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3 theories of deviance and their application
Deviance theory quizlet
Two theoretical approaches as applied to deviance
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A. Deviance is the sociological concept of behavior which violates the standards of conduct or expectations of a group or society. Functionalists explain deviance as a common part of human existence, interactionist look at everyday behavior to explain deviance, and conflict theorists argue that people with power define deviance. According to functionalists, deviance can lead to social stability by defining the limits of proper behavior through both positive and negative consequences. Approved behavior is learned through punishment or consequences; a failing grade for a student who plagiarizes a paper, or an individual being arrested for committing a crime. Sociologist Emile Durkheim introduced the term anomie, a loss of direction felt in a …show more content…
Sociologist Edwin Sutherland first advanced the idea that an individual undergoes the same basic socialization process in learning conforming and deviant acts (Schaefer 2015). Through cultural transmission, criminal or deviant behavior is learned by interacting with others. This learned behavior also includes motives and rationale for explaining the deviant acts. Sutherland used the term differential association to describe the process through which an individual develops an attitude of favorability to deviant acts that leads to violations of rules, through interactions with social groups. These acts can also include noncriminal deviant acts, such as …show more content…
I was married in 2004 and became a father for the first time in 2006, these two new roles also assigned me the roles of husband and father, but also added the role of provider for my family. I grew up in a tree stand hunting with my parents however, it wasn’t until I had my first successful hunt that I achieved the role of hunter, which in turn added to my abilities to fill the role of provider for my family. After successfully completing boot camp in 1999, I became a Coast Guardsman. This new role caused the greatest amount of role conflict in my life. The expectations of my friends who wanted me to be the same person that they went to school with and partied with, directly conflicted with the new standards of conduct that I was expected to follow as a member of the military. These incompatible expectations led to the weeding out of those friends who could not accept my role as a Coast
Differential association theory was founded by Edwin H. Sutherland (Lilly, 2012, p. 43). This theory states that “any person will inevitably come into contact with definitions favorable to violation of the law and with definitions unfavorable to violation of the law” (Lilly, 2012, p. 44). Whichever definition is more prominent in a person’s mind, will lead to their decision of “whether the person embraces crime as an acceptable way of life” (Lilly, 2012, p. 44). Sutherland composed nine propositions that explained the theory. He explained that “crime is learned through the process of differential association” (Lilly, 2012, p. 45). The nine propositions explained that “criminal behavior is learned” (Lilly, 2012, p. 45). He explained that by communicating with others, especially those that are close to them they are more likely to pick up behaviors from those people. Differential association theory also explains that learning criminal behaviors “involves all the mechanisms that are involved in any other learning” (Lilly, 2012, p. 45). While learning a criminal behavior one not only learns “the techniques of committing the crime” but also the “specific direction of motives, drives, rationalizations, and attitudes” involved with crime (Lilly, 2012, p. 45). This is theory is shown throughout the book when the young Mr. Moore was influenced by the life of crime that was present in his
Deviance is described as “the recognized violation of cultural norms”(Macionis 238). While deviance can include crime, it is not always such. Deviance can mean trying to sneak into a hospital room, desperately searching for someone like the character of Benny in the movie Benny and Joon. Or it could be preforming on the streets for people to watch. Deviance isn’t always a criminal act. The movie Benny and Joon gave several examples of deviant behavior portrayed by the three main characters, Benny, Joon, and Sam.
Much of society mistakenly interchanges the two concepts of crime and deviance, assuming that they are one in the same. "A crime is what the law proclaims it to be, and is an act punishable by law" (Winterdyk 9). Deviance, on the other hand, is a contested concept; it can be defined as differing from a norm or accepted standard of society (dictionary.com). Deviance involves acts that fluctuate from social norms; although such actions can be, they are not necessarily against the law (Winterdyk 9).
Social deviancy is the violation of social norms. A deviant is someone who rejects folkways and mores. Any action that violates the values or rules of a social group is deviant behavior. In order to actually be characterized as a deviant, the individual must be detected committing a deviant act and be stigmatized by society. A stigma is a mark of social disgrace, setting the deviant apart from the group. Criminality is healthy for society. Deviance affirms our cultural values and norms. Responding to deviance clarifies moral boundaries and brings people together. There will always be people who break society’s rules and that’s important.
Emile Durkheim (1901) argued that although definitions of what constitutes deviance vary by place, it is present in all societies. He defined deviance as acts that offend collective norms and expectations. Durkheim believed that what makes an act or appearance deviant is not so much its character or consequences, but that a group has defined it as dangerous or threatening to its well-being (Ferrante, 134).
Societies are founded on various social norms. Norms can best be defined as a set of acceptable attitudes and practices by a given society. These norms however are found to vary from one society or cultural setting o the other. Deviance on the other hand is simply when one does something that goes against the set societal norms. Deviance is gauged on a scale of attitudes and behavior contradicting to acceptable social standards (Samuels, 2012).
Deviance is the term that s used for the type of behavior that does not comply or rather, goes against the norms of the society. Crime is an evident example of deviance and this has been used in a great way in this film. The film revolves around Derek who chooses to leave the path of deviance
Researchers questioned how and why certain people became defined as criminal or deviant. Many theorists viewed criminals not as evil persons who engaged in wrong acts but as individuals who had a criminal status placed upon them by both the criminal justice system and the community at large. From this point of view, criminal actions themselves are not significant; it is the social reaction to them that are (Bernard, Snipes, and Gerould, 2010). This point of view is called Symbolic Interactionism. Developed by George Herbert Mead, Charles Cooley, and Herbert Blumer in the early twentieth century, they claimed that deviance creates a process of social definition which involves the response from others to an individual's behavior; which is key to how an individual views himself. “Vold’s Theoretical Criminology” describes the process of segregation creates "outsiders", who are outcast from society, and then begin to associate with other individuals who have also been cast out. When more and more people begin to think of these individuals as deviants, they respond to them as such; thus the deviant reacts to such a response by continuing to engage in the behavior society now expects from them (Bernard, Snipes, and Gerould, 2010).
As much as we try not to care what others think about us, without noticing it we take into account the way others perceive us. This is referred to as the labeling theory, ”a reaction to those labels over time form the basis of their self-identity” (Conley, 2015:203). By looking at others a certain way, they tend to notice and adapt to the way we perceive them. When someone has been known to steal, they are looked at as a thief. We would be more careful to watch our belongings around the person, “rather safe than sorry” as people say. Many times people get tired of trying to prove themselves to society and decide if they are constantly being treated as a thief then they should steal, either way, that’s what they’ve been labeled as. When that same person gets arrested for stealing a purse a month later, our feelings are being validated and we continuing judging the next
This means that negative deviance either choose to ignore, or do not realize that they are rejecting social norms. An example of negative deviance could be seen in the workplace. Leaving early, being rude, taking excessive long breaks, stealing from the company or coworkers, and lying about hours you have worked are all examples of negative deviance. While society values persons who are honest, and hardworking, some institutions rely on employees that are misleading and dishonest in order to get what they want, to work their way to success. If an employee is around people, or a company who is maybe known for their poor work conduct, poor decision-making, and very high levels of employee anxiety and employee stress, all these could very well make the person act
Deviance is the behavior and the standards of expectations of a group or society. It is also behavior that is considered dangerous, threatening or offensive. The people that are deviant are often labeled to be weirdos, oddballs, or creeps. In the United States, people with tattoos, drug addicts, alcoholics, and compulsive gamblers are all considered deviant. Sociologists believe that everybody is deviant from time to time. They believe each person will violate a social norm in certain situations. People are considered deviant if they don't stand for the national anthem at a sports event, dress casually to a fancy restaurant, or skip classes. One category of deviance is Crime. Crime is a violation of norms that have been formally enacted into a law. Another category of deviance is humorous. Deviance is relative, what is deviant in one group or society may not be deviant in another group or society.
Deviance can be describes as a departure from social norms, it could be beliefs rather than actual behavior, and what is considered deviant can vary throughout societies. Furthermore, evil acts are considered deviant, but deviant acts are not always considered evil. With these facts, my mindset of what deviant behavior was changed, from an association of deviant equaling bad to deviant equaling something abnormal and not necessarily a bad thing. Also, like the paragraph above, my hypothesis about people being born good or evil was further debunked with the slide describing how deviance can vary and things that may cause and effect deviant behavior. Some of these things include circumstances, time, age, and mental health of a person. This statement shows that besides the actual person’s choices, outside forces can help deter or enhance one’s deviant behavior. Also, who the person surrounds themselves with is a catalyst for positive or negative deviance. Ultimately, the notes for this chapter was a great help in me understanding the basic knowledge of deviance and it gave me clearer grasp of what external or internal factors can or cannot affect one’s deviant
What is deviance? What does it mean? What determines a behavior as deviant? Deviance is anything that violates a social norm. For example, when a child burps at the supper table but doesn’t excuse himself. Who we socialize and spend time with will determine what we deem as deviant behavior. There are many types of deviant behaviors, some of these behaviors may not be considered deviant to one culture but to another they are.
Deviant and abnormal behavior is defined as any behavior that goes against the social norms of society. When someone behaves differently than what is expected they may display deviant behavior. There are various ideas on what causes someone to take part in deviant and abnormal behavior, some of which include biological, psychological and sociological explanations ("What is deviant behavior," 2017).
First deviance is learned through communicative interactions with social groups we belong to. Next one learns the techniques, motives, attitudes, and rationalizations to commit a deviant act. In this step one gets a positive mindset on deviant behavior and learns why they should be deviant. The third step a person learns methods favorable to violating the norms rather than learning how to conform to norms. Next the kind of people we associate with determine the intensity and duration of our deviant attitude and behavior. If one commits deviant behavior with best friends it is more likely that they will continue the deviant behavior. Sutherland states, at the very end of his theory, that deviance and conformity are learned in the same way. They both stem from the same needs and