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Deviance and social control holt sociology
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Deviance refers to any violation of the norms in the different cultures around the world. Many people believe it is a crime to violate some of the norms that people are used to doing. They think it is taboo to do something so different that it would change the way people do things and disrupt the daily routines of regular individuals. In many cultures once you become branded a deviant. It is hard to function in the society that you are living in. It may take many years for norms of people to change, so that you are not considered deviance of the norms anymore. There are many perspectives of deviance that have been used for many years.
First, is the symbolic interactionist perspective of sociology is that we are thinking beings who act according to how we interpret situations (Henslin). In this perspective it looks at how people use symbols to interact with different people. They also look at the people and the situation to see how they define deviance. The top three theories in this perspective looks at the many ways people influenced or taught to be in deviance of norms that others live by. The first is different association theory is that people learn deviance by associating with other people with the same ways of thinking. The second theory is control theory it is that people have two control systems that work against their desire to deviate from the norms. The inner control is your inner voice that you hear that stops you from doing things that are not considered norms by others. The outer control is the people that you are around try to keep you from doing things that would not be norms in their eyes. They are able to influence your actions even though they are not around you at the time. The third is the labeling theory whe...
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...y power it is hard sometimes to even get by with what they have.
With these three perspectives you can see there are many ways that people can seem to be acting or being in deviance. First was that symbols are used to label people in many ways that make them seem in deviance. Second, is there’s many parts to a society that can influence people into or out of deviance situations. Last, the ones in power have an advantage of those without power to make them not be treated equally the same for deviant behavior. Overall, what we might not think of something as deviance may be to another person’s point of view.
Works Cited
Henslin, James M. Essentials of Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach. 10th ed. Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, Pearson, 2013, Print.
SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on Deviance.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2006. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
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.
Henslin, James M.. "The Sociological Perspective." Essentials of sociology: a down-to-earth approach. 8th ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2008. . Print.
Kendall, D., Linden, R., & Murray, J. L. (2008). Sociology in our times: The essentials (4th Cdn
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).
Schaefer, R. T. (2013). Sociology: A Brief Introduction, Tenth Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Brinkerhoff, David B., Rose Weitz, Suzanne T. Ortega. Essentials of Sociology Ninth Edition. Belmont: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2013. Print.
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).
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.
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
Kendall, Diana. 2012. Sociology in Our Times: The Essentials, Edited by M. Kerr. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Now that you are confused about what is deviant and what is not let us redefine the definition. Deviant is a being departing from acceptable
norms are those that are highly important to either most members in a society or
The crime and deviance are both complex to be defined, as they are constantly changing over time and circumstances. If we view carefully, the deviance and crime are two different things. All criminal behaviors are deviant, but not all deviant behaviors are a crime. Criminal behavior could be assumed as a harmful behavior which is not only against the law but also relies upon the quality of injury or social detriment to be caused. For example, the acts such as murder, rape and theft are prohibited as they are harmful to the society in any given context, committing them not only mean break the law but also will cause collective injury or detriment. In the other side, deviant behaviors relate to any act that violates the norm. The quality of the act does not matter here, what matter
(1997) Sociology: Introductory Readings, Revised ed. Cambridge and Malden: Polity Press. Hebding, D.E. and Leonard, G. (1996) Introduction to sociology: A text with readings, 5th ed. McGraw Hill Inc. (worldwide).