Theories on Deviance and Suicide

  • What is Theory?
    • A system of generalized statements or propositions about phenomena
    • Scientific theories
    • Explain and predict the phenomena in question
    • Produce testable, and thus falsifiable hypotheses.
  • What Shapes our theories?
    • Connection between biography and sociology…
    • Charlotte Perkins-Gilman’s absent father
    • Max Weber’s authoritarian father
    • What is the first time you remember feeling that you were bad or different?
    • Did this feeling change your identity?
  • The New Industrial Order(1848-1920)
    • Sociology as a response
    • A way of interpreting and changing the world
  • Karl Marx (1818-1883)
    • Key Concepts
    • Class
    • Bourgeoisie
    • Proletariat
    • Surplus value
      • difference between the amount raised through a sale of a product and the amount it cost to the owner of that product to manufacture it
    • Alienation
    • Exploitation
    • Class consciousness
      • set of beliefs that a person holds regarding their social class or economic rank in society, the structure of their class, and their class interests
    • History of society that exists today
  • Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)
    • Key Concepts
    • Division of labor
    • Mechanical solidarity
      • social integration of members of a society who have common values and beliefs
    • Organic Solidarity
      • social cohesion based upon the interdependence that arises between people from the specialization of work and complementarianism as result of more advanced (i.e., modern and industrial) societies.
    • Social Facts
    • Anomie
    • Suicide
      • Durkheim found that while the act of committing suicide is an individual act, it is directly connected to the group and social life of the individual.
      • Essence of sociology
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  • Deviance and Social Control
    • Social cohesion refers to the way people form social bonds, relate to each other, and get along on a day-to-day basis.
    • Durkheim theorizes that social cohesion is established in one of two ways:
      • Mechanical solidarity—based on the sameness of society’s parts or members
      • Organic solidarity—based on the interdependence of specialized parts or members
    • Informal social sanctions
      • unspoken rules and expectations about the behavior of individuals
      • help maintain a base level of order and cohesion in society and form a foundation for formal social control.
    • Formal social sanctions
      • rules or laws prohibiting deviant criminal behavior
      • Examples of formal social control include laws and the authority of police officers.
    • Without seeing what is deviant behavior, we have a hard time classifying what is normal
  • Normative Theory of Suicide
    • How social forces beyond the individual shaped suicide rates (an act of deviance)
    • According to Durkheim, suicide is, at its root, an instance of social deviance.
    • Social integration is how well you are integrated into your social group or community
    • Social regulation refers to how many rules guide your daily life.
    • Patterns in suicide
    • Altruistic
      • when social group involvement is too high
      • individuals are so well integrated into the group that they are willing to sacrifice their own life in order to fulfil some obligation for the group.
    • Egoistic
      • stemming from the absence of social integration
      • committed by individuals who are social outcast and see themselves as being alone or an outsider.
      • individuals are unable to find their own place in society and have problems adjusting to groups.
    • Fatalistic
      • occurs when individuals are kept under tight regulation
      • these individuals are placed under extreme rules or high expectations are set upon them
      • removes a person's sense of self or individuality
    • Anomic
      • caused by the lack of social regulation and it occurs during high levels of stress and frustration
      • Example: when individuals suffer extreme financial loss, the disappointment and stress that individuals face may drive them towards committing suicide as a means of escape.
  • Findings about Suicide
    • Integration
    • A person with high levels of integration feels accepted and loved by the group and will have a low chance of committing suicide
    • A person with low levels of integration feels unwanted, excluded or rejected by the group and will have a high chance of committing suicide.
    • Religion
    • A person without a religious affiliation has a higher suicide rate than those who are active within a religion.
    • Protestants actually have a higher suicide rate than Catholics and Jews, according to Durkheim's study on suicide.
    • Marriage
    • Unmarried people have a higher suicide rate than married individuals.
    • Military
    • Soldiers have a higher rate of suicide than civilians.
    • Times of peace and war
    • There is a higher rate of suicide in times of peace than there is in times of conflict or war.
    • Economy
    • There is a higher rate of suicide in times of economic instability and recession than in times of prosperity
    • Wealth
    • Wealthy individuals have a higher rate of suicide than modest or poorer individuals
    • Gender
    • Males have a higher rate than females
    • Race
    • Whites have a higher rate of suicide than African Americans and any other group combined.