Effects Of Social Class On Unethical Behavior

The instinct that once aided in the survival of people in the past serves a purpose in today’s modern society. Even today “herd behavior can aid in bonding, and it can clarify social expectations” (Moore 1). Humans are social creatures and strive to be part of a group whenever possible. By conforming to the norms of a group, a person is able to relate to the other members and therefore create a bond. In confusing situations, humans also look to people who posses more knowledge or appear to be stronger than themselves for guidance. Following others creates a set of guidelines which help to solidify social norms and expectations. By following others, people actually gain “relative morality” (Jasmine 1). Relative morality is the culturally influenced view of ethical and moral standards. Humans are not only affected in their understanding of societal standards, but also in terms of their ethical and moral values, which provide a basis for their actions. When a person’s ethical and moral standards change to match those of their peers, their actions inevitably change as well. Otherwise good people will suddenly start behaving in a way that is uncharacteristic to them because of relative

Particular qualities connected with those who are seen as inferior, one is able to observe; lower self-esteem and self-worth, sadness or anger, and a style of clothing that is considered sloppily put together. The aspect of those who feel inferior or superior, typically linked to one’s social class. These standards of the behaviors of those in a particular social class are heavily based on depiction the media and films display. “The poor are often portrayed as ignorant, lazy, dishonest, and disinterested in self-improvement, it is likely that children in the United States come to think about and understand individuals from low socioeconomic backgrounds negatively” (Wood 2005). Whereas those who exhibit superiority display qualities that exude confidence, full of self-esteem, determined, happy and dressed more professionally. Wood stated that wealthy individuals rated as more intelligent, making better grades, and making friends more easily than poor individuals (2005). Even though middle to upper class is shown with positive qualities in the majority of tv and films, those who possess status and wealth do not always display class and virtue. One may conclude that movies are responsible for the perpetual class and virtue given to the middle and upper classes only, however, the movie Crash presentations that regardless of one’s economic class, virtue is within the individual.

The correlation between social class and crime has been a source of controversy among criminologists. Many of the early criminological concepts and theories were originated on the unquestioned belief that the lower class population is more accountable for criminal behavior than are those who are economically advanced. However, even though today this supposition is not as universally accepted, it still devises many proponents. This paper inspects the connection between social class and criminality and considers the prospect that the assumption that the poor are more criminally responsible than those in higher social classes may not be a valid one, yet it has had existent consequences for those who are targeted by the society and the police as a whole.

When it comes to ethics, there is often a connection between morals and social behavior. Depending on the person, these aspects of ethics can really affect the side that somebody will take in a situation. There are different circumstances for everything, and different situations can change the way that certain people will react to them. In real life, an example of this would be whether or not somebody feels compelled to help a homeless person and the reasoning behind the decision.

In a culture with such diverse commonalities, the differentials that set precedent come from social norms. These norms set the template for what acceptable behaviors are and are not. Social norms have the potential to change and evolve over time however. Take slavery for instance; in early American history slavery was very commonplace and socially acceptable for its time. Later, slavery was abolished and then in the 1950s and 1960s the Civil Rights Movement worked to gain equality for African American citizens. The evolution of our social norms is often precipitated by the actions of Social Groups that exist within our society. Other times, changes in our society are instigated by the actions of social deviants. Revisiting the example of the Civil Rights Movement, Rosa Parks was in fact a social deviant; being a black woman in her time, her refusal to move to the back of the bus was socially unacceptable. Her actions prompted the unity of multiple Social Groups, thus provoking a civil movement that altered the perception of social normality. It can be said that societal change in itself is a social norm in which Social Groups, deviants are both necessary functions to bring about the growth that makes us who we are as a society.

The set of documentaries known as People Like us, revealed how different people tend to perceive and determine someone’s position in society. Measuring social class in American can be influenced by many different factors. In fact, sociologists generally rely on the objective method that determines the class of someone based on their occupation, education, income, and place of residence. Although Americans tend to deny the idea of people being separated by class, it is something that greatly influences the cultural norms, actions, and interactions among all individuals in society.

However, barriers to effective problem solving can develop in almost any situation (Welsh & Harris, 2004). As stated in one of the peer-revised articles, we compared the punitiveness of two groups following a manipulation in which participants were either able to cheat on a simple number-matching task, by taking more money than they rightfully earned, or prevented from doing so on the same task. One of the most persistent factors affecting ethical decision making is our social structures and social norms. Many of the factors involved with ethical decision making appear to be cues to social interactions—darkness is considered a measure of anonymity (Zhong, Bohns, & Gino, 2010). Ethics is a code of values which guides our choices and actions and determines the purpose and course of our lives.

Social control theory and life course theory focus on people’s lives and how they interact with one another.

One specific theory, social control theory focuses on the idea that everyone is presented with the chance to break the law. This theory explains that people typically do not break the law because they have self-control, which is influenced by internal and external forces. Another reason for following laws is that some people have a commitment to conformity. People that feel this way have a true understanding of reasons to uphold the law. Their instinct is to avoid any behavior that can result in trouble, this theory emphasizes that the stronger commitment a person has to social institutions the less likely they are to commit a crime. When people do not have commitments they can break the law without losing

In this test, Piff spends an afternoon walking back and forth over a pedestrian crossing. Drivers are legally required to stop if someone wishes to cross. There is a public notion that "the very poor are more likely to break rules because they are under financial pressure and face more difficult circumstances" (BBC). However, Piff's research suggests the opposite. "None of the drivers of the least expensive cars broke the law, while close to 50% of the most expensive car drivers broke the law," he says. The wealthier someone is, the less they care about others and the more they feel entitled to put their own interest first. As a person's wealth increases, their ideology of self-interest increases as well. The outcomes of this study propose that wealthy people are more likely to break the law if it benefits

The general idea of the Criminal Justice system in the United States is that everyone be treated equal despite race, ethnicity, sexuality, and class. However, social class must be taken in consideration when examining criminology and criminal justice. It is often viewed as a crucial factor that influences individuals to commit a crime. A person’s social status structures “social interactions”, as every role has a specific behavior that is associated with it as well as power. Within the “hierarchical organization of social statuses” people have access to certain resources, wealth, and education that sometimes controls the outcomes that it occurs. The class you are born in usually determines what crimes are committed though everyone is capable of doing the same crimes, some crimes are more accepted. Those who are in a lower class are more likely to do a blue collar crime while someone in a higher class commits a white

However, the eighth proposition applied in the social learning theory describes the “process of learning criminal behavior is similar to the process of learning other types of behavior” (Schram and Tibbetts, 218). Learning other behaviors is like understanding and practicing ways to make Biggs and Wayne’s reasons to committing crime more efficient.  Biggs works with the informants Gus and Dangles to find out where Teddy is hiding his drug supplies and stowing his money (Shottas 1:04:43). In one scene, Biggs and Wayne follows Teddy’s car which was transporting bags with money to the Airport to go to Jamaica. Biggs and Wayne are strategic in making sure that the robbery is successful. They are not fearful of being seen by Teddy because they have

This essay will reflect the connection between crime and class. It will look at a high profile case within Australia that occurred during 2014 and it will also look at how the media has portrayed this case.

The relationship between social class and crime has been up for debate for years and years and probably is the most controversial topic in criminology. Particularly, there have been an even bigger debate as to whether crime is predominantly in the lower-class or if its in all levels hierarchy. The focus and purpose of this research paper is to explore the relationship between social class and crime and how social inequality can affect jail time or sentencing. However, class is difficult to define and while those who are convicted of a crime tend to be working class, middle class people commit crime and some working class are not criminal. The link between any social group and conviction rates is more complex than it seems (Nakhaie, Silverman,

relevant to this research and the researchers will be “able to construe the patterns, and offer support that will also explicate how the social structure can affect/impact social disorganization and inequality in these neighborhoods very differently, in addition to how other structure contexts might help to lead to violent outcomes” (Cancino, Martinez Jr., & Stowell, 2009, para. 10-11).