DEVIANCE

DEVIANCE

DEVIANCE

a violation of any social rule, while others argue that deviance involves more than rule violation—that it also has the quality of  provoking disapproval, anger, or indignation.

Deviance

is a wide-ranging term used by sociologists to refer to behaviour that varies, in some way, from a social norm; "rule-breaking" behaviour

Formal

deviant behavior refers to actions that violate formal laws.

Informal

behavior refers to actions that violate social norms. 

SOCIAL  NORMS

l are  the  guidelines  for  what  is believed to be appropriate or acceptable in a given social group or culture.

SOCIAL  NORMS

give us an expected idea of behavior and serve to bring predictability and order to social interactions.

FOLKWAYS

l The everyday practices or norms. They are a form of societal expectation that governs how we should behave.

l Distinguish between proper and rude behavior.

MORES

l Identify what is morally acceptable or undesirable in any given culture.

l Dictate right and wrong

CODIFIED LAWS

Are norms that are actually defined as being legal or illegal. The government has decided these norms are so important that you could get in trouble for breaking them.

TABOOS

l custom prohibiting or forbidding discussion of a particular practice or forbidding association with a particular person, place, or thing.

Definition of Deviance

Normative and Reactive

ADMIRED BEHAVIOR

An example might be something like heroism- the saving of the life of another person wish list putting your own life in greater danger.

 

ODD BEHAVIOR

Are frequently considered to be somehow “odd” or “different” to normal behavior (ex. piercing all over the body).

BAD BEHAVIOR

Tends to be rule breaking or criminal behavior that in some way is seen as being something more than simply outlandish or eccentric.

NORMATIVE

sees deviation as a violation of norms of a society, in which certain actions, beliefs, or words are to be used or not used depending on context.

REACTIVE

merely what a social audience reacts against and labels as deviant.

 

OBJECTIVIST

l conception defines deviance as norm-violating behavior; norms serve as an objective standard  by  which  deviant  behavior  may  be  discovered (Ward et., al 1994)

l - (ex. homicide is considered to be deviant simply because it is always treated as such)

ABSOLUTISM”

l perspective suggests deviance is inherent or “located” within the act itself. 

l it would mean that in all societies and at all times certain forms of behaviour will be considered deviant.

SUBJECTIVIST

conception defines deviance as an act that has been labeled “deviance” by a social audience.

RELATIVISM

l constructivist perspective on deviance—the idea that deviance cannot be explained in terms of absolutes, nor can it be understood apart from its social setting.

l  it would mean that different societies at different times develop different ways of seeing the same form of behaviour. 

OVER COMFORMITY (positive deviance)

Involves behavior that overcomforms to social expectation.

Lead to imbalance and perfectionism

Can be as harmful as negative deviant

Example:

l Anorexia

l Body builder

l “Perfect” student

UNDERCOMFORMITY (negative deviance)

Involves behavior that underperform to social expectations either reject, misinterpreted, or are unaware of the norms.

Example:

l Obesity

l Unmotivated student

Sleeping in Class

CHARACTERISTICS OF DEVIANCE

l Deviance is Universal, but there are no universal forms of deviance

l Deviance is a social definition. It is not a quality of the act; it is how we define it. It is not the act; it is how we label it.

TWO opposing Perspectives

Positivism

Social constructionism

 

Positivist perspective

l is associated with the sciences, such as physics, chemistry, or biology.

l Positively real

l objectivist, absolutist, normative, determinist, and essentialist

The Constructionist Perspective

l is fundamental in the humanities, such as art, language, or philosophy.

l Social construction

l humanist, subjectivist, relativist, reactivist, definitionist, and postmodernist

Structural Functionalism Theory

· views society as different parts functioning together for society as a whole.

· deviance as a key component of a functioning society. They emphasize social solidarity and stability in social structures.

Emile Durkheim

Proponent of Structural Functionalism Theory

 Anomie

 state of normlessness/lawlessness

defined as a condition characterizing a society when “the scale is upset, become disoriented, no longer recognize the limits proper to them.

Strain Theory

ideas were first advanced in the 1930s by American sociologist Robert K. Merton

• Merton argues that people engage in deviant behavior when they cannot achieve socially approved goals by

legitimate means.

Robert K. Merton

Proponent of Strain Theory

STRAIN

Refers to the discrepancies or gap between cultural defined goals and institutionalized legitimate means available to achieve this goals.

Classic Strain Theory

Ø predicts that deviance is likely to happen when there is a misalignment between the “cultural goals” of a society (such as monetary wealth) and the opportunities people have to obtain them.

General Strain Theory. 

Ø This predicts that various strains (such as violence and discrimination) create negative feelings which, when there are no other viable options for coping, lead to deviance.

Conformity

accepting both cultural goals and means

- People achieve success by working hard and saving money

Innovation

accepting goals but rejecting legitimate means

Ritualism

ejecting goals but following the means

Abandon society’s goals but conform to approved means of achieving them

Retreatism

Rejecting or abandon both goals and means, withdrawing from society

Rebellion

Rejecting or Challenges both existing goals and means to achieving them while advocating for new ones, create an alternate set of goals/means.

Social Disorganization Theory

 This theory asserts that crime is most likely to occur in communities with weak social ties and the absence of social control.

Social Institutions and Structures

 there is crucial role of social institutions, such as family, schools, religious organizations, and community groups, in maintaining social order within neighborhoods and communities.

Concentric Zone Theory

proposes that cities develop spatially in concentric circles

• central business district at the core and zones of varying social organization radiating outward
• innermost zones experience highest levels of crime

Social Ecology

explores the dynamic interplay

between social and physical environments in shaping human behavior and social interactions.

• emphasizes the importance of considering both structural factors and social processes in understanding the spatial distribution of crime and deviance.

SUBCULTURE

- Create own culture in order to attain or satisfy their needs and goals.

- Go against to their norms, values, principles in their mainstream

Albert Cohen

- argues that working class subcultures emerge because they are denied status in society.

- working class boys strove to emulate middle-class values and aspirations, but lacked the means to achieve success

 status frustration

- sense of personal failure and inadequacy.

Cloward and Ohlin’s

3 types of Subculture

Criminal subcultures

 involve crimes carried out for practical purposes, such as theft. These subcultures, according to Cloward and Ohlin (2017), develop in stable working-class areas where there is an established pattern of crime.

Conflict subcultures

Ø meanwhile, emerge in socially disorganized areas where there is high population turnover and thus a lack of community or social cohesion. This lack of social cohesion prevents the formation of stable adult criminal subcultures.

Retreatist subcultures 

 emerge among lower-class youths who fail to succeed both in mainstream society and in crime and gang cultures.

Walter Miller

Revived interest in delinquency as a product of alternative values. He posits that the underclass is responsible for the majority of street crime.

Charles Murray’s

- Created the underclass theory of crime. This underclass refers to a group of people in America who were unemployed over the long-term and effectively dependent on government assistance.

DIFFERENTIAL ASSOCIATION THEORY

This theory propose that through interaction with others, individuals learn the values, attitudes, techniques, and motives for criminal behavior.

CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR

Criminal behavior refers to any act or conduct that is in

violation of established laws, statutes, or regulations within a particular jurisdiction.

Focus on Immediate Factors: 

§ Mechanistic situational explanations of criminal behavior emphasize immediate factors and situational dynamics that contribute to criminal acts.

Environmental Influence:

§ This perspective considers elements such as environmental cues, opportunities, and social interactions that may trigger or facilitate criminal actions.

SOCIAL CONTROL THEORY (Travis Hirschi)

theory proposes that individuals are naturally inclined to deviate from societal norms and engage in criminal behavior unless they are effectively restrained by social bonds and controls.

SOCIAL CONTROL

Refers to rules, regulations and sanctions applied in order to encourage socially acceptable behaviors and discourage deviance.

ATTACHMENT

Denotes the degree of emotional connection one feels towards benevolent individuals and establishments.

COMMITMENT

· Hirschi cited the importance of the social relationships that people value, which they would not want to risk jeopardizing by committing criminal or deviant acts.

INVOLVEMENT

which relates to the opportunity costs associated with how people spend their time. Specifically, Hirschi tapped into the old philosophy that “idle hands are the devil’s workshop” in that if people are spending their time engaged in some form of prosocial activity.

BELIEF

Refers to the degree to which one adheres to the values associated with behaviors that conform to the law; the assumption being that the more important such values are to a person, the less likely he or she is to engage in criminal/deviant behavior.

DIRECT CONTROL

Individuals directly influenced

Ex. Family, Church then there will be rules.

DETTERENCE THEORY

Ø The view that if the probability of arrest, conviction and sanctioning increases, crime rates should decline.

Specific deterrence

acts on a specific individual

General deterrence

· is designed to deter the public from committing the same crimes as those already convicted of such offence.

INTERACTIONIST PERSPECTIVE

Herbert Blumer defined the interactionist perspective as a framework that “emphasizes the subjective meaning of social action as the basis for understanding life” (1969). The “subjective meaning” emerge through

social interaction.

LABELING THEORY

theory of deviance states that individuals

become deviants as a result of the labels imposed on them by society.

CONFLICT PERSPECTIVE

Ø This theory was proposed by Karl Marx. It argues that various groups in the society are pertuallt fighting and competing for resources and power.

Formal labels

are labels ascribed to an individual by someone who has the formal status and ability to discern deviant behavior.

Informal labels

labels can also be ascribed to someone by groups of people who do not have the official authority to label someone as deviant.

Primary deviance-

efers to those acts which receive a little reaction from the society and do not have long term consequences. refers to initial acts of rule-breaking that may not attract significant societal reactions

Secondary deviance

occurs after the subject has been labelled a deviant, and they begin to construct their self-image from their understanding of how others perceive them.