Crime And Criminal Behavior example essay topic

1) Please explain thoroughly how the conflict perspective seeks to understand deviance and deviants in the United States. Please give clear and appropriate examples to support all of your responses. [Worth 10 points]... When it comes to the conflict perspective and deviance, researchers have discovered one of the most influential lines of theory and research (Quincey, 1980; Chambliss and Seidman, 1982; Swaaningen, 1997; Arri go, 1999). Marxist criminologists see deviance as a product of the exploitative nature of the ruling class. Deviance is a behavior that the rich and powerful see as threatening to their interests.

An example of the conflict perspective relating to deviance is white- collar crimes. (Edwin Sutherland {1940, 1983}) White-collar crime is any crime committed by respectable and high status people in the course of their occupations. (Lower status people commit crimes of the streets; higher status people engage in "crimes of the suites"). (Nader and Green, 1972; D.R. Simon, 1998). Examples of these crimes include: price fixing, illegal rebates, embezzlement, manufacture of hazardous products, toxic pollution and more.

(Geis Meier, and Salinger, 1995; J.W. Coleman, 1977; Calavista, Pon tell, and Tillman, 1999). Although the costs of these crimes are higher than lower status crimes, and these crimes are more harmful to society, tolerance is shown and leniency is shown because of their high-class position. In the end penalties are both tougher and more likely to be imposed for crimes committed by lower class people than those of higher social classes. The conflict approach to deviance underscores the relativity of deviance. The conflict perspective when applied to the study of deviant behavior emphasizes social inequality and power differentials. The most powerful members of society are said to determine group norms, and consequently who will be regarded as deviant.

Conflict theorists relate deviance to capitalism pointing the relationship between race, ethnicity, and crime. 2) Please explain deviance and discuss the relationship between race and deviance as it relates to crime and criminal behavior. Please consider differences in perception among groups or people who define persons as deviant. [Worth 10 points]... Deviance is any behavior that departs from societal of group norms. (Ex: criminal behavior; violations of significant social norms) These significant norms are those that are highly important to either most members in a society or to the members with the most power.

When it comes to race and deviance relating to certain crimes and criminal behavior, it is proven that there is differential treatment that minorities receive in the American criminal justice system. Thereare actual statistics showing that African Americans and Latinos are treated more severely and harshly than whites at all points in the criminal justice process. Examples range from arrest through indictment, conviction, sentencing and parole. (Skol nick, 1998; Schaefer, 2000). In most cases when the criminal offense is the same, Latinos and African Americans will be the first to be convicted, and serve more time in prison than whites.

(Huizinga and Elliott, 1987; Bridges and Crutchfield, 1988; Klein, Turner and Peters ilia, 1988) Thereare several reasons for this differential treatment between African Americans and whites when it comes to committing crimes. For example, minorities do not have the economic resources to buy good legal services. Thus the outcome of their trials will most likely not be in their favor. Another factor is that that crimes against whites tend to be punished more that the crimes against minorities. (McManus, 1985).

The reason for this is that society sees minority interest as less important than the interest of whites. The best example of all is victim discounting, which reduces the seriousness of crimes directed against members of lower social classes. (Gibbons, 1985). In conclusion, if the victim is less valuable, the crime is less serious, and the penalty is less severe. 3) Please define socialization and discuss why this process is so vital to human survival in any given culture. [Worth 10 points].

Socialization is the process of learning to participate in-group life through the acquisition of culture. As humans learn the culture around them, certain patterns of behavior are adopted. This learning process begins at birth and continues into old age. This process so vital to human survival in cultures because, the nature of humans is shaped by socialization. Human beings at birth are helpless and without knowledge of their societies way of thinking, feeling and behaving. For example, if a human infant is to learn how to participate in social life, much cultural learning has to take place.

Nearly all the human social behavior we consider natural and normal is learned. Learning about the countless aspects of social life begins at birth and continues throughout life. (A life- long process). Successful socialization enables people to fit into all kinds of social groups. Otherwise without socialization, humans could not survive. 4) Please explain the theory on the development of self as advanced by George Herbert Mead.

Compare and contrast his theory to the looking glass self as advanced by Charles Horton Cooley. [Worth 20 points]... The theory on the development of the self as advanced by George Herbert Mead consists of several concepts. George Herbert Mead believes that ones self-concept is not equally influenced by everyone, some people are more important to us than others. (Ex.

Significant others). Mead also believes that we engage in role taking (the process which allows us to take the viewpoint of another individual and then respond to ourselves from that imagined viewpoint) to help develop self. This consists of three stages: the imitation stage (around one or two years, child imitates physical and verbal behavior of a significant other without fully understanding), play stage (acting and thinking as a child imagines another person would), and game stage (children learn to engage in more sophisticated role taking. Mead believes the self is composed of two separable parts: the "me" and the "I".

The "me" is self- formed through socialization. The"I" interacts constantly with the "me" as we conduct ourselves in social situations. Cooley believed self- concept is an image of oneself as an entity separate from other people -- - that still stands today. He also believes that children learn to judge themselves in terms of how they imagine others will react to them. We serve as mirrors for the development of self.

(Cooley). He called this concept the looking glass self. (A self-concept based on our perception of others' judgments of us.) We use others as mirrors reflecting back our imagined reactions of them to us. According to Cooley, the, looking glass self is the product of a three-stage process that is constantly taking place. First we imagine how we appear to others. Next, we imagine the reaction of others to our imagined appearance.

Finally, we evaluate ourselves according to how we imaged others have judged us. The result of this process is negative or positive self-evaluation.