Social construction of crime and deviance

    AQA
    GCSE

    This study area examines the Interactionist perspective that crime and deviance are not inherent properties of an act, but the result of social processes involving rule creation and enforcement. Candidates must analyse how social groups create deviance by making rules and applying them to particular people, labelling them as 'outsiders'. The scope includes the role of moral entrepreneurs, the differential enforcement of law by police and courts, and the consequences of labelling for the individual (self-fulfilling prophecy) and society (deviancy amplification). Mastery requires critiquing official crime statistics not as facts, but as social constructs reflecting the activities of agents of social control.

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    Objectives
    4
    Exam Tips
    3
    Pitfalls
    3
    Key Terms
    4
    Mark Points

    What You Need to Demonstrate

    Key skills and knowledge for this topic

    • Credit responses that explicitly distinguish between 'crime' (legal violation) and 'deviance' (norm violation).
    • Award marks for application of Becker's concept of the 'Master Status' and the 'Self-fulfilling Prophecy' when explaining recidivism.
    • Candidates must link the social construction of crime to specific examples of legal changes (e.g., laws regarding homosexuality or smoking).
    • High-level responses must evaluate the role of the media in creating 'Moral Panics' (Cohen) and 'Deviancy Amplification'.

    Marking Points

    Key points examiners look for in your answers

    • Credit responses that explicitly distinguish between 'crime' (legal violation) and 'deviance' (norm violation).
    • Award marks for application of Becker's concept of the 'Master Status' and the 'Self-fulfilling Prophecy' when explaining recidivism.
    • Candidates must link the social construction of crime to specific examples of legal changes (e.g., laws regarding homosexuality or smoking).
    • High-level responses must evaluate the role of the media in creating 'Moral Panics' (Cohen) and 'Deviancy Amplification'.

    Examiner Tips

    Expert advice for maximising your marks

    • 💡When using Items (source material), explicitly quote the text and immediately link it to a sociological concept (e.g., 'The Item states... which illustrates the concept of labeling').
    • 💡For 12-mark 'Discuss' questions, ensure a two-sided argument (e.g., Interactionist view vs. Functionalist consensus).
    • 💡Use specific terminology like 'agencies of social control' rather than generic terms like 'police' or 'parents'.
    • 💡Allocate 15 minutes strictly for the 12-mark extended response to ensure sufficient depth of evaluation.

    Common Mistakes

    Pitfalls to avoid in your exam answers

    • Asserting that crime is a fixed, biological, or universal fact rather than a social construct.
    • Confusing 'informal social control' (sanctions by family/peers) with 'formal social control' (police/courts).
    • Describing the 'dark figure of crime' without explaining *why* these crimes remain unrecorded (e.g., fear, triviality).

    Key Terminology

    Essential terms to know

    Likely Command Words

    How questions on this topic are typically asked

    Identify
    Describe
    Explain
    Discuss
    Evaluate
    Analyze

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