Social Deviance Midterm

Objectivist Theory

• They suggest that certain social phenomena are deviant in of themselves

• Without cultural/social factors

• You can rationalize it with amount of harm

Subjectivist Theory

• Philosophical

• Any phenomenon socially defined as deviant

• No action is inherently deviant, it’s just classed as such by society

What are the 5 levels of social construction?

• Global

• Socio-cultural

• Institutional

• Interactional

• Individual

Four categories for objectivists to spot deviance

1. Harm

2. Rarity of occurrence

3. Social reaction

4. Norm violation

Critiques of Subjectivist theory

• Doesn't factor for what causes these behaviours

• What about real impact and pain caused?

• Relativism can never be really defined

What are some examples of subjectivist theories?

• Labelling theory

• Constructionist theory

• Marxist conflict theory

Formal vs Informal social control

formal implies institutional action, whereas informal tends to come. in the form of perception from peers and society

What are the three positivist theories?

Functionalist, Learning, Marxist Control

Functionalist Theory

• Sees society as setters of structure in order to maintain social order (family, educational/political systems)

• Manifest functions: recognized structures

• Latent functions: unrecognized and unintentional structures

Emile Durkheim

• positivist, objectivist and functionalist

• Deviant behaviour has a role to play in society

  • Increases social solidarity (school shooting example)

  • Determines moral boundaries and serves as a reminder

  • Tests moral boundaries and instigates change

  • Reduce social tensions (blowing off steam)

Mechanical v. Organic Solidarity (Durkheim)

• Mechanical: 

  • order via shared norms and values

  • low division of labour (roles and responsibilities of life were shared)

  • Strong collective conscience

  • Deviant behaviour will arise when someone exercises modest self-interest

• Organic Solidarity

  • What holds us together is our interdependence on one another

  • Roles aren’t shared, they are divided and highly specialized

Anomie

• Norms and bonds begin to deteriorate through this rapid social change

• When bonds deteriorate, social control is at it’s lowest

• Norms deteriorate

• Example: the great depression

  • When the economic system crashes, the social system and values shift

Anomie and Suicide

• Egoistic suicide (excessive individuation, essentially saying you are poorly integrated with people and systems around you)

• He alternatively believes people can also have too much integration

• Altruistic Suicide (over identification)

  • Eg. cult mass suicide

  • Profound dedication to group/community

• Anomic Suicide (social deregulation motivated)

  • During times of social crisis (eg. great depression)

• Fatalistic Suicide (no control over your behaviour)

  • No form of integration, being overregulated

  • (eg. prison suicide)

Robert Merton

• The “American dream” of working hard and succeeding (cultural American dream)

• His message is that the (American) Social system is Anomic and poorly integrated because the emphasis on cultural success is disproportionate to available means (problem for any social system)

• The lack of social integration is what leads to deviant behaviour

Robert Merton’s Theory on people’s 5 responses to Anomie

• Conformist: (not deviant)

  • People will sense the disconnect of the social system but won’t give up

• Innovation 

  • Accepts the goals, but rejects the means of obtaining them (make money, but perhaps through crime)

• Retreatism

  • Rejects both means and goals

• Ritualism 

  • Rejects or doesn’t feel impassioned about societal goals, accepts means

• Rebellion

  • Rejecting goals and means, adding new goals and means

Critiques of Merton

• Dominant success goal in America

  • People argued that people embrace different goals, not everyone’s dream is the classic American one

• He identifies the four that are deviant, but he dosen’t explain what triggers each behaviour, according to his theory it’s random who conforms and who deviates

• Mutual exclusivity (seems to argue that if 1 of the 5 occurs, you can’t be any of the others)

  • The maximiser is someone who is both an innovator (deviant) but also a conformist (for example, someone who owns a construction company is into the American dream, but are also employing illegal immigrants)

Edwin Sutherland

father of Differential Association

How does differential association vary?

• Frequency

• Duration (how much time are you spending with these people)

• Priority (interactions in early life)

• Intensity (overall importance of the people doing the teaching)

Examples of differential association

• Police corruption

  • Officers who indulge in corrupt behaviour, were typically taught how to do so by other officers or officers they look up to

• Drug dealing

  • Typically taught to young people by older siblings or friends

Critiques of Differential Association Theory

• Didn’t theorize opportunity

• Deviance requires an opportunity 

• If you have no drugs to sell, the theory doesn’t work

What is Master Status?

When your label surpasses all other aspects of you identity (eg. Harvey Weinstein will always be primarily known as an abuser)

• Once master status gets kicked in, you are further marginalized

• Self-fulfilling prophecy

• This can cause people’s social circles to be limited. Eg. sex offenders might only be able to be friends with other sex offenders and patterns continue

• Denied legitimate opportunities, so illegitimate actions often become necessary

Primary Deviance

• Once master status gets kicked in, you are further marginalized

• Self-fulfilling prophecy

• This can cause people’s social circles to be limited. Eg. sex offenders might only be able to be friends with other sex offenders and patterns continue

• Denied legitimate opportunities, so illegitimate actions often become necessary

Secondary Deviance

• Violation of norms in a serious and persistent way

• Stronger reaction from the community and consistent labelling

• Label is internalized (maybe i am a criminal)

• Once the label is internalized, people’s social status starts to change and their life has to rearrange itself in accordance with this label

• Conventional opportunities become limited (maybe you can’t get/hold a job, so you keep selling drugs and delve further into deviance)

Why do we label/stigmatize so aggressively?

• Exploitation and dominance

• If you look at the labelling process, there lies the desire of one group to systematically dominate another group

• To enforce social norms

• Avoidance of disease (historically we would stigmatize people we thought would share disease with the tribes, and we retained the need to label)

• Primates do this too

Kitsuse’s “Tertiary deviance”

• If you were part of a stigmatized group, and you decided to push back on the label

• Implies organized response (not at the individual level)

Goffman

• Biographic and symbolic information control

• Biographic: you don’t let people know about your label

• Symbolic: visible things, eg. a scar

Critiques of Labelling Theory

• Initial cause of deviance?

• Hard to say that the process of labelling is what causes deviance, it’s very difficult to prove

• Correlation does not equal causation!!!

Labelling Theory Def.

Labelling Theory is a sociological concept that suggests that the labels or definitions applied to individuals can influence their self-identity and behavior, labels are in

Conflict Theory

• Norms, values and consensus?

• Institutions, norms and values, and the powerful

• The idea that the norms are set by those with power to protect their interests

• Resistance is criminalized and controlled

Marxist Conflict Theory

• Bourgeoise vs proletariat

• The poor deviate due to alienation and deprivation

• Laws of any capitalist system will represent the values of the bourgeoise and aims to control the lower class

• Wealthy are rarely criminalized

• eg. G20 Summit Toronto, Occupy Wall Street, etc.

Critiques of Marxist Conflict Theory

• Uprisings can just lead to a power shift, and nothing gets solved

• There are some laws that protest collective interests (eg. charter of rights and freedoms)

• A lot of crime is poor victimizing the poor

• Origins of crime aren't entirely economic

  • Can be emotional/psychological

  • Can be because of racism and discrimination

Why is conflict theory subjectivist?

What’s deviant is what the powerful consider deviant

Neuturalization

• Objectivist and micro

• Drifting in and out of deviance, guilt, and 5 neutralizatons

• People neutralize their guilt

• Sutherland alternatively suggests that once people are in, they’re in

• What about people who don’t feel guilt and don’t need to neutralize?

• Neutralization vs. rationalization (is this happening before or after the crime?)

Hirshi’s Control/Bond Theory

Hirschi’s Control/Bond Theory

social bonds influence an individual's behavior and propensity to commit deviance. The theory identifies four elements of social bonds:

1. Attachment: Emotional ties to others, such as family and friends.

2. Commitment: Investment in conventional activities and goals.

3. Involvement: Participation in prosocial activities that occupy time.

4. Belief: Acceptance of social norms and values.

Stronger bonds reduce the likelihood of deviant behavior, as individuals feel more connected to societal expectations.

Hirshi Critiques

• Critique: are people disposed to serious crimes like rape or murder?

• Are the weak controls and bonds before or after the crime

What is Argot?

• Group identity slang

• Allows certain dynamics to happen with subcultures

• Language used to identify status differences to the outside, as well as with each other

Cohen’s theory of subcultures + the 4 characteristics

1. Status Frustration: Individuals feel deprived of status in mainstream society.

2. Collective Solutions: They form groups to address their frustrations collectively.

3. Alternative Values: Subcultures develop their own values and norms that contrast with mainstream society.

4. Delinquent Behavior: Members often engage in behaviors that are considered deviant or delinquent as a form of rebellion.

These characteristics help explain the emergence of youth subcultures.