniforms. (brand of shoes, wearing different styles of hair, jewelry, accessories, make-up) These types of distinctions are big deals. What does Durkheim mean by social integration and how is it different from social regulation? Integration: the stability of social relationships. Ie. Married people (esp with children) have stronger integration. People that alike other people (belong to a group) are integrated and have similar believes and actions towards deviance.
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Regulation: how well our economic passions are regulated by social norms. Basically, how well we choose to regulate our society and what is normative and what is deviance and how much deviance we are going to allow. People that are more integrated will be more normative b/c most deviance is individualistic by nature. He wants us to look at rates rather than just actual numbers. How 11. does Durkheim use social integration and social regulation to explain variation in suicide rates? Too little social integration Egoistic Suicide. ----person feels alone and too much individually, can't relate to anyone. ie. Protestants kill themselves b/c Catholics have more stable social relationships; also Protestantism encourages individualism. Too much social integration Altruistic Suicide ----ie. soldiers die for other soldiers b/c they are dying for one another. Too little social regulation Anomic Suicide ----Individuals feel lost and the regular norms of the group feel confusing or wrong. ie. Economic booms and depressions cause increased suicide. Too much social regulation Fatalistic Suicide ----only way out of situation is suicide. ie. slaves. How do suicide rates in the U.S. vary by age, race, gender, and marital status? Highest to lowest = WM, BM, WF, BF (for the most part) Increases until age 50, then drops down, then picks back up at age 70. Exception BM highest when they are 20 - 30 years old. Marital highest to lowest = Widowed, Divorced, Single, Married. This varies for different ages, sexes, races. Most uncommon or rare group (such as WM, 15-24, Widowed) is highest suicide rate. What is the central argument in Gibbs and Martin's status integration theory of suicide? How does status integration theory differ from Durkheim's theory of suicide? Suicide rate is dependant on 1) stability and durability of social relationships, 2) conformity to patterned and social sanctioned demands and expectations of others, 3) confrontation with role conflicts, 4)individuals that occupy incompatible statuses, 5) status integration. Ie. The greater the divorce rate, the lower suicide rate of the divorced, at least in relation to other marital groups. What did Phillips find about imitation and suicide? Phillips found that imitation is an original cause of some suicides. Durkheim disagrees, saying that imitation may precipitate some suicides, but it is not the original cause.
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Changes in media, high school suicide strings, single person auto fatalities may be suicides and gets written down wrong because of insurance. People learn two ways 1) Through life experiences; 2) Vicariously through others. Can't really learn suicide through life experience. Young people most susceptible to imitation b/c most teens learn vicariously and are unaware of the negative consequences, and are such much more easily swayed. 15. How does Schneidman's approach to suicide differ from the sociological approach to suicide? Idea of Psychache...pain that builds in someone that makes them want to commit suicide b/c of loss of loved one, job, etc....rather than because they don't have anyone to relate to. What are the difficulties in measuring the extent of mental illness? If mental illness is odd behavior, we would all be mentally ill to some extent b/c we are all odd. Ie. Mardi Gras. Ie. different cultures and countries with legal killing and voodoo. Psychiatrists define as problems with living, and we can kind of agree. We have to distinguish between clinical disorders and personality disorders but for both cases, some can be caused biologically and some are not. Big problem is that it is not a clear yes or no...often a degree of mental illness. What did Mirowsky and Ross find to be the correlates of psychological distress (depression and anxiety)? Social class the higher the socioeconomic status, the less stress. Poor people have more stress and more worries. A lack of sense of control creates depression and anxiety. Race nonwhites are more distressed than whites. Ages depression is high in 20s, decreases until 55, and then increases. What does Rosenhan say about the consequences of being labeled as mentally Labelling is worthless. We are still trying to diagnose people for no reason. Diagnosis is worthless. 19. 20. How is the compulsion to amputate one's own limbs contagious (Elliott)? How does Ussher answer this question: Is women's madness the result of misogyny...or is it an illness? 1) Mad b/c of misogyny; 2)b/c labeled as other; 3) depriving women of power, privilege, or independence. Labelling as mad silences womens' voices. They can be ignored. The rantings of a mad women are irrelevant. Her anger is impotent.
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According to Lynch, what are some of the common accommodation practices for managing "crazy friends and relatives"? Humor, avoidance, manipulation, deception, remedial covering...common to all is the attempt to construct normalcy our of an otherwise abnormal, crazy situation. How does an "identification card" help to distinguish "between a black man who can claim a connection with the wider society and one who is summarily judged as ,,deviant" (Anderson)? Identifies them to the police and others as somebody. How does surveillance make social order possible when people dont know anybody (Nock)? Now community is so large that no one knows eachother. We watch each other to find similarities so that we can relate and so that we can trust the rest of the world and feel comfortable around them. FEEL that way atleast.
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A note on Goode's Deviance in Everyday Life: If there are any questions from this book on the exam, only a rudimentary knowledge of the assigned chapters will be required.