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Article 1: Asscher, J.J., Wissink, I. B., Deković, M., Prinzie, P.  & Stams, G. J. (2014). Delinquent Behavior, Poor Relationship Quality with Parents, and Involvement with Deviant Peers in Delinquent and Nondelinquent Adolescents: Different Processes, Informant Bias, or Both? International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 2014, Vol. 58(9) 1001–1019.

Abstract:

The aim of this study was to determine whether two risk factors that are frequently selected as targets for prevention and intervention purposes—involvement with deviant peers and parent–adolescent relationship quality—are associated with delinquent behavior in the same way in a juvenile general population sample (n=88) as in a juvenile offender sample (n = 85). Information on delinquency and the quality of parent–adolescent relationship was obtained from adolescents and parents. The results of path analyses showed that relations between poor parent–adolescent relationship quality, involvement with deviant peers, and delinquency depended on whose point of view is used (adolescent or parent) and which sample is used (general population or delinquent sample). These findings indicate that caution is warranted when theories based on research with community samples are used for development of intervention programs for juvenile delinquents.

Summary: 

Using both delinquent and non-delinquent youth and their parents it provides data concerning the risk factors associated with delinquent behavior. The study was conducted in the Netherlands, the sample consists of both Dutch and non-Dutch respondents. The authors note that because most research examines the general population to develop theories on delinquency the data can yield bias results because the risk factors identified are likely to be risk factors for first offenders and not risk factors for those delinquents who are repeat offenders from high risk families or neighborhoods. 

Questions to Consider: 

1. The study was conducted in the Netherlands. Do you think that it is significant that the study sample consisted of both Dutch and non-Dutch respondents? Explain.
    
2. Parents, more often than the youth, noted that deviant peers had an impact on delinquency. What factors might contribute to these differing points of view?
    
3. Explain the importance of studying both delinquent and non-delinquent youth to determine the risk factors for deviant behavior.
    

Article 2: Hoffman, Heath C. (2006). Criticism as deviance and social control in Alcoholics Anonymous  Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 35(6): 669-695.

Abstract: 

Emile Durkheim recognized many years ago that all groups--even a "society of saints"--produce deviants. Group members must then come to terms with how to respond to and control those who violate the group's moral order. The Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting offers an interesting context to explore this process. AA members, by their own admission, are far from being "saints," some admitting to adultery, theft, and assault during their active alcoholism. In this article, the author describes the moral order of AA that functions to prevent and create deviant behavior, focusing on AA members' use of criticism as both a method of social control and a violation of AA's normative system. This seeming contradiction is explained by showing that criticism is a social control strategy available primarily to high-status members, used primarily against lower-status members.

Summary: 

This essay discusses social control of behavior in an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting. The author states that he is focused on AA because it is a group that lacks an institutionalized authority structure and the results can be generalized to other social groups. The author notes that because AA does not support criticism as a model behavior for its members it would therefore be considered “deviant” and worth studying. Criticism in AA is examined as both deviance and social control. 

Questions to Consider: 

1. Why is criticism in AA meetings seen as a deviant behavior?
    
2. How does an AA member’s status impact the use of criticism in meetings?
    
3. Identify other situations (e.g. in the media, personal experience, etc) where deviant behavior is used as a form of social control.
    

Article 3: Biron, M. (2010). Negative reciprocity and the association between perceived organizational ethical values and organizational deviance Human Relations, June 2010; vol. 63, 6: pp. 875-897.

Abstract: 

Perceived organizational ethical values refer to employees’ beliefs concerning what practices are acceptable or appropriate in their organization (Trevino, 1990). Previous work suggests that these perceptions can be a significant factor in employee behavior, with normative influence often assumed to be the underlying mechanism (Peterson, 2002). The current article incorporates another theoretical lens, namely social exchange theory (Blau, 1964), and, in particular, negative reciprocity, to suggest that mistreatment at work — in the form of abusive supervision and lack of organizational support — may undermine the normative influence of perceived ethical values. The results indicate a negative association between perceived organizational ethical values and organizational deviance. This generally negative association was countered by abusive supervision and strengthened by organizational support, with both moderators suggesting an overt effect of negative reciprocity on employee behavior, especially when the trustee’s (i.e. the supervisor’s or employer’s) actions seem to be misaligned with perceived organizational ethical values.

Summary: 

This article uses social exchange theory to explain that when employees feel that they do not have organizational and/or supervisory support they feel that they can engage in behaviors that are considered workplace deviance. At the end of the article the author notes various organizational deviance items which include coming to work late and leaving early, taking excessive breaks, etc. The information in this article supports that deviance is not just an issue in the “streets”, but also an issue in the “suites”.

Questions to Consider:

1. What is the potential impact of workplace deviance on the organization?
    
2. This article noted that the supervisor has a direct impact on an employee’s behavior. What are some ways that supervisors can impede deviant behavior?
    
3. This article supports that the influence of others contributes to engaging in deviant behavior.  Identify other factors that may influence an employee to engage or refrain from deviant behavior.

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Article 1: Rudman, L.A. and McLean, M.C. (2015) The role of appearance stigma in implicit racial ingroup bias. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations 2016, Vol. 19(3) 374–393.

Abstract: 

Minority groups who show implicit outgroup preference (African Americans, the elderly, and the overweight) are also likely to suffer from appearance stigma (for deviating from cultural aesthetic norms; Goffman, 1963). Three studies showed that people who automatically preferred Whites using the attitude Implicit Association Test (IAT) also associated Whites more than Blacks with attractiveness using the aesthetic IAT. In Study 1, the aesthetic IAT covaried with Black American’s preference for Black women with chemically treated versus natural hair, and rating products that purchase “racial capital” (e.g., skin whiteners) as important and useful. In Study 2, Black American’s pro-White bias was only eliminated when the attitude IAT represented their group as more attractive than Whites (i.e., when appearance stigma was reversed). Further, the aesthetic IAT predicted the attitude IAT more uniquely than outgroup contact. In concert, the findings suggest that appearance stigma is an overlooked factor influencing racial asymmetries in automatic ingroup esteem.

Summary: 

This article delves into the stigma that results when your appearance does not conform to our cultural norms. The three groups identified as suffering from appearance stigma are African-Americans, the elderly, and those who are overweight. This article focuses on the pervasive influence that pro-White appearance stigma has on the quality of life for African-Americans.

Questions to Consider: 

1. A stigma is considered a mark of disgrace. What other areas of African-American culture are identified in the article as being stigmatizing?
    
2. Can you identify any other areas of our society that support the premise that certain groups suffer from appearance stigma?
    
3. What can society do to diminish appearance stigma?
    

Article 2: Jackson, A., Veneziano, L., and Riggen, K. (2004) Sexual Deviance among Male College Students: Prior Deviance as an Explanation Journal of Interpersonal Violence January 2004 19: 72-89.

Abstract: 

Much research on sexual deviance on university and college campuses is limited by its narrow focus on group affiliation and leads to much speculation and conjecture. This article suggests that an alternative explanation is more suitable for explaining such an important and complex problem on college campuses. It argues that prior deviance serves as a more robust predictor variable of sexual deviance. Logistic regression analyses indicate a direct relationship between prior deviance and sexual deviance. The results lend support to the argument that group affiliation is not a suitable explanation for such a complex societal problem—sexual deviance. Limitations of the study and directions for future research on sexual deviance are discussed. 

Summary: 

The researchers submit that the common belief that group affiliation is the primary predictor of male college student deviance is erroneous. In this article they support that premise that prior deviance is the biggest predictor of male college student deviance. The authors note that group affiliation may be a protective rather than a risk factor.  

Questions to Consider: 

1. As a college administrator, how would you apply the results of this research?
    
2. Why has group affiliation been viewed as a contributor to sexual deviance on campus?
    
3. Identify how group affiliation can be a protective factor for male college students.
    

Article 3: Weber, B.R. The Epistemology of the (Televised, Polygamous) Closet Progressive Polygamy, Spiritual Neoliberalism, and the Will to Visibility Television New Media January 19, 2016

Abstract:

This article examines the reality television show Sister Wives (2010–), which focuses on the Kody Brown family, members of a religious group called the Apostolic United Brethren (AUB), in turn part of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS). The Browns practice a form of “progressive polygamy” that both they and the show establish as quintessentially egalitarian, American, and normal, though not normative.Sister Wives indicates that the complex structural dynamics of progressive polygamy create individuals who can thrive in a neoliberal milieu where good choices matter more than governments and where being savvy about the image yields currencies that are monetary, cultural, and, ultimately, spiritual. Surprisingly, the kind of flexible labor modeled on Sister Wives and endemic to neoliberalism authorizes itself through the language and idioms of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) social justice movement. However, while espousing a gay-friendly social justice agenda, the market logics of Sister Wives appropriate LGBT politics in the service of family commercial enterprises.

Summary: 

In this article the author submits that TV shows such as Sister Wives attempts to normalize polygamous behavior.

Questions to Consider:

1. Define polygamy.
    
2. Define neoliberalism and hegemonic and explain how they relate to polygamy.
    
3. Explain how support for gay marriage bolsters the argument that our society should respect polygamy.

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Article 1: Bowles, H.R., Gelfand, M. (2009) Status and the Evaluation of Workplace Deviance Psychological Science January 2010 vol. 21 no. 1 49-54.

Abstract: 

Bias in the evaluation of workplace misbehavior is hotly debated in courts and corporations, but it has received little empirical attention. Classic sociological literature suggests that deviance by lower-status actors will be evaluated more harshly than deviance by higher-status actors. However, more recent psychological literature suggests that discrimination in the evaluation of misbehavior may be moderated by the relative status of the evaluator because status influences both rule observance and attitudes toward social hierarchy. In Study 1, the psychological experience of higher status decreased rule observance and increased preferences for social hierarchy, as we theorized. In three subsequent experiments, we tested the hypothesis that higher-status evaluators would be more discriminating in their evaluations of workplace misbehavior, evaluating fellow higher-status deviants more leniently than lower-status deviants. Results supported the hypothesized interactive effect of evaluator status and target status on the evaluation of workplace deviance, when both achieved status characteristics (Studies 2a and 2b) and ascribed status characteristics (i.e., race and gender in Study 3) were manipulated.

Summary: 

This research is an example of quasi-experimental research using an on-line survey with random assignment. The researchers focus on workplace deviance and how higher status groups are more lenient when addressing deviance and are more likely to protect those who also are considered high status.

Questions to Consider: 

1. How do the authors of this article define deviance?
    
2. What makes this research quasi-experimental?
    

Article 2: Scarduzio, J.A. (2011). Maintaining Order Through Deviance? The Emotional Deviance, Power, and Professional Work of Municipal Court Judges Management Communication Quarterly May 2011 vol. 25 no. 2 283-310.

Abstract: 

This study examines the intersection of power, professional work, organizing, and emotional deviance at two municipal courthouses in the United States. A variety of qualitative methods including observation, shadowing employees, informal interviewing, and semi-structured respondent interviews were used to collect the data. A total of twelve municipal court judges were observed during arraignments, pre-trial conferences, and trials, and four of these judges participated in member checking interviews for a total of sixteen in-depth, audio-recorded interviews.This article centers on emotional deviance, or the expression of emotion that occurs when employees disregard feeling rules and express emotions that do not align with organizational expectations. In the case of judges who are mandated to be rational and neutral, emotional deviance becomes a distinctive advantage. Furthermore, the findings of this piece suggest that professional work is actually quite emotional and it also introduces the concept of privileged deviance to describe the ways in which deviance is related to power and specific verbal and nonverbal communicative behaviors. The article ends by discussing implicit and explicit privileged deviance and offers practical implications related to the training of municipal court judges and the mandates to process cases quickly while still fostering a high level of defendant satisfaction.

Summary: 

Judges possess power and privilege. In this article the researcher, using various qualitative measures examines the emotional deviance of municipal judges. 

Questions to Consider: 

1. Define emotional deviance.
    
2. What makes this research qualitative rather than quantitative?
    
3. This article focuses on municipal judges. What are the other professions identified in this article that have the freedom to deviate from “feeling rules”?
    

Article 3: Ross, J.I. (2013). Deconstructing Correctional Officer Deviance: Toward Typologies of Actions and Controls Criminal Justice Review 38(1) 110-126.

Abstract: 

This article reviews the scholarly research that has been conducted on the problem of correctional officer (CO) deviance. It then outlines the most dominant kinds of CO deviance and the solutions that have been proposed and, in part, implemented. In so doing, the author provides a typology of the categories of deviance and the variety of controls. The researcher concludes with several recommendations on how these findings might be utilized to further the research on this subject. 

Summary: 

The researcher reviews the existing literature focused on correction officer (CO) deviance. The author notes that terms such as “misconduct” and “corruption” are more frequently used to describe the deviant behavior of correction officers. 

Questions to Consider:

1. What is a typology?
    
2. What is a “whistleblower”?
    
3. What factors does the author identify that make responding to CO deviance difficult?

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Article 1: Cochran, J. K. and Bjerregaard, B. (2011). Structural Anomie and Crime: A cross national test.International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology April 2012 vol. 56 no. 2 203-217.

Abstract: 

Anomie is a highly prominent theoretical construct in macro-social, particularly cross-national, criminological inquiry. Yet despite its prominence, it has proven to be quite elusive with regard to its measurement and, hence, making it nearly impossible to test theoretical hypotheses regarding its predictive efficacy. Although the concept, whether derived from Merton’s classic conceptualization or from its current incarnation in the form of institutional anomie as developed by Messner and Rosenfeld, is multidimensional and complex in its theoretical structure, most researchers have attempted to operationalize it through simple, single-item, often surrogate/proxy measures. The present research note attempts to develop a measure that is more consistent with its multidimensional and complex nature. This more complex operationalization is then examined with regard to its efficacy at predicting cross-national levels of both homicide and theft. Our results suggest that that this new operationalization has considerable predictive efficacy, accounting for approximately one third of the variation in the cross-national level of both homicide and theft.

Summary: 

The researchers collected data from 49 countries focused structural anomie measured by blocked economic opportunity, economic inequity, and relative deprivation and the impact these factors have on crime rates.

Questions to Consider: 

1. Define structural anomie.
    
2. What are some of the resources used by the authors to determine structural anomie?
    
3. Which form of society has very modest rates of crime? Discuss the significance of these findings.
    

Article 2: Holt, Thomas J. (2009). Examining the role of technology in the formation of deviant subcultures Social Science Computer Review November 2010 vol. 28 no. 4 466-481.

Abstract: 

This article examines the development of technology-focused deviant subcultures. The adoption of new technologies cause shifts in human behavior patterns, and a small body of research has considered the ways that criminals adjust their offending practices due to new technology. Few have, however, explored the ways that technology produces new forms of crime and deviance. This study addresses this gap in the literature by examining the argot of the technology-focused computer hacker subculture using multiple data sets. The findings explore the dynamic use of hacker argot and how these terms reflect the role of technology in shaping attitudes toward and support for deviance and crime.

Summary: 

The author explores the subculture of hackers. In the article he discusses the hierarchy of hacking and numerous deviant behaviors of the hacker argot.

Questions to Consider: 

1. What is the deviant subculture discussed in this article?
    
2. What is an “argot”?
    
3. Identify the deviant behavior that hackers
    

Article 3: James, K., Bunch, J., Clay-Warner, J. (2014). Perceived injustice and school violence: An application of general strain theory Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice April 2015 vol. 13 no. 2 169-189.

Abstract: 

We examine the effect of perceived school fairness on one’s likelihood of participating in school violence and how social support influences this relationship. General strain theory (GST) and procedural justice theory suggest that when students perceive unfairness in school rules or treatment from teachers, they will be more likely to participate in violence. GST proposes that the strength of these relationships may be reduced by social support. Data from the 2009 School Crime Supplement of the National Crime Victimization Survey show that students who perceive unfair treatment from teachers are more likely to bring a weapon to school and fight at school than are students who believe that their teachers are fair. Students who perceive that rules are unfair are more likely to bring a weapon to school than are students who believe rules are fair. Perceived support from adults at school reduces the impact of teacher/rule unfairness on school violence.

Summary: 

This article uses general strain theory to explain school violence. 

Questions to Consider:

1. Define strain theory.
    
2. Define procedural justice theory.
    
3. What are the types of perceived support that diminish the impact of strain on deviant behavior?

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Article 1: Johansen, R., Neal, Z., Gasteyer, S. (2014). The view from a broken window: How residents make sense of neighbourhood disorder in Flint Urban Stud December 2015 vol. 52 no. 16 3054-3069.

Abstract: 

This paper explores how members of a neighbourhood association in a post-industrial blighted community in Flint, Michigan are working to reduce disorder conditions in their neighbourhood. We seek to understand how members are impacted by disorder, what they perceive to be the cause of disorder, and how they respond to disorder conditions. We argue that a disordered physical environment characterised by abandoned buildings and neglected properties is viewed by association members as giving rise to fear and incidences of crime and the impression of the loss of social control by formal authorities. As a result, association members focus their attention on interventions specifically geared toward controlling environmental factors such as neighbourhood greenspace. Our findings suggest that residents are deeply and negatively impacted by the presence of disorder, and that they view such neighbourhood greening initiatives as an effective way to mobilise neighbourhood residents against disorder-producing conditions.

Summary: 

Using field observations and interviews, the authors seek to understand how a Flint neighborhood is impacted by disorder and how the neighborhood association seeks to correct it.

Questions to Consider: 

1. What are some of the direct and indirect ways disorder can be produced by the environment?
    
2. Explain the concept of “pacification by cappuccino” approach.
    
3. Discuss the twofold value of landscape management.
    
4. Identify the reasons that neighborhood organizations focus on repairing disorder in their communities.
    

Article 2: Petrosino, C., Pace, J. (2015). Social cohesion, collective efficacy and the response of a Cape Verdean Community to hate crime: Learning a new reality American Behavioral Scientist November 2015 vol. 59 no. 13 1681-169.

Abstract: 

How a neighborhood responds to a hate crime is important for combatting these wrongdoings. Since these acts are often proxies for power dynamics involving the “superior” perpetrator controlling the “inferior” victim, effective responses from the victim’s community are essential. However, these same communities, especially poor minority ones, are often socially disorganized and find it challenging to address the complex problems that stem from poverty. This exploratory study observes how a Cape Verdean community in the Northeast responded to racially motivated hate crimes that occurred there. Using the theoretical framework of social disorganization theory, social cohesion, and collective efficacy, the central questions asked in this study are the following: How did this community respond to these crimes? To what extent did social cohesion and collective efficacy shape its response? Interviews of community leaders were conducted to answer these questions. Results indicate that despite social cohesion on some levels, the lack of collective efficacy prevented the Cape Verdean community from articulating and implementing a strong response to these hate crimes. 

Summary: 

This essay discusses hate crimes that occurred in Wildeburn, which is identified as a small city located 20 miles south of a major northeastern city. A number of these crimes were committed against people from the Republic of Cape Verde. Cape Verdean’s have a mixed heritage of African and Portuguese. The authors use social disorganization theory, social cohesion, and collective efficacy to understand and explain how the Cape Verdean community responded to these crimes.

Questions to Consider:

1. According to the article, what is one of the primary ways minorities are protected from discrimination?
    
2. Why do you think that it took so long for the Cape Verdean community to view the crimes that had been committed as hate crimes?
    
3. What is the importance of leadership in a minority community?
    

Article 3: Perrone, D., Sullivan, C.J., Pratt, T.C., Margaryan, S. (2004) Parental Efficacy, Self-Control, and Delinquency: A test of a general theory of crime on a nationally representative sample of youth International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative  Criminology June 2004 vol. 48 no. 3 298-312.

Abstract: 

Criminologists have recently begun examining Gottfredson and Hirschi’s (1990) proposition that parenting is the primary influence on children’s levels of self-control. The few existing studies on the subject, however, have typically been based on small, nonrandom samples. The current study examines the relationships between parental efficacy, self-control, and delinquent behavior using data from a nationally representative sample of adolescents (the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health). The results indicate that although parental efficacy is an important precursor to self-control, contrary to Gottfredson and Hirschi’s proposition, self-control does not completely mediate the relationship between parental efficacy and delinquency. The implications for future research and theoretical development are discussed.

Summary: 

Studies have shown that there is a link between self-control, crime and deviance. Gottfredson and Hirschi posit that parents that do not monitor their children’s behavior and do not punish deviance will raise children with low self-control and exhibit more deviant behavior.

Questions to Consider:

1. Parental efficacy is a parent’s belief in their effectiveness as a parent. What methods are used in this study to specifically overcome the short comings of previous studies?
    
2. In addition to parental efficacy, what are some of the other predictors of self-control in youth?
    
3. What did this research discover as the relationship between race, parental efficacy, and self-control?

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Article 1: Hanna, R.C., Crittenden, V.L., and Crittenden, W.F., (2013) Social learning theory: A multicultural study of the influences on ethical behavior Journal of Marketing Education April 2013 vol. 35 no. 1 18-25.

Abstract: 

We propose Social Learning Theory as a theoretical foundation for understanding the ethical standards of future business leaders. Using data drawn from students from 115 four-year undergraduate institutions in 36 different countries, the relationships among role models, capitalism, and laws were examined. The data suggest that future business leaders educated in environments espousing all moral philosophies except virtue ethics are influenced by their role models. However, differences in unethical behavior are found as related to the social influences of capitalism and laws.

Summary: 

Social learning theory (SLT) proposes that people learn much of their behavior by observation and imitation of others. The researchers used college students, specifically 6331 future business leaders from 4-year institutions in 36 countries to determine the impact that social learning theory has on ethical behavior.

Questions to Consider: 

1. Discuss the five major moral philosophies of the world as identified in this article?
    
2. What is the biggest driver of unethical behavior of unethical behavior in formalist societies?
    
3. What is the biggest driver of unethical behavior in virtue ethics societies?
    
4. What is the impact of gender and religiosity on unethical behavior?
    

Article 2: Church, W. T., Wharton, T., & Taylor, J. K. (2009). An examination of differential association and social control theory: Family systems and delinquency. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 7, 3-15.

Abstract: 

This study applies differential association and social control theories to juvenile delinquency. Using a path analysis model, relationships between family, self-image, and behavior are explored. Analyses suggest that positive self-image leads to decreased delinquency, and association with delinquent peers is the greatest predictor of delinquent behavior, regardless of race.

Summary: 

Differential association theory states that deviant behavior is learned through interaction with others. The researchers use differential association theory to frame individual choices and social control theory to frame which choices are made and together they create linkages between risk factors and delinquent behavior.

Questions to Consider: 

1. Identify the study variables.
    
2. In this study what did the researchers note as the strongest predictor of delinquency?
    
3. What impact does gender have on delinquency?
    
4. This article was published in 2009, however uses data collected from 1976 to 1980. What impact, if any, do you think the data collection time frame has on this study?
    

Article 3: Michalski JH (2004) Making sociological sense out of trends in intimate partner violence. Violence Against Women 10(6): 652–675.

Abstract: 

Despite evidence of a cultural shift in orientations toward violence, the problem of violence against women persists across a range of different societies. The preoccupation with the psychology of violence and the focus on cultural orientations obscure the more salient features of social life that promote violence: the structure of interpersonal relationships. The exploration of sociodemographic correlates and the search for “risk factors” of intimate partner violence have overshadowed the inclusion of a distinct set of social structural characteristics that are conducive to domestic violence. The current article draws on comparative research and Donald Black’s theoretical approach to argue that key factors include (a) the degree of social isolation, (b) interdependence of support networks, (c) inequality, (d) relational distance, (e) centralization of authority, and (f) exposure to violent networks. The weak explanatory power of previous research can be improved by developing measures to evaluate an integrated structural model of violence against women.

Summary: 

Using the social structure of interpersonal relationships, the author discusses various characteristics associated intimate partner violence.

Questions to Consider:

1. How does this study suggest that conflict can be handled in a nonviolent manner?
    
2. What impact does an equalitarian relationship (partner equality in terms of power and decision making) have on domestic violence?
    
3. Why does the author state that a social structure explanation of domestic violence can be  applied across cultures?

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Article 1: Belmi, P., Barragan, R.C., Neale, M.A., and Cohen, G.L. (2015) Threats to Social Identity can Trigger Social Deviance Psychology Bulletin 2015, Vol. 41(4) 467–484.

Abstract: 

We hypothesized that threats to people’s social (i.e., group) identity can trigger deviant attitudes and behaviors. A correlational study and five experiments showed that experiencing or recalling situations associated with the devaluation of a social identity caused participants to endorse or engage in deviant actions, including stealing, cheating, and lying. The effect was driven by the tendency to construe social identity threats not as isolated incidents but as symbolic of the continuing devaluation and disrespectful treatment of one’s group. Supplementing sociological approaches to deviance and delinquency, the results suggest the relevance and utility of a social-psychological account.

Summary: 

The researchers conducted a total of 5 studies to determine the impact that disrespect and undignified treatment can induce deviance. 

Questions to Consider: 

1. What is the deviant behavior measured in Study 1?
    
2. Why are the outcomes of Study 1 different than the other studies conducted by the researchers?
    
3. What did the researchers uncover regarding the impact of race on social identity and social deviance?
    

Article 2: Dornbusch, S. M., Erickson, K. G., Laird, J., & Wong, C. A. (2001). The relation of family and school attachment to adolescent deviance in diverse groups and communities. Journal of Adolescent Research , 16, 396-422.

Abstract: 

This longitudinal study used a national probability sample of adolescents to examine whether attachments to the family and school reduced five forms of adolescent deviance: cigarette smoking, alcohol use, marijuana use, delinquency, and violent behavior. The authors assessed whether these factors reduced the overall frequency, prevalence, and intensity of each problem behavior. The study also examined the power of these attachments to reduce deviance among adolescents who were differentiated in terms of gender, ethnicity, and their community’s level of economic deprivation. Overall, adolescent attachments to family and school tended to reduce the overall frequency, prevalence, and intensity of deviant involvement, regardless of community context, gender, or ethnic group. Parental reports of attachment to the adolescent, compared with adolescent reports of connection to the family, were the stronger predictors of lower levels of deviance. Attachment to school predicted lower levels of initiation of deviant behavior but did not predict the intensity of deviance.

Summary: 

Using Hirschi’s theory of social control, the researchers examine the influences of family and school attachments on various forms of adolescent deviance.

Questions to Consider: 

1. What are the five types of adolescent deviance measured by the researchers?
    
2. Explain the impact that gender and ethnicity have on attachment and deviance?
    
3. Explain how this study supports the Hirschi’s theory of social control.
    

Article 3: Spraitz, J.D., Bowen, K.N. (2015) Techniques of Neutralization and Persistent Sexual Abuse by Clergy: A Content Analysis of Priest Personnel Files From the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Journal of Interpersonal Violence 1–24.

Abstract: 

The sexual abuse problem in the Catholic Church has received considerable attention by the media in recent years and growing attention from empirical researchers. Despite this growth, there is a lack of theoretical research that uses neutralization techniques to examine clergy offending. Using Sykes and Matza’s theory, this study examines the techniques of neutralization used by accused priests in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. Priests’ personnel files, which were made publicly available by the Archbishop of Milwaukee in July 2013, were analyzed retrospectively through a qualitative content analysis of all direct statements and correspondences from the accused. The findings indicate that many priests denied responsibility or injury in an effort to justify their sexually abusive behaviors, but that no discernible patterns of technique use emerged. The need for continued research using recently released personnel files from other dioceses is also discussed. 

Summary: 

The researchers analyze clergy sexual abuse through the lens of neutralization theory. Using qualitative content analysis, this article focuses on the cases of 42 priests from the Milwaukee Archdiocese who were accused of sexual abuse.

Questions to Consider:

1. Explain Sykes and Matza’s techniques of neutralization using the priests statements as examples.
    
2. According to the researchers, does every technique of neutralization lead to persistent offending?
    
3. Based upon this article, compare and contrast clergy versus non-clergy sex offenders.

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Article 1: Lopes, G., Krohn, M. D., Lizotte, A. J., Schmidt, N. M., Vásquez, B. E., & Bernburg, J. G. (2012). Labeling and cumulative disadvantage: The impact of formal police intervention on life chances and crime during emerging adulthood. Crime & Delinquency, 58, 456-488.

Abstract: 

Research in labeling theory has been revived recently, particularly in relation to the effect of labeling on critical noncriminal outcomes that potentially exacerbate involvement in crime. This study partakes in that revitalization by examining direct and indirect effects of police intervention in the lives of adolescents who were followed into their 30s. The authors find that early police intervention is indirectly related to drug use at the ages of 29 to 31, as well as unemployment and welfare receipt. Given that such effects were found some 15 years after the labeling event, on criminal and noncriminal outcomes, and after controlling for intra-individual factors, the authors conclude that the labeling perspective is still relevant within a developmental framework.  samples are used for development of intervention programs for juvenile delinquents.

Summary: 

This article examines how a deviant label can be a “turning point” in an adolescent’s life. The deviant label may be indirectly related to subsequent involvement in delinquency and criminal behavior. 

Questions to Consider: 

1. Describe the population sample used in this study.
    
2. Define “spurious”. What are some factors that may result in a spurious relationship between labeling and criminality?
    
3. Explain how labeling can curtail “prosocial opportunities”.
    

Article 2: Robbers, M. L. P. (2009). Lifers on the outside: Sex offenders and disintegrative shaming. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 53, 5-28.

Abstract: 

This article examines the effects of labeling though informal and formal sanctions on sex offender reintegration, using qualitative analysis from a probability sample of 153 registered sex offenders in four counties in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It also provides an overview of sex offender legislation and literature. Results of the study indicate that the majority of respondents experienced negative treatment because of their status as a sex offender. Results also indicate that formal and informal sanctions are stifling opportunities for sex offenders to be fully reintegrated into society and that treatment programs are not as effective as they could be. Implications for sex offender policy and further research are discussed.

Summary: 

The researchers examine the impact labeling has on sex offender reintergration. The results of the study indicate that the majority of sex offenders were publicly labeled and socially outcast.

Questions to Consider: 

1. Once labeled, what is the message that society is sending to the sex offender?
    
2. What is the community activity that sex offenders are most commonly involved in? Explain why this may or may not be of concern.
    
3. What is your overall reaction to the labeling of sex offenders?
    

Article 3: Saperstein, A., & Penner, A. M. (2014). Beyond the looking glass: Exploring fluidity in racial self-identification and interviewer classification. Sociological Perspectives, 57, 186-207.

Abstract: 

Research has demonstrated the fluidity of racial self-identification and interviewer classification, but how they influence each other over time has not been systematically explored using national, longitudinal data. A typical theoretical prediction, consistent with theories of a “looking-glass self,” is that people calibrate their self-identification in accordance with how they are perceived by others. We examine the degree to which this and other symbolic-interactionist processes account for the dynamics of racial categorization among young adults in the United States. To do so, we deploy a conceptual framework focused on three key dimensions of variation—concordance, stability, and influence—that capture both inconsistency in racial categorization at a given point in time and fluidity in either measure of race over time. We find that while the standard looking-glass self-perspective accounts for the majority of racial fluidity, a substantial proportion of changes in both measures of race remain unexplained by existing theory.

Summary: 

In this article the researchers apply Cooley’s “looking glass self” and Goffman’s “presentation of self” to racial self-identification. 

Questions to Consider:

1. Explain the “one drop rule”.
    
2. President Barack Obama is biracial-his mother is white and his father is African. Do you think that he would have been successful if he had chosen to self-identify as white? Explain.
    
3. Discuss some of the ways individuals “express” their racial identity.
    
4. Discuss “master status” in terms of racial self-identification.

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Article 1: Lanza-Kaduce, L. and R. G. Greenleaf. 2000. Age and Race Deference Reversals: Extending Turk on Police-citizen Conflict. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 37:221-36.

Abstract: 

Turk's theory of norm resistance describes how authority relations can be structured in ways that hold different probabilities of overt conflict between subjects and authorities. His theory is premised on social norms of deference. This article develops Turk's argument by advancing hypotheses about how deference by race and age reinforces or undermines the positional authority of police and affects the probability of conflict with citizens. Domestic disturbance cases in which police-citizen conflict occurred are contrasted with a systematic sample of domestic cases in which no conflict is recorded. The authors find that resistance is more likely when race and age deference norms counter the positional authority of officers. These reversals predict conflict even after controls are introduced into a multivariate model.

Summary: 

Theorist Austin Turk focused on the use of law as a social control agent. Specifically, Turk believed that the police control the law and therefore they are often justified in using force or violence. This research compared 66 instances of norm resistance (deviance) with 71 cases of no resistance to see whether the situations were structured differently.

Questions to Consider: 

1. How do the researchers define “norm resistance”?
    
2. Deference implies submission to the judgment of a superior out of respect for their position. Do the outcomes of this study support the definition of deference? Explain.
    
3. Apply this research and its variables to recent reports of police brutality and violence.
    

Article 2: Neville, H. A., Coleman, M. N., Falconer, J. W., & Holmes, D. (2005). Color-blind racial ideology and psychological false consciousness among African Americans. Journal of Black Psychology, 31, 27-45.

Abstract: 

The relations between color-blind racial beliefs (i.e., denial and distortion of the existence of racism) and dimensions of PFC (i.e., false beliefs that serve to work against one’s individual or group interest) among 211 African Americans was investigated. Findings indicated that greater endorsement of color-blind racial beliefs was related to the three dimensions of PFC investigated, including higher levels of (a) victim blame attributions of racial inequality, (b) internalized oppression, and (c) justification of social roles or social dominance orientation. K-means cluster analysis among all variables was used to identify racial ideology types. Results suggested that the three multivariate types uncovered—racialized egalitarian consciousness, structural psychological false consciousness, and psychological false consciousness—were differentially related to system blame attributions and out-group friendship preferences. Implications of the findings and future directions are discussed.

Summary: 

The researchers apply Cooley’s “looking glass self” and Goffman’s “presentation of self” to racial self-identification.

Questions to Consider: 

1. What is the “one drop rule”?
    
2. President Barack Obama is biracial. What do you think would have been the result if he chose to self-identify as White? Explain.
    
3. Discuss how being “color blind”, regardless of race, relates to conflict theory.
    

Article 3: Paino, Maria and Jeffrey Chin. 2011. Using Monopoly in the Sociology of Deviance Classroom to Illustrate Critical Theory. Simulation and Gaming 42(5):571–88.

Abstract: 

In this article, the authors demonstrate how they modified a well-known game to use it as an educational simulation to help students understand difficult material, specifically critical theory. The goals for the simulation focus on improving the comprehension levels of critical theory for students in a course on the Sociology of Deviance, although lessons about inequality are inescapable. This article uses a modified version of the board game MONOPOLY, in an undergraduate deviance class (N = 39). The results are based on responses to an assessment and performance in the class through participation in a written work. The results show that students appear to have an improved grasp of critical theory and display higher levels of confidence when discussing critical theory in class after completing the simulation. 

Summary: 

Because critical theories such as Marxism are difficult for students to grasp, college professors use games such as Monopoly to simulate capitalism and the distribution of wealth.

Questions to Consider:

1. How is the game of Monopoly altered to replicate a stratified system?
    
2. How do note that the students display deviant behavior?
    
3. Explain how the version of Monopoly described in the article reflects situations in the “real world”.

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Article 1: Golash-Boza, T. (2016) A critical and comprehensive sociological theory on race and racism Sociology of Race and Ethnicity 2016, Vol. 2(2) 129–141.

Abstract: 

This article contests the contention that sociology lacks a sound theoretical approach to the study of race and racism, instead arguing that a comprehensive and critical sociological theory of race and racism exists. This article outlines this theory of race and racism, drawing from the work of key scholars in and around the field. This consideration of the state of race theory in sociology leads to four contentions regarding what a critical and comprehensive theory of race and racism should do: (1) bring race and racism together into the same analytical framework; (2) articulate the connections between racist ideologies and racist structures; (3) lead us towards the elimination of racial oppression; and (4) include an intersectional analysis.

Summary: 

Tanya Golash-Boza is a white women and tenured professor at the University of California-Merced. Golash-Boza notes that she offers her personal information because she it lessens the opportunity for her work to be discounted. In this article she gives an overview of how social construction of race, the sociological theories of race and racism and how racism is manifested in our society.

Questions to Consider: 

1. Define social construction.
    
2. What are the four categories of race?
    
3. Define racism.
    
4. Describe “microagression”.
    

Article 2: Burgess-Proctor, A. (2006). Intersections of race, class, gender, and crime: Future directions for feminist criminology. Feminist Criminology,1, 27-47.

Abstract: 

More than 30 years after the first scholarship of its kind was produced, feminist studies of crime are more commonplace than ever before. Two recent milestone events—the 20th anniversary of the American Society of Criminology’s Division on Women and Crime and the creation of this journal, the official publication of the division—provide the perfect opportunity to reflect on what lies ahead for feminist criminology. In this article, the author argues that the future of feminist criminology lies in our willingness to embrace a theoretical framework that recognizes multiple, intersecting inequalities. Specifically, the author maintains that to advance an understanding of gender, crime, and justice that achieves universal relevance and is free from the shortcomings of past ways of thinking, feminist criminologists must examine linkages between inequality and crime using an intersectional theoretical framework that is informed by multiracial feminism.

Summary: 

This essay reviews the history of feminist criminology and suggests how feminist criminologists work be defined in the 21st century. 

Questions to Consider: 

1. Describe the feminist perspective and the development of feminist criminology.
    
2. Explain the sameness/difference debate in feminist criminology.
    
3. Define multicultural feminism.
    

Article 3: Burgess-Proctor, A., Huebner, B.M., Durso, J.M. Comparing the effects of maternal and paternal incarceration on adult daughters’ and sons’ criminal justice system involvement: a gendered pathways analysis Criminal Justice and Behavior, 2016, Vol. XX, No. X, May 2016, 1–22. (at the time of this submission, the journal has not been made available)

Abstract: 

This analysis compares the effects of maternal and paternal incarceration on adult daughters’ and sons’ criminal justice system (CJS) involvement. Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) are used to examine differences by parent and offspring sex in the effect of parental incarceration on respondents’ self-reported arrest, conviction, and incarceration after age 18 (N = 15,587). Net of controls, both maternal and paternal incarceration significantly increase log odds of adult offspring CJS involvement. This effect is especially pronounced for same-sex parent–child dyads, suggesting that the salience of parental incarceration for adult offending outcomes is gendered. In addition, intimate partner abuse and running away are significant predictors of adult CJS involvement for women, but not for men. The results suggest the importance of examining parental incarceration using a gendered, developmental framework such as gendered pathways, as well as the need for gender-responsive correctional programming.

Summary: 

The researchers’ analysis affirms that parental incarceration has negative consequences for offspring into adulthood.

Questions to Consider:

1. What is the overall effect of parental incarceration on adult criminal justice system (CJS) involvement?
    
2. Describe the gendered pathways theoretical framework.
    
3. In addition to maternal incarceration, what factors precipitate a woman’s offending trajectory?
    

Article 4: Eigenberg, H.M., min Park, S. (2015) Marginalization and Invisibility of Women of Color: A Content Analysis of Race and Gender Images in Introductory Criminal Justice and Criminology Texts Race and Justice, August 19, 2015, 1-23

Abstract: 

This study examines images in 23 textbooks published between 2008 and 2012 to analyze the interactive effects of race and gender. Pictures were analyzed to determine the visual presence White men, White women, men of color, and women of color have in textbook images. The race and gender of individuals were examined and categorized into three prominent status categories in the field: as criminals, professionals, and victims. The results are compared to a similar study conducted 20 years ago. Overall, the findings show that there is improvement as White males have less visual dominance than previously reported; however, images still reinforce the notion that White men are most often professionals, White women are victims, and men of color are criminals. Women of color remain invisible and lack a significant visual presence of any kind. 

Summary: 

The researchers’ examine the racial and gender bias of criminal justice and criminology textbooks.

Questions to Consider:

1. What is the significance of the pictures in textbooks?
    
2. What stereotypes did the authors find were reinforced in the criminal justice and criminology textbooks?
    
3. Explain visual literacy in relation to how students learn.
    
4. Review Table 5. What are the areas where women of color were absent in most areas? What is the significance of this information?

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Article 1: Campbell, Michael C. 2007. Criminal disenfranchisement reform in California: A deviant case study. Punishment & Society9 (2): 177–99.

Abstract: 

The United States denies voting rights to ex-convicts, parolees, probationers and prisoners on a scale unmatched among democratic nations. State laws establishing voting eligibility vary markedly from no disenfranchisement in some states, to permanent disenfranchisement in others. Existing research suggests that more exclusive laws are associated with larger percentages of nonwhites in the State’s general population and in states with higher percentages of nonwhite prisoners. Little historical research exists explaining how and why certain states have retained disenfranchisement while others have revised these laws. This article adopts a deviant case analysis framework, where California is examined as a seemingly exceptional example of reform in order to refine existing explanations of disenfranchisement. Through extensive archival research and a content analysis of a key media source, this article explains how and why California changed its disenfranchisement laws in 1974, a year existing research would predict a punitive legal shift. The findings suggest that repeal of disenfranchisement may be linked to the activities and framing strategies of reformers, particularly African-American legislators, the presence of advocacy organizations and political context. This research also suggests that media coverage of criminal justice policy issues is an important factor in the political feasibility of reform.

Summary: 

This article looks at all of the factors that worked together to give convicted felons the right to vote.

Questions to Consider: 

1. What is the author talking about when using the term “deviant”
    
2. Explain criminal disenfranchisement.
    
3. How does race impact criminal disenfranchisement.
    

Article 2: Rikard, D. (2015) Masculinity and medicalization: Gender and vocabularies of motive in the narrative of a sex offender Feminism & Psychology 2015, Vol. 25(2) 199–218.

Abstract: 

This paper explores the tension between vocabularies of motive provided by a serial sex offender in his narrative construction of his nonconsensual sexual activity. Current discourses on the topic emphasize the efficacy of social control measures and behavioral and pharmacological interventions. There is a dearth of sociological literature exploring the social meanings of sexual offense. Employing a symbolic interactionist approach to a sex offender’s account of self provides an opportunity for making visible the discursive construction of social processes. Deploying broad gender stereotypes in depictions of the women against whom he offended, the case presented here also relied on three dominant therapeutic constructions of the sexual deviant, the psychosocial, the addiction/compulsion model, and the bio-psychiatric—all of which neglect the gendered aspect of his offenses. Positing himself as a “true sex offender” and voluntarily taking hormonal suppressants that rendered him impotent, he was the ideal subject of bio-psychiatric discourse. The paper analyses his narrative in terms of contrasting notions of gender and deviance, masculinity and medicalization, and explores the ways language of institutionally supported interventions are used to make meaningful both normal and deviant identities, while disengaging from gender discourses. 

Summary: 

Focused on the medicalzation of deviance, this essay discusses sex offenders and their attempts to label their behavior as a sickness.

Questions to Consider: 

1. The author uses the case study of Terry, a serial offender. After 13 convictions, why was Terry not held accountable for his offenses?
    
2. What did Terry see as the solution to his sexual offending behaviors?
    
3. When identifying sex offending as a bio-psychiatric pathology, what other factors are we failing to consider?
    

Article 3: Berkelaar, B. (2014). Cybervetting, online information, and personnel selection: New transparency expectations and the emergence of a digital social contract. Management Communication Quarterly, 28, 479-506.

Abstract: 

This study examines employers’ and workers’ sensemaking about cybervetting—employers’ use of online information for personnel selection. Analysis of 89 employer and applicant interviews suggest a shift in thesocial contract—the implicit expectations for how personnel selection and employment relationships should work. Results suggest an extension of new proactive transparency expectations from organizations to workers, the implicit acceptance of which points to the emergence of a digital social contract. The digital social contract prescribes normative expectations for workers’ digital visibility, thereby extending the times and contexts within which employment evaluations and career management occur. Using a communicative perspective to address research gaps on everyday ethics, practices, and technologies of personnel selection, contributions include introducing and explicating the digital social contract, documenting the extension of new transparency expectations to individuals, and explicating ethical and practical implications of new technologies and information visibility on contemporary personnel selection.

Summary: 

This article addresses how employers and workers make sense of cybervetting. The author notes how, in spite of resistance, cybervetting has become part of our social contract.

Questions to Consider:

1. Why is the perception of cybervetting so important?
    
2. Explain “digital social contract”.
    
3. What is the primary complaint of workers regarding cybervetting?

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Article 1: Booth, Jeb A., Farrell, Amy, and Varano, Sean P. 2008.  Social Control, Serious Delinquency, and Risky Behavior Crime & Delinquency, 54(3): 423-456.

Abstract: 

Social control theory asserts that strong social bonds inhibit delinquency, whereas weak bonds offer little resistance to offending. In the development of this theoretical perspective, new research suggests that the type and magnitude of social bonds have differing effects on male and female delinquency. This study adds to our understanding of how social control factors of parental attachment, involvement in diverse prosocial activities, belief in traditional norms, and school climate affect both young men's and young women's reports of serious delinquency and risky behavior in a sample of high school youth. Whereas previous research has generally either controlled for the effect of gender statistically or studied all-male samples, this article uses separate models to examine the independent effects of social bonds on male and female delinquency. The findings support the development of gender-specific analyses to understand how social control affects male and female pathways into delinquency.

Summary: 

This article explores the impact that social bonds have on delinquency. The authors use males and females’ in their model to determine the statistical significance of prosocial activities.  The insight gained from this research can be applied to effectively and appropriately divert youth from the path of delinquency.

Questions to Consider: 

1. How does gender impact the pathway to delinquency?
    
2. In this study attachment to parents did not exert a strong effect on either serious delinquency or risky (deviant) behavior. What so the authors submit as explanations for these findings?
    
3. Based upon this article, detail where and how we should invest our tax dollars to divert youth from delinquency.
    

Article 2: Edelstein, A.  2016. Rethinking conceptual definitions of the criminal career and serial criminality. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse 2016, Vol. 17(1) 62-71.

Abstract: 

Since Cesare Lombroso’s days, criminology seeks to define, explain, and categorize the various types of criminals, their behaviors, and motives. This aim has theoretical as well as policy-related implications. One of the important areas in criminological thinking focuses chiefly on recidivist offenders who perform large numbers of crimes and/or commit the most dangerous crimes in society (rape, murder, arson, and armed robbery). These criminals have been defined as “habitual offenders,” “professional criminals,” “career criminals,” and “serial offenders.” The interest in these criminals is a rational one, given the perception that they present a severe threat to society. The main challenge in this area of research is a conceptual problem that has significant effects across the field. To this day, scholars have reused and misused titles to define and explain different concepts. The aim of this article is 3-fold. First, to review the concepts of criminal career, professional crime, habitual offenses, and seriality with a critical attitude on confusing terms. Second, to propose the redefinition of concepts mentioned previously, mainly on the criminal career. Third, to propose a theoretical model to enable a better understanding of, and serve as a basis for, further research in this important area of criminology.

Summary: 

This article defines and then compares professional and non-professional criminals. Additionally, it explores the different phases of the criminal career. 

Questions to Consider: 

1. Are serial offenders always career criminals?
    
2. Discuss the difference between career criminal and criminal career.
    
3. Explain the three types of serial criminals. According to the author, which one is the most dangerous?
    

Article 3: Kirkwood, S.  2016. Desistance in action: An interactional approach to criminal justice practice and desistance from offending Theoretical Criminology May 2016 vol. 20 no. 2 220-237.

Abstract: 

Research on the role of narrative and identity in desistance from crime tends to rely on interview methods. This article argues research and theory on desistance and interventions for addressing offending would be enriched by the qualitative analysis of interactions between criminal justice practitioners and service users. This approach is illustrated by applying discourse analysis and conversation analysis to video recordings of a groupwork programme for addressing offending behaviour. The analysis shows that: (1) service users may exhibit ambivalence to pro-social identities; (2) practitioners may orient to this resistance and encourage positive change; (3) other group members’ change narratives constitute resources to support desistance. This illustrates how an interactional approach to desistance can enhance understandings of practice and change processes.

Summary: 

The researcher focuses on bridging the gap between desistance research and research on effective interventions. This article shows that the interview process and group work are critical in a probationer moving from participation in criminal behavior to the changed identity of a noncriminal.

Questions to Consider: 

1. Define desistance.
    
2. What is the relationship between the skills used by probation officers and the re-offending rates of probationers?
    
3. Discuss the difference between primary and secondary desistance.

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Article 1: Batton, C., & Jensen, G. (2002). Decommodification and homicide rates in the 20th-century United States. Homicide Studies, 6 (1), 6-38.

Abstract: 

This study uses time-series regression techniques to examine the impact of decommodification on homicide rates in the United States from the institutional anomie perspective. Although recent studies have examined the impact of decommodification on cross-national variations in homicide rates, little attention has been paid to historical trends in this relationship. Our findings support institutional anomie theory when decommodification is conceptualized as a historically variant and contextual variable. No support was found for more intricate specifications measuring annual variation in the level of decommodification, and no support was found for alternative modes of periodization. Finally, the results also point to a temporal shift in the correlates of homicide rates between the two distinct historical periods, and the results have methodological implications for conducting time-series analyses.

Summary: 

The researchers explore the various buffers that society provides when there is an economic downturn (decommodification) and how being buffered impacts the homicide rate. Additionally, the article discusses numerous control variables that also have an impact on the homicide rate.

Questions to Consider: 

1. Define decommodification.
    
2. Do the researchers’ findings support that social engineering has magnified social problems. Explain.
    
3. What do the authors note are the issues of examining historical data?
    
4. Why did the research have to include prohibition, mob violence and military service as control variables?
    
5. What are the researchers findings regarding decommodification and violence?
    

Article 2: Muftić, L. (2006). Advancing institutional anomie theory: A microlevel examination connecting culture, institutions, and deviance. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 50, 630–653.

Abstract: 

Institutional anomie theory (IAT) contends that crime can be explained by an examination of American society, particularly the exaggerated emphasis on economic success inherent in American culture, which has created a “cheating orientation” that permeates structural institutions, including academia. Consistent with its macrosocial perspective, previous tests of IAT have examined IAT variables at the structural level only. The current study tests the robustness of IAT by operationalizing IAT variables at the individual level and looking at a minor form of deviance, student cheating. The author also examines the role statistical modeling has in testing the theory at the microlevel. Undergraduates, 122 American born and 48 international, were surveyed about their cheating behaviors and adherence to economic goal orientations. Results related to the hypothesis that American students, relative to foreign-born students, will have an increased adherence to economic goal orientations that increase cheating behaviors are presented, as are suggestions for future studies.

Summary: 

This article addresses the impact of the American culture of success and the impact that it has on crime. Specifically, the researchers compare U.S. born students with non-U.S.-born students and their attitudes toward cheating.

Questions to Consider: 

1. Explain institutional anomie theory (IAT).
    
2. Identify our social institutions.
    
3. Do the findings of this study support the theory that culture impacts deviance? Explain.
    

Article 3: Lerum, K., & Brents, B. G. (2016). Sociological perspectives on sex work and human trafficking. Sociological Perspectives, 59 (1), 17–26.

Abstract: 

In the United States and beyond, there is often a wide disconnect between grounded empirical evidence about the sex industry and policies on sex work and human trafficking. In this introduction, we briefly review empirical and critical scholarly literature on sex work and human trafficking policy within the United States. We then introduce three sociological articles that provide compelling empirical research on individuals who work in the sex trade as well as those who organize on behalf of sex workers and trafficked individuals. We conclude by inviting more sociologists to narrow the gap between reliable empirical evidence and policies on sex work and human trafficking, and we urge activists and policy makers to listen. 

Summary: 

This article investigates the role that human trafficking plays in supplying workers in the sex industry.

Questions to Consider: 

1. How does the U.S. State Department of Defense define human trafficking?
    
2. What happens to the majority of human trafficking victims?
    
3. What do the authors identify as the ultimate goal of this article?