AC 1.1

• Norms are specific behavioural standards or rules in society.
• Values are overarching principles that determine what is considered good or desirable.
• There are 4 types of social norms, Folkways, Mores, Taboos and laws. Norms can vary across cultures and even sub-groups.
• Examples of values include honesty, respect, responsibility, fairness and kindness. These guide societal behaviour and decision-making.
• examples of british norms include drinking culture, queueing, greetings, personal space and avoiding extended eye contact.
• examples of british values include respecting elders, punctuality and good manners.
• Moral codes dictate the rules or norms within a group or society for what is ‘proper‘ behaviour.
• A moral code is a set of rules, values and principles, and is sometimes referred to as a code of ethics (generally written down e.g. police code of ethics) which people agree to adhere to.
• The term culture refers to the whole way of life of a particular society. it can involve values, norms, customs and beliefs.
• The term values refer to the ideas and beliefs that are worth striving/ trying for. so for example, striving to the best at what you do is a value.
• Norms are what we consider appropriate social behaviour in certain settings. Norms are enforced by sanctions; positive and negative.
• There are many social structures. (parts that make up society) One example of a social structure in society is the education system.
• sociologists also study social processes, things that make society as it is. these are things like the way we are brought up.
• The easiest way to seperate deviance from crime is to seperate society and law.
• if something is seen as unacceptable in society (for example spitting) but doesn’t break a law, it is deviant.
• Deviance is any behaviour that is unusual, uncommon, out of the ordinary or that differs from the Norm.
• There are 3 different ways an action could be labelled as deviant.

  -unusual+good- risking ur life to save another.

  -unusual+bizzare- talking to trees in a park

  -unusual+frowned upon- assaulting someone for no reason
• agents of control for deviance include societal pressure and religion/faith, whereas agents of control for crime are police and judiciary
• society had no coercive power (besides peer pressure) to deal with deviance but governments have the power of punishment to tackle crime
• there are 2 forms of social control. Formal and informal
• informal social control- occurs when behaviours are controlled through socialisation into a society and internalisation of its norms.
• formal social control- societies can codify social control by creating external sanctions enforced by a government or other legal body to prevent chaos and anomie
• an example of formal social control are fines- these are monetary penalties that serve aa another form of punishment for violating laws or regulations. typically used for less serious offences. the amount of the fine will vary depending on the severity of the offence, the offended past record and other circumstances.
• informal social control is the sanctioning of an individual by a peer or a group member etc.
• examples of informal social control are shaming (where an individuals behaviour is discouraged by another) and praising ( where an individuals behaviour is encouraged by another)
• There are 2 forms of sanctions from deviance, formal and informal.
• formal sanctions are ones imposed by official bodies such as the police, courts, schools and other institution. They’re punishments for breaking formal written rules or laws. e.g. schools excluding pupils for bullying
• informal sanctions are used where the rules are not formally written down and are perhaps ‘unspoken‘ e.g. silent treatment
• positive sanctions also exist such as rewards for good behaviour. examples include medals for bravery. similar to negative sanctions, they can be informal or formal.
• all sanctions, formal or informal, positive or negative, are forms of social control- ways in which society sees to control our behaviour and ensure that we conform to its norms and behave in a way that others expect us to.
• the legal definition of crime is ‘an action or omission which constitutes an offence and is punishable by law’
• for the courts to consider an individuals actions a crime the action must have one of these 2 things: Actus Reus; Mens Rea.

  the defendant must have done something bad with intentions.
• Actus Reus- latin for ‘ a guilty act’

  Mens Rea- meaning ‘a guilty mind’
• 2 exceptions to being charged:

  strict liability- if you committed a crime with no ill intent it’s still a crime. (speeding)

  self-defence- as long as force used was necessary, it’s not a crime.