Download Deviance

Do Now:
• Deviance is often very mild – recall some
instance in which you broke a social rule and
answer the following questions:
– What was the reaction?
– Why do you think people reacted this way?
– What was your response to their reaction?
Deviance
In what ways is deviance all relative?
How do norms make Life Possible?
• Norms make social life possible by making
behavior predictable
• Without norms – we would have social chaos
How do norms make Life Possible?
• Norms create:
• Social Order: a group’s usual and customary
social arrangements, on which its members
depend and on which they base their lives
How do norms make Life Possible?
• And:
• Social Control: a group’s formal and informal
means of enforcing its norms
What is Deviance
• Deviance is any violation of norms – whether
minor or major.
• It is not the act itself – but the reaction to the
act that makes it deviant.
What is Deviance
• Relativity of Deviance:
– What is deviant to some is not deviant to others.
– This happens both within and across cultures.
What is Deviance
• Deviance is non-judgmental – any act people
respond to negatively is deviance
• Sociologists do not pass judgment or indicate
whether or not they agree with the act.
What causes Deviance?
• There are 3 competing explanations for what
causes deviance
– Sociobiology
– Psychology
– Sociology
Sociobiology
• Belief that deviance comes from within
• People have a genetic predisposition
• The genetic predisposition can be rooted in:
– Intelligence (low intelligence)
– XYY (only found in men)
– Body Type (“squarish muscular” body type)
Sociobiology
• However:
– Criminal have both high and low intelligence levels
– Most men who commit crimes have the normal XY
– and most men that do have the extra Y
chromosome are not criminals.
– Criminals come in all shapes and sizes
Psychology
• Belief that deviance comes from within
• Subconscious motives drive people to
deviance.
Psychology
• However,
– There are no specific childhood experiences that
are linked with deviance
– Deviance is not associated with any particular
personality (anger etc. )
Sociology
• Belief that deviance comes from external
factors
• These factors include:
– Socialization
– Subcultures
– Social Class
Deviance
In what ways is deviance all relative?