Absolute deprivation
a state of living without basic necessities
Automatic mimicry
imitation of others’ behavior without our conscious awareness we are
doing so
Conformity
the act of matching attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to group norms
Conspicuous consumption
spending money to demonstrate wealth and status
Coping skills
strategies for dealing with problems in life
Deviance amplification
a pattern of deviant behavior that turns into a cycle of deviance that
builds on itself
Differential association
when individuals base their behaviors on their association and
interaction with others
Differential enforcement
the idea that some categories of people are more likely to be
labeled as deviant and be punished more harshly
Discrimination
the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on his or her membership (or
perceived membership) in a certain group
Drift
shifting between values that are deviant or criminal and values that are culturally accepted
Economic depravation
disadvantages that relate to access to material needs, income, and
wealth
General strain theory
the view that crime results from various stressors including those that go
beyond socioeconomic class
Individual discrimination
incidents of prejudicial treatment perpetrated by individuals
institutional discrimination
incidents of prejudicial treatment perpetrated by social
institutions
Labeling (social reaction) theory
the view that people become deviant when they are labeled
that way and this becomes a part of the person’s identity
Negative affective states
difficult emotions produced by stressors, such as anger and
frustration
Obediance
a form of social influence in which a person accepts instructions or orders from an authority figure
Parental labeling
labeling by a parent as deviant, often involving negative consequences to the
person being labeled
Primary deviance
an undetected initial violation of social norms
Priming
a form of memory that causes us to make associations without our conscious knowledge
Procriminal definitions
values and behaviors that promote crime
Rationalization
justifications for behaviors that may not be accepted by others
Relative deprivation
the perception that one is disadvantaged when compared to others
Retrospective labeling
process of recasting past actions in light of a current deviant identity
Secondary deviance
the process of becoming defined by deviant behavior
Self-fulfilling prophecy (Pygmalion effect)
a prediction that, by being voiced, causes itself to come true
Self-labeling
labeling oneself as deviant
Self-stigma
disapproval of oneself as a result of internalizing the disapproval of others
Social class
segment of population whose members share similar economic level, attitudes, values, norms, and identifiable lifestyle
Social influence
the impact of others on our beliefs, values, and behavior
Social institution
any structure or mechanism of social order governing the behavior of a set of
individuals within a given community.
Social stigma
the disapproval of a person because they do not fit the require social norms that are given in society
Social support
the perception or reality of care or assistance from others in managing stressors
Socialization
the process of learning one's culture and how to live within it
Spatial contagion
the spreading of criminal behavior from one neighborhood to another
Stereotype
a belief about a group of individuals that people apply to any given individual
deemed to be part of that group
Stimuli
events or situations that result in a reaction
Strain theory
the view that crime results from a person of less economic means feeling
frustrated with what she cannot obtain
Stratification
the unequal distribution of wealth and power
Stressors
events or situations that lead to a stress response, often involving a sense of feeling out of control
Theory of differential association
the view that criminal behavior is learned between individuals who are close to one another