Deviance And Social Stratification

Through these essays, we would be able to understand with evidence and examples the concepts of a deviance and social stratification. In addition, how these concepts apply to the race of social construction in addressing racism at the institutional and individual levels.

First, deviance, for example, is when you take another path that is not the usual. However, for a sociologist, the word deviance is defined as a standard violated by behavior or belief, which leave a negative reaction. (Ferris and Stein 2016) They are three foundations of deviance.

The theory of social functionalism by Durkheim shows us the first foundation of deviance that is when deviance exists only in relation to the rules of behavior. The theorist Durkheim reviews the

result of clarifying the moral boundaries, promote social cohesion (solitary) and promote social change that is the reaction to the deviance. (Ferris and Stein 2016). For example, when deciding for oneself without a legal action we will base on our beliefs and our moral limits. In other words, in applying that decision would judge by society because for some it is not a legal so is a bad decision and them society will not agree with it, but for others in the society, it will see as a good decision. This small disagreement between the thoughts of others regarding our decision will lead us to promote social cohesion where there will be different groups united to support or disappear our decision. However, we must bear in mind that social cohesion does not exist if there is a high disagreement. One of the most common social cohesion problems is social discrimination. In addition, the result of the social cohesion will promote social change, this is because every social group will need to agree with the final decision.
The second foundation is when people became deviance as others define them that way, this foundation is all above socialization. We would use the symbolic interactionism to explain this foundation. The Edwin Sutherland’s hypothesis of differential association teaches us how we can be deviant when we relate with people that are deviant. (Ferris and Stein 2016) For example, this work as the saying, “tell me who your friends are and I'll tell you who you are.” This means that I peer with deviant all the time I become deviant too only because I will adapt the deviant thinking. Sutherland thinks that the good or bad of them will become my thinking too, even though in the past my thinking was different. According to Ferris and Stein, the labeling theory is a “Howard Becker’s idea that deviance is a consequence of external judgments, or label, that modify the individual’s self- concept and change the way others respond to the labeled person.” (Ferris and Stein 2016:156). For example, you were in a robbery scene and you are accused unjustly as guilty at that time you already have the thievery label of deviant which makes others classify you in that way which would create that you also classify yourself the same way. This theory is very similar to the theory of The Looking Glass Self when the society plays a big role in your personality and how you classify yourself.
Finally, the last foundation of deviance is both the norms and the definition of the situation involves social power and conflict theory. Karl Marx believes that the norms reflect the interest of the rich and powerful. For example, the ideology concept is when the system of believing and social values reproduces the status of the rich and powerful people. (Ferris and Stein 2016) Also, the rich and powerful can resist the label of deviant and, how we use the hegemony for our own benefit.
The Social Stratification is how the society is divided into different groups according to they arranged in the social hierarchy and, this concept has a four basic principle: a normal for a general public, instead of an impression of individual contracts, social stratification hold on over era, while all social orders stratify their individual’s distinctive social orders utilize diverse criteria for positioning them and Social stratification is kept up through convictions that are generally shared by individual from society. (Ferris and Stein 2016) In addition, social stratification has three systems that are slavery, caste, and social class. The dimension of stratification is wealth, property, power and prestige. The slavery is the acutest system, the caste system is determined by one’s family history and this cannot change and social class is divided into middle class, the working class, and the lower class.
The theorists Karl Marx, Max Weber, Davis and Moore’s have a different point of view for social stratification.

Marx view the social classes are exceptionally stratified and keep on growing further separated. For example, when you work hard but the only benefit is the rich and powerful and when your talent is ignored because of your economic position. Weber believed that wealth, power, and prestige interrelated; however, one can likewise be changed over into another. For example, when a person wins the lottery and goes from being poor to rich is when we can visualize the Weber believe. However, Davis and Moore’s believe that social stratification is fundamental for the society work. Even though the theorists have different points of view for social stratification all their belief can be connected in our

society.
The concepts races and ethnicity are words that we use in our daily living however its definition in the sociological point of view distinguishes itself to what we think is its meaning.

Sociologically the concept race is known as a group of people who share the same physical characteristics that are genetically inherited. For example, the Asian race is usually distinguished by its small, narrow eyes. In addition, the concept ethnicity is the group of people who practice the same culture, for example, same language or religion. (Ferris and Stein 2016) Which means that in a country there may be different race and ethnicity. However, in the same race, there may be different ethnicity and vice versa which leads to create or experience racism. Racism is sociologically known when one group of race or ethnicity believes itself superior to another. (Ferris and Stein 2016) There are two concepts related to racism that is prejudice and discrimination. However, we focus on the concept of

discrimination.
Discrimination is an act that treats an individual with injustice or inequality because of his race or ethnicity and which is divided into two concepts: institutional discrimination that is committed by institutions such as government or school and individual discrimination which is committed individually by one person to another. (Ferris and Stein 2016) To better understand we nowadays face institutional racism o discrimination for example, when a single black mother goes to get food stamps for her children and was treated rudely and I put that example because I lived it recently the Institution which is the government treated her bad by another woman, the level of deviation that the black woman received was that the woman that was serving her had no tolerance towards the poor, which is one of the levels of social stratification. In addition, we see the individual racism or discrimination, when for example, an individual is speaking Spanish in front of Anglo-Saxon people and they get mad because he was speaking in another language that they cannot understand. The deviance conduct that the group has towards the individual are no tolerance, irritation, and aggressiveness for Hispanic people. The Spanish people were a high-class family and no matter the social strata they received individual racism.
In conclusion, through this essay, we learn with evidence the concept of deviance and social stratification. Also, visualize how the institutional racism and individual racism support the definition of deviance and social stratification.