the recognized violation of cultural norms

the violation of a society's formally enacted criminal law

attempts by society to regulate people's thoughts and behavior

the organizations -police, courts, and prison officials- that respond to alleged violations of the law

the idea that deviance and conformity result not so much from what people do as from how others respond to those actions

a powerfully negative label that greatly changes a person's self-concept and social identity

the transformation of moral and legal deviance into a medical condition

crime committed by people of high social position in the course of their occupations

the illegal actions of a corporation or people acting on its behalf

a business supplying illegal goods or services

a criminal act against a person or a person's property by an offender motivated by racial or other bias

a legal negotiation in which a prosecutor reduces a charge in exchange for a defendant's guilty plea

an act of moral vengeance by which society makes the offender suffer as much as the suffering caused by the crime

the attempt to discourage criminality through the use of punishment

a program for reforming the offender to prevent later offenses

rendering an offender incapable of further offenses temporarily through imprisonment or permanently by execution

later offenses by people previously convicted of crimes

correctional programs operating within society at large rather than behind prison walls

crimes that direct violence or the threat of violence against others; also known as violent crimes

crimes that involve theft of money or property belonging to others; also known as property crimes

violations of law in which there are no obvious victims

a system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy

a change in position within the social hierarchy

social stratification based on ascription, or birth

social stratification based on both birth and individual achievement

social stratification based on personal merit

the degree of uniformity in a person's social standing across various dimensions of social inequality

a shift in the social position of large numbers of people due more to changes in society itself than to individual efforts

cultural beliefs that justify particular social arrangements, including patterns of inequality

the functional analysis claiming that social stratification has beneficial consequences for the operation of society

people who own and operate factories and other businesses in pursuit of profits

people who sell their labor for wages

the experience of isolation and misery resulting from powerlessness

lower-prestige jobs that involve mostly mental activity

higher-prestige jobs that involve mostly mental labor

a composite ranking based on various dimensions of social inequality

buying and using products because of the "statement" they make about social position

earnings from work or investments

the total value of money and other assets, minus outstanding debts

a change in social position occurring during a person's lifetime

upward or downward social mobility of children in relation to their parents

the lack of resources of some people in relation to those who have more

a lack of resources that is life-threatening

the trend of women making up an increasing proportion of the poor