Sociology - Ch.6

Front 1

Anomie

Back 1

Durkheim's term for the loss of direction felt in a society when social control of individual behavior has become ineffective.

Front 2

Anomie theory of deviance

Back 2

Merton's theory of deviance as an adaptation of socially prescribed goals or of the means governing their attainment, or both.

Front 3

Conformity

Back 3

The act of going along with peers—individuals of our own status who have no special right to direct our behavior.

Front 4

Control theory

Back 4

A view of conformity and deviance that suggests that our connection to members of society leads us to systematically conform to society's norms.

Front 5

Crime

Back 5

A violation of criminal law for which some governmental authority applies formal penalties.

Front 6

Cultural transmission

Back 6

A school of criminology that argues that criminal behavior is learned through social interactions.

Front 7

Deviance

Back 7

Behavior that violates the standards of conduct or expectations of a group or society.

Front 8

Differential association

Back 8

A theory of deviance that holds that violation of rules results from exposure to attitudes favorable to criminal acts.

Front 9

Differential justice

Back 9

Differences in the way social control is exercised over different groups.

Front 10

Formal social control

Back 10

Social control that is carried out by authorized agents, such as police officers, judges, school administrators, and employers.

Front 11

Index crimes

Back 11

The eight types of crime reported annually by the FBI in the Uniform Crime Reports: murder, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson.

Front 12

Informal social control

Back 12

Social control that is carried out casually by ordinary people through such means as laughter, smiles, and ridicule.

Front 13

Labeling theory

Back 13

An approach to deviance that attempts to explain why certain people are viewed as deviants while others engaged in the same behavior are not.

Front 14

Law

Back 14

Governmental social control.

Front 15

Obedience

Back 15

Compliance with higher authorities in a hierarchical structure.

Front 16

Organized crime

Back 16

The work of a group that regulates relations among criminal enterprises involved in illegal activities, including prostitution, gambling, and the smuggling and sale of illegal drugs.

Front 17

Sanction

Back 17

A penalty or reward for conduct concerning a social norm.

Front 18

Social control

Back 18

The techniques and strategies for preventing deviant human behavior in any society.

Front 19

Social disorganization theory

Back 19

The theory that attributes increases in crime and deviance to the absence or breakdown of communal relationships and social institutions, such as the family, school, church, and local government.

Front 20

Societal-reaction approach

Back 20

Another name for labeling theory.

Front 21

Stigma

Back 21

A label used to devalue members of certain social groups.

Front 22

Transnational crime

Back 22

Crime that occurs across multiple national borders.

Front 23

Victimization survey

Back 23

A questionnaire or interview given to a sample of the population to determine whether people have been victims of crime.

Front 24

Victimless crime

Back 24

A term used by sociologists to describe the willing exchange among adults of widely desired, but illegal, goods and services.

Front 25

White-collar crime

Back 25

Illegal acts committed by affluent, "respectable" individuals in the course of business activities.