Theories of Deviance

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Theories of Deviance
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Deviance

• behavior that violates significant norms in
  society
• Examples
• Talking to yourself in public
• Speeding in a car
• Man wearing Womens clothing
• Attacking another person with a weapon

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Functions of Deviance

• Clarifies norms
• Unifies the group
• Identifies problems
• Diffuses tension
• Provides jobs

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Deviance

• We all deviate, when are we deviant?
• Deviance is normal, but being labeled as a
  deviant is not normal
• The severity of the norm depends on how long it
  takes for other people to classify you as a
  deviant
• Stigma Mark of social disgrace

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Stigma

• Overt or external deformations. Any physical
  disability.
• Deviations in personal traits. drug addicts,
  alcoholics, criminals, mental health
• Tribal Stigma - Race, nation, or religion Jews of
  Nazi Germany.

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Explaining Deviance

• Functionalist
• Structural Strain,
• Interactionist
• Control, Cultural Transmission, Labeling
• Conflict

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Control Theory (Walter Reckless)

• See deviance as a natural occurrence and
  conformity as result of social control
• The less individuals bond, the more likely they
  will deviant

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Control Theory (Travis Hirschi)

• Social Bond Theory
• Attachment
• Belief
• Commitment
• Involvement

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Structural Strain Theory

• (Robert Merton)
• Not everyone in society can meet expectations of
  changing status and roles Anomie norms of
  society are unclear or obsolete

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Structural Strain Theory
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Cultural Transmission Theory

• Edwin Sutherland
• Deviance is learned like non-deviant behavior
• Differential association proportion of
  associations a person has with deviant vs.
  non-deviant individuals.

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Cultural Transmission Theory

• Views all individuals as conformists. Which norms
  we conform to makes us deviant or not

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Cultural Transmission TheoryTechniques of
Neutralization

• denying responsibility,
• denying injury,
• denying the victim,
• condemning the authorities,
• appealing to higher loyalties

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Labeling Theory

• Edwin Lemert, Howard Becker
• Everyone commits deviant acts
• Not everyone becomes known as a deviant
• This is because deviance occurs two ways in
  society

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Labeling Theory

• Primary deviance deviance is undetected by
  society
• Secondary deviance deviance is detected by
  society and individual is labeled
• Once individual is labeled, their life changes.
• Being a deviant becomes that persons master
  status

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Conflict Theory

• Richard Quinney
• Believe the struggle for power causes deviance
• People who DONT have power commit deviant acts
  to gain power or because they feel powerless

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Conflict Theory

• People who DO have power commit deviant acts so
  they can keep their power
• Those people who are in power label as deviant
  any behavior that threatens their power base
• Deviance then becomes a problem of the have nots