Download Chapter 8, Deviance - Rogers State University

Chapter 7
Deviance
Chapter Outline




Defining Deviance
Sociological Theories of Deviance
Forms of Deviance
Deviance in Global Perspective
Defining Deviance


Behavior that is recognized as
violating expected rules and norms.
Behavior that departs significantly
from social expectations.
Sociological Definition of
Deviance



Stresses social context, not individual
behavior.
Recognizes that not all behaviors are
judged similarly by all groups.
Recognizes that established rules and
norms are socially created.
Sociological Theories of
Deviance
Functionalism
Deviance creates social
cohesion.
Symbolic
Interaction
Deviance is learned
behavior.
Conflict Theory
Dominant classes control
the definition of deviance.
Sociological Theories of
Deviance
Functionalism
Symbolic
Interaction
Conflict Theory
Deviance results from
structural strains in
society.
Deviance results from
social labeling.
Deviance results from
inequality in society.
Sociological Theories of
Deviance
Occurs when
Functionalism
attachment to social
bonds is diminished
Those with the power to
Symbolic
assign deviant labels
Interaction
create deviance.
Elite deviance goes
Conflict Theory
largely unpunished.
Durkheim: Three Types of
Suicide
1.
2.
3.
Anomic - disintegrating forces in society
make an individual feel lost and alone.
Altruistic - for the sake of a higher
cause.
Egoistic - occurs when people feel
totally detached from society.
Suicide Rates
Suicide Rates by State
Merton’s Structural Strain
Theory



Traces the origins of deviance to the tensions
caused by the gap between cultural goals and
the means people have to achieve these goals.
Culture establishes goals for people; social
structures provide, or fail to provide, the means
for people to achieve those goals.
Imbalance between cultural goals and
structurally available means can compel
individuals into deviant behavior.
Merton’s Structural Strain
Theory
Yes
Institutionalized
means toward
goal available?
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
Cultural goals
accepted?
Conformity
Innovative
deviance
Ritualistic
deviance
Merton’s Structural Strain
Theory
Retreatism
deviance
Rebellion
Cultural goals
accepted?
Institutionalized
means toward
goal available?
No
No
No (old goals)
No (old means)
Yes (new goals) Yes (new means)
Social Control Theory:
Hirschi




Travis Hirschi developed social control theory to
explain the occurrence of deviance.
According to social control theory, deviance
occurs when a person’s (or group’s) attachment
to social bonds is weakened.
Most of the time people internalize social norms
because of their attachments to others.
When that bond is broken, deviance occurs.
Symbolic Interaction
Theories of Deviance
Differential Association
 Deviant behavior is learned through
interaction with others.
 People pass on deviant expectations
through their social groups and
networks.
Symbolic Interaction
Theories of Deviance
Labeling Theory
 Responses of others is most
significant in deviance.
 A person may become deviant
because of a label, even if he/she did
not engage in deviant behavior.
Theories of Deviance: Mental
Illness
Functionalists
By recognizing mental illness,
society upholds values about
conforming behavior.
Symbolic
Interactionist
Mentally ill are victims of societal
reactions to their behavior.
Labeling and
Conflict theory
People with few resources are most
likely to be labeled mentally ill.
Social Stigmas



A stigma is an attribute that is socially
devalued and discredited.
People with stigmas are defined in terms
of their presumed deviance.
In hiding their stigma, they isolate
themselves from communities where they
can find support.
Substance Abuse

Patterns of use vary by many factors such as
age, gender, and race:
 People under age 25 are more likely to use
marijuana and cocaine and binge drink.
 Men are more likely than women to be
problem drinkers and drug abusers.
 African Americans and Hispanics are less
likely to drink than Whites and are far less
likely to be binge drinkers.
Cigarette Smoking by Adults
Use of Selected Substances
by High School Seniors
Polling Question

Did you ever use marijuana during your
senior year in high school?
A. Yes
B. No
Drug and Alcohol Use (18-25
Years)
Polling Question

A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
I believe that underage drinking is an
important social problem in our society.
Strongly agree
Agree somewhat
Unsure
Disagree somewhat
Strongly disagree
Deviance in Global
Perspective: Terrorism



Motivated by political conflicts, often involving
ethnic and religious conflict, terrorism has
caused some of the world’s most violent
incidents.
These expressions of extremist political beliefs
stem from the many international conflicts of our
current world events.
Sociologists look to the social structural
conflicts from which terrorism emerges as the
cause of such criminal and deviant behavior.
Deviance in Global
Perspective: Technology



Technological developments that ease
communication for legitimate business activities
also enable illegitimate activities to thrive.
Money acquired through illegal activity in one
country can easily be transferred to another
country.
Transportation systems critical to the
international exchange of illegal goods—drugs,
weapons, or sexual services— link places that
were once distant and inaccessible.
Deviance in Global
Perspective: Drugs



Some nations, including the United States,
Australia, and parts of western Europe, are vast
markets for the consumption of illegal drugs.
Other nations, such as Colombia, are known as
major drug producers.
Still others, such as China, Brazil, and Mexico,
play a role as conduits for drug traffic and
production.
The Global Fix
Quick Quiz
1. The sociological definition of deviance
stresses:
a. the individual who is deviant
b. the behavior defined as deviant
c. the social context in which deviance
occurs
d. the personality types related to
deviance
Answer: c

The sociological definition of deviance
stresses the social context in which
deviance occurs.
2. Emile Durkheim argued that:
a. deviance is learned through social
interaction
b. deviance is functional to society because it
produces solidarity
c. those with the most power in society define
who is deviant
d. individual factors cause deviant behavior
Answer: b

Emile Durkheim argued that deviance is
functional to society because it
produces solidarity.
3. Functionalist theorists argue that
deviance:
a. results from inequality in society
b. is a learned behavior
c. is reinforced through group
membership
d. creates social cohesion
Answer: d

Functionalist theorists argue that
deviance creates social cohesion.
4. Which of the following statements about social
control theory is true?
a. society often fails to provide legitimate
means to accomplish cultural goals
b. people become criminals when they are
more strongly socialized to break the law
c. the economic organization of capitalist
societies produces deviance
d. most of the time people internalize social
norms because of their attachments to
others
Answer: d

The statement that most of the time
people internalize social norms
because of their attachments to others
is true.
5. Labeling theory interprets the responses
of others as the most significant factor in
understanding how deviant behavior is
both created and sustained
a. True
b. False
Answer: True

Labeling theory interprets the responses
of others as the most significant factor in
understanding how deviant behavior is
both created and sustained.