1.1

• what is a value?

  general principles or guidelines for how we should live our lives
• what are norms?


  specific rules or socially accepted standards that govern people’s behaviour in particular situations
• what is an example of a norm shared by every society?

  respect for human life
• what are moral codes?


  a set of basic rules, values and principles held by an individual, group, organisation or society as a whole
• what is an example of a written moral code?

  the police code of ethics
• what is deviance?


  any behaviour that differs from normal
• what are the three ways in which behaviour can be deviant?

  behaviour that is unusual and good, behaviour that is unusual and eccentric or bizarre, behaviour that is unusual and bad or disapproved of
• what type of deviance is most relevant?

  doing something forbidden or regarded as unnacceptable
• what can rule-breaking lead to?

  a critical, hostile or disapproving reaction from others
• what can deviance that is disapproved of lead to?

  negative sanctions
• what are formal sanctions?


  sanctions imposed by official bodies such as the police, courts, schools and other institutions. they are punishments for breaking formally written rules or laws
• what are informal sanctions?

  used where rules are not formally written down and are perhaps ‘unspoken’. when someone breaks these rules, others show their disapproval in informal ways, such as refusing to speak to them, telling them off, a slap on the wrist etc.
• what are positive sanctions?


  rewards for behaviour that society approves of
• what is social control?

  ways in which society seeks to control our behaviour and ensure that we conform to its norms and behave as others expect us to
• what is criminal behaviour?

  a form of deviance that involves serious, harmful acts that are a wrong against society. these acts are regarded as so disruptive that the state must intervene on behalf of society to forbid them and to punish them by law
• what is the legal definition of criminal behaviour?

  any action that is forbidden by the criminal law
• what two things must be proven for an act to be considered a crime?

  actus reus and mens rea
• what are the two exceptions to the requirement of actus reus and mens rea?

  strict liability and self-defence
• what is strict liability?


  strict liability is where the wrongful act on its own is enough to establish liability
• what is self-defence?


  self-defence is where somebody is defending themself against an attacker as long as the force used was reasonable in the situation
• what are the three aspects of the social definition of criminal behaviour?

  differing views, law enforcement and law-making.