Vocabularies of Motive - Deviance and Social Control - Lecture Slides, Slides of Sociology of Deviance

Download Vocabularies of Motive - Deviance and Social Control - Lecture Slides and more Slides Sociology of Deviance in PDF only on Docsity! VOCABULARIES OF MOTIVE docsity.com C Wright Mills and Vocabulary of Motive • The problem: Why do “good” people do “bad” things? • The answer: People acquire ways of thinking that “release” deviant behaviours- they furnish motives. • Hence the term, “vocabulary of motive.” docsity.com Techniques of Neutralization • Denial of responsibility: “I am one of many.” • Denial of injury: “They’ll never miss it.” • Denial of victim – Depicting attacker as avenger: “I’m protecting my community.” – Alleging the culpability of abstract “perpetrators”: “Capitalism is the real evil here.” • Condemnation of condemners: “Who are THEY to accuse ME?” • Appeal to higher loyalties: “My religion instructs me.” docsity.com Some Applications of the VoM Perspective • Scully and Marolla on rapists’ VoM • Substance abuse and addiction – “Instant addiction” is a myth – Initial uses are unpleasant or ambiguous – VoM’s enable addiction in several ways: • Teaches that sensations are pleasurable • Teaches that recurrent use decreases unpleasant effects • Provides social support for addicts – Overall, drug use would be impossible without learning- crack does NOT “sell itself” docsity.com