Ch 7 - Deviance and Social Control

• Deviance: refers to any violation of norms, rules, or expectations, whether the interaction is as minor as driving over the speed limit, as serious as murder

→ Howard S. Becker: not the act itself, but the reactions to the act, that make something deviant

→ Deviance is subjective, as different groups have a different understanding of what is deviant

→ Also applies to a specific form of deviance: crime

• Deviance non: any act to which people respond negatively

→ sociologists believe that we are all deviants in some sort, as we all violate norms. Without norms, we would have social chaos

• Norms lay out basic guidelines for how we should interact with others

• Social order: a group’s customary social arrangements

• Social control: which is a formal and informal means of enforcing norms

Explanations of Deviance:

1. Biological Explanations: assumed that genetic predispositions lead people to such behaviours as juvenile delinquency and crime

• Universally acknowledged is that in all known societies men commit more violent crimes than women do
• Women who were more empathetic engaged in less dangerous behaviour
• Men engage in violent behaviours due to their lack of empathy
• Biosocial theorists stress that genes alone are not cause for deviant behaviour

1. Psychological Explanations:

• Psychologists believe that deviating individuals have deviating personalities and that subconscious motives drive people to deviance

→ instead of genes, they examine personality disorders

• It has been found that no specific childhood experience has led to deviance
• Deviance is not linked with any particular personality

1. Sociological Experiments:

• Sociologists look for factors outside the individual, they look for social influences that recruit people to break norms

→ They examine external influences as socialisation, membership in subcultures, and social class

→ Every society has boundaries that divide what is considered socially acceptable from what is not acceptable

Differential Association Theory:

• Differential Association: from the different groups we associate with, we learn to deviate from or conform to society’s norm

→ Edwin Sutherland

\n Control Theory;

• The control theory is one which emphasised the idea that two control systems (inner and outer controls) work against our tendencies to deviate

→ developed by Walter Reckless (sociologist)

Our inner controls include our internalised morality-conscience, religious principles, ideas of right and wrong

→ also controls fears of punishment, feelings of integrity, and the desire to be a “good” person

Our outer controls consists of people (family & friends) who influence us not to deviate

Labelling Theory:

• The view that the labels people are given affect their own and others’ perception of them, thus channelling their behaviour into either deviance or conformity

→ Emile Durkheim stated that deviance, including crime, is functional for society, as it contributes to social order:

• Deviance clarifies moral boundaries and affirms norms
• Deviance encourages social unity
• Deviance promotes social change

How do mainstream values produce deviance?

1. Functionalists argue that crime is a natural part of society

• In order for society to produce the most talented people, who compete with each other, society tries to motivate everyone to strive for success

1. Cultural Goals: objectives held out as legitimate or desirable for the members of a society to achieve
2. Strain Theory: a theory developed by Robert Merton to explain how people react when their access to success is blocked

• Strain: refers to the frustrations they feel

→ Identifying with mainstream norms (working hard, pursuing higher education), when they help you reach a certain status, but when they don't help you achieve success, you feel frustrated

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