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Deviance and society
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Deviance and Social Control What is considered as deviant or legal have been always manipulated by the human being. Societies have a key factor on defining what is right and what is wrong, and depending on how we can interpret this, we will consider as right or wrong the decision or acts that we make. Society is very complex, and trying to define what deviance is and what is not we need to take in consideration the social environment that we are studying. There are two types of deviance, 1) Statistical Deviance based on numbers and factual rules that people break and 2) Social Deviance, which is based on the social norms that people break. As well, there are two definitions on what we should do and what we do not. Rules are the boundaries between what is considered wrong and what not, setting a limit by written laws and rules, and where official representatives of power make it accomplish. On the other hand, the Norms are unwritten rules based on our behavior and given by the environment in which we are; it is first taught by the parents and family which surrounds the person. Based on the …show more content…
Even if it is not revealed as it should be, White Collar Crimes are more common that people think. The fact that they do not do report it is because many political and economical interests are invested on those kinds of “businesses”. One of the differences between White Collar Crimes and regular crimes is that there are not punishments for this kind of crimes. Even though a White Collar criminal and a thief have the same goal: To steal people’s money. People are committing the same act, but because depending on who they are and how you look like they will have less and even any type if punishment because it is usual that people with “high economical standards”. All of the definition of deviant or not is influenced again on social power both social and
In society norms are referred to as a set accepted behavior behaviors or manners for particular roles and the social status there in. Deviance hence refers to complete violation violation of the accepted rules set within the society on behavior that go against the norms whereas crime is the practice of behavior that contracts the set written or accepted rules and are punishable by law.
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).
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).
Deviant behavior is sociologically defined as, when someone departs from the “norms”. Most of the time when someone says deviance they think against the law or acting out in a negative behavior. To sociologists it can be both positive and negative. While most crimes are deviant, they are not always. Norms can be classified into two categories, mores and folkways. Mores are informal rules that are not written; when mores are broken, they can have serious punishments and sanctions. Folkways are informal rules that are just expected to be followed, but have no real repercussions.
White collar crime is a term created by Edwin Sutherland in 1939 that refers to crimes committed by people of higher social status, companies, and the government according to the book “White-Collar Crime in a Nutshell” by Ellen Podgor and Jerold Israel. White collar crimes are usually non-violent crimes committed in order to have a financial-gain (Podgor and Israel 3). A very well known white collar crime that has even been taught in many history classes is the Watergate scandal. This is a white collar crime that was committed by government authorities. Watergate was a crime that shocked the nation.
White-collar crime is the financially motivated illegal acts that are committed by the middle and upper class through their legitimate business or government activities. This form of crime was first coined by Edwin Sutherland in 1939 as “a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation.” (Linden, 2016). Crime has often been associated with the lower class due to economic reasons. However, Sutherland stressed that the Criminal Justice System needed to acknowledge illegal business activity as crime due to the repercussions they caused and the damage they can cause to society (Linden, 2016). Crime was prevalently thought to only be
White collar and corporate crimes are crimes that many people do not associate with criminal activity. Yet the cost to the country due to corporate and white collar crime far exceeds that of “street” crime and benefit fraud. White collar and corporate crimes refer to crimes that take place within a business or institution and include everything from Tax fraud to health and safety breaches.
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.
There are many cases of deviance answering a person’s identity. Deviance in the broadest sense is a socially disapproved behavior in which violates the perceived agreed on norm within a community or the society at large. Robbing a bank, staring at a stranger intently, setting off a bomb where hundreds of people are, and talking to oneself in public are all considered to be acts of deviance. Though deviant acts can be a violation of a simple norm- like going over the speed limit- sociologists focus on deviant acts that are assaults on mores, the most serious of society’s norms (Newman, 212).
Every society has its conventional norms that everyone is required to adhere to all the time. Violation of the dominant norms is usually met with harsh punishments since the society consider violation of societal norms as deviance. Deviance, according to Thio, Taylor and Schwartz (2012), is any behavior that violates the society's dominant norms. Conversely, in sociology, the term deviance is used to refer to the violation of the societal social norms. According to Henslin et al. (2013), deviant behaviors vary in magnitude and can be as small as violating traffic rules to murder. Normally, what is considered deviant behavior varies from one society to another. For instance, whereas some societies consider possession or use of marijuana as a deviant behavior, such as Canada, some societies, such as Jamaica does not consider marijuana possession or use as a deviant behavior. In Canada, section 4.3 of the criminal code considers possession or use of marijuana a crime, thus a deviant behavior. This implies that possession or use of marijuana violates the Canadian social norms. Although sociologists agree as to the definition of deviance, Henslin et al. (2013) noted that there has been a strong disagreement as to why people engage in deviant behaviors. The persistent disagreements have resulted in the emergence of different theories of deviance that attempts to explain how deviance operates in society. The theories include structural strain theory, labeling theory, social control theory, differential association theory and deterrence theory. However, as much as the perspectives of all the theories can be relied on, differential association theory appears to be a theory that best explains how deviance operat...
Then there was Marco Polo. By traveling around the world, serving the Mongol Emperor, Kublai Khan, to being kidnapped, and stuck in a Genoese prison, Marco Polo has been able to create a significant effect on the historical timeline. At the mere age of seventeen, Marco Polo, his father, and his uncle traveled from Venice, Italy to the Court of the Mongol. They traveled to fulfill the Emperor’s request of holy water, oil, friars, and priests. Once they had arrived, Marco Polo had impressed Emperor Kublai Khan through his excellent merchant abilities. This lead to Khan employing Polo as a special envoy. A job that had him travel into the deep, unexplored depths of Asia where he gained great knowledge about Asian cultures, ethnics, and ideas.
White collar crime is viewed as non-violent and treated differently than other types of crimes; some that are even violent in nature. In general, personal and public perception can vary from one individual to another. “A recent survey conducted by the National White Collar Crime Center (NWCCC) confirm that the public considers certain white collar crimes as more serious than some street crimes, according to Drs. Marilyn Price and Donna Norris” (Perri, J.D., CFE, CPA, 2011, p. 23). Even though white collar crimes do not seem a violent as someone that commits murder; there is still major damage done. For example, a fraud victim goes through a lot of hardship. They can be harassed, have their identity stolen and lose everything. This in many cases can be looked at as a severe crime. Valuables taken during a burglary can be replaced easily, but someone’s identity and livelihood cannot be given back. Most white...
Deviance is defined as actions or behaviors that violate socials norms. In turn the concept of deviance is dependent on the social observation and perception. “By it’s very nature, the constructionism through which people define and interpret actions or appearances is always “social.” ”(Henry, 2009 , p. 6) One’s perception of a situation may be completely different from another depending on cultural and social factors. The way someone talks, walks, dresses, and holds themselves are all factors that attribute to how someone perceives another. In some cases what is socially or normally acceptable to one person is deviant in another’s eyes. For this reason there is a lot of gray area involving the topic of deviance because actions and behaviors are so diversely interpreted.
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.
As we all have observed, throughout history each culture or society has unique norms that are acceptable to that group of people. Therefore, to establish and come to the acceptance of these basic norms, each society must develop its’ own strategies and techniques to encourage the fundamentals of behavior, which is clear in our modern society. Most do assume that everyone in a society will follow and respect such norms. However, some tend to deviate from the adequate norms and demonstrate deviant behavior. Nevertheless, we are inclined to ask ourselves, why do people decide to violate such important standards of living?