Download Sociology 304 Absolute vs. Relative views of Deviance A) Absolute

Sociology 304
Absolute vs. Relative views of Deviance
A) Absolute – based on objective study of the social world (science)
1. Deviance is socially real, and can be distinguished from non-deviant acts objectively
Deviance is not an opinion or based on the social context. Deviance really occurs, and it can be
distinguished from non-deviant actions. Cultural variation in norms does not matter.
2. Deviance can be measured and categorized, with acts compared to each other
Although deviance is socially real, not all deviant acts are the same. We can create scales to
measure acts of deviance (from “hardly deviant” to “extremely deviant”, for example.)
3. Deviance is caused by social forces and so can be minimized or cured by social manipulation.
People do not “choose” to become deviant out of thin air, but are guided to such a decision by
forces in the social arena (poverty, peer-pressure, cultural norms, etc). Thus, deviance is said to
be a type of “social sickness” that can be minimized or possibly even cured by manipulation of
the social arena (laws, programs, etc).
B) Relative – based on social construction of reality
1. Deviance is a label created by society to differentiate between acceptable/non-acceptable acts
Deviance is based on the idea of Definition of the Situation ("If men define situations as real,
they are real in their consequences." – W. I. Thomas.) An act is deviant only because society
defines it in that particular social context as deviant – outside of that social frame, the act may
be not only non-deviant, but necessary.
2. Deviance can’t be measured as it is relative to the social context; only accounting matters
As acts are deviant only in their particular contexts, there is no way to measure an act on some
type of “deviance scale,” or even compare one act to another. To a sociologist who accepts this
idea as true, the only real item of interest is why a particular person committed that particular act
at that particular time. We call this accounting for behavior.
3. Deviance is chosen, although acts have various levels of influence from the social world
Sociologists that take this perspective usually say that while there is certainly influence from the exterior
world on a person that might suggest a deviant act or lifestyle is appropriate, in the end, the deviant act is
chosen by the person out of a range of many possible acts. Therefore, there is no way to create a
“universal vaccine” against deviance, since each context of influence is different.