Deviance In Sociology

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The effects of Situational Factors in Deviant classification.

Sociology defines deviance as a behavior that violates norms set by a society, the violation of which leads to social disapproval. Social deviance can range in severity from acts such as murder and incest to simple body modifications like tattoos, and even the smallest departure from the norm can be seen as deviance. Social deviance is also relative to the community in which it is seen, for example one society might consider driving on the right side of the road normal while it could be seen as deviant for others. So as a way to explore the topic of minor deviant behaviors, and public reaction to those behaviors, this paper will discuss the results of social experiments involving …show more content…

Labeling theory basically revolves around one singe idea which is that a behavior is only really considered to be deviant when society labels it as deviant. In an article written about label theory, Labeling Theory in Deviance Research, Nanette J. Davis discusses how in labeling theory “deviance is a property conferred on acts by selected audiences” (Davis, 1972) meaning that it is the audience holds control as to what is known as deviant. David goes forward to discuss how “Audience reactions, definitions, categorizations, stigmatizations, and exclusionary strategies, are procedures that label a behavior as deviant” (Davis, 1972). These are all factors that can help label a behavior as deviant. Overall in the remainder of the article Davis discusses different cases in which the labeling theory has labeled certain behaviors deviant. This theory ties back into my experiment in the way that I will be performing a behavior that is not considered to be very normal, if the labeling theory is correct the audience will choose to label me as something, could be a student, a tired worker, a homeless man, etc. This label will the be the basis of how they respond to my action and whether or not they consider my behavior to be deviant. An example of this labeling theory could be seen if we imagine two men sleeping on a bench on a park, all other factors like time, place, audience are the same only difference is that one of the men is a business professional while the other is a homeless man. Because of that the labeling theory predict the homeless man is more likely to be negatively labeled as being deviant just because of the stigma that exist against the homeless and not the business

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