DEVIANCE and SOCIAL CONTROL

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DEVIANCE and SOCIAL CONTROL

• Defined as an act that violates a social norm.
• Refers to any action that is perceived as
  violating some widely shared moral values or
  norms of a society or group culture.
• Prerequisite to deviance is the violation of
  standards of conduct or expectations of a group
  of society.

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Kinds of deviance

• Positive
• - develops, hones, and uplifts the
• personality of the person.
• Negative
• - destroys, injures, jeopardizes the
• personality of the person.

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Some forms of deviance

• Criminal and non-criminal deviance
• - involves violation of criminal law.
• Social definition of deviance
• - involves violation of social norms.

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Bio-Psychological Theories of Deviance

• According to Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909),
  considered as the Italian father of criminology,
  criminal deviants have low cranial capacity,
  retreating forehead, highly developed frontal
  sinuses, tufted hair, large ears, and relative
  insensibility to pain.

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• 1. Somotypes
• - in 1940, William H. Sheldon conducted
  another study related to Lombrosos claim that
  crime is biologically determined. He concluded
  that we could predict mans likes and dislikes by
  measuring his body.
• (The Varieties of Human Physique)

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• The theory of SOMOTYPES stated that peoples
  behavior or temperament is determined by their
  physique.

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• According to this theory there are 3 somotypes
• 1. endomorphs people who are fat,
• and round, with short tapering limbs.
• 2. ectomorphs people who are thin,
• delicate, and bony, with small faces,
• sharp noses, and fine hairs.

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• 3. mesomorphs people who are big-
• boned and muscular with large trunks,
• heavy chests, and large wrists and
• hands.

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• Temperamentally, ENDOMORPHS are relaxed, outgoing
  people who like comfort and eating.
• ECTOMORPHS shrink from big crowds, noise, and
  distractions and have numerous complaints,
  allergies, and skin troubles, and usually suffer
  from chronic, fatigue and insomnia.

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• Mesomorphs are usually the troublemakers and have
  the greatest chance of becoming delinquent.
• - they are active, walk and talk, and often
  behave aggressively.

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• 2. Genetics
• - this comprises one of the present day
  criminology theories that continue to offer a
  genetic explanation for the cause of violent
  crime.

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• The theory suggests that excessive aggression and
  hostility are the result of the presence of an
  extra Y chromosome.
• Proponents of this theory argue that there is
  a disproportionate number of criminal men with an
  XYY chromosomal make-up as compared to the
  remaining population.

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• 3. Pathology
• - another biological explanation of deviance
  today is evident in Alcoholics Anonymous programs
  which, according to Preston (1975), are based on
  the belief that alcoholism is both a physical
  allergy and mental compulsion, or simply a
  physical sickness as a form of social deviance.

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• According to Smith and Preston (1982), pathology
  has been popular and satisfying explanation for
  deviance because of two main reasons

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• 1.Pathology-based theory is easily understood
  since everyone knows what disease is and this is
  easily given credibility.
• 2.Pathology removes the element of blame, i.e.,
  no person or institution is responsible for
  deviant behavior since it is caused by physical
  or emotional problem of the individual.

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• 4. Socio-biological theories
• In his book entitled SociobiologyThe New
  Synthesis, Edward O. Wilson (1978) conceives of
  sociobiology as a science with a broad scope
  entire societies. His general assumption has been
  based on the works of those applying biology in
  explaining deviance behavior.

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• He (Wilson) assumes that human social behavior is
  genetically determined to the extent that biology
  defines human learning potential.
• The human mind is not blank that simply records
  and assimilates experiences, but instead, it is
  biologically programmed to accept certain
  experiences while rejecting others.

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• There are many sociobiological approaches to
  explain deviant behavior. According to Charles H.
  McCaghy (1985), in his book Deviant Behavior
  Crime, Conflict, and Interest Groups, the
  approaches fall into one of the following
  categories

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• 1.) Evolutionary process
• - these theories are concerned with the
  long-term development of specific behaviors over
  the course of generations. The most that these
  studies contributed is that they sensitize us to
  the manner in which biological factors may affect
  behavior.

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• 2.) Genetic Differences
• - these theories are concerned with how
  behavior is influenced by hereditary factors that
  are mere immediate that those formed during
  evolution.
• - of particular interest here is the
  hypothesis that certain mental disorders often
  re-occur among generations of the same family.

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• 5. Neurophysiological differences
• - these theories concern a wide range of
  physiological factors that might influence human
  behavior. They include
• 1) hormone imbalance
• 2) vitamin deficiency
• 3) brain malfunctioning
• 4) any organic aspects that might
• interfere with learning or behaving

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• It has to be noted that psychological, like
  biological explanation of deviance, tend to be
  individualistic, focusing on abnormalities in the
  individual personality.
• Although some of these abnormalities are
  hereditary, psychologists view most of these as a
  result of socialization.

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• 6. Psychological Causes
• 6.1 Psychodynamic Perspective refers to
• unfulfilled needs and unresolved
• conflicts.
• Psychological deprivation
• parental-rejection, deprivation of
• attention and affection due to strong
• need for affiliation and social status.

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• displaced aggression direct
• expression of antisocial impulses
• difficulty in impulse control.
• 6.2 Behavioral Perspective refers to
• the fact which states that learning
• theorists believe that a deviant
• behavior is learned and reinforced
• or the individual is conditioned to
• doing it. Refers also to social
• learning theory.

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• 6.3 Cognitive Perspective maintains
• that a deviant behavior is manifested
• as a result of some ideas or beliefs
• that the individual has about.

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• Under the psychological theories, it is held that
  since personality is shaped by social experiences
  throughout life, deviance is usually understood
  to be the result of unsuccessful socialization.

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• Psychological explanations of deviance downplay
  biological factors and emphasize instead the role
  of parents and early childhood experiences, or
  even behavioral conditioning, in producing
  deviant behavior.

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• Psychological explanation of deviance assumes
  that the seeds of deviance are planted in
  childhood and that adult behavior is
  manifestation of early experiences rather than an
  expression of on-going social or cultural
  factors.

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• Ergo, the deviant individual is viewed as a
  psychologically sick person who has experienced
  emotional deprivation or damage during childhood.

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• Anti-Social Personality Disorder
• Jethro was the leader of a teenage street
  gang that was reputed to be the most vicious in
  the neighborhood. He grew up in a chaotic home
  atmosphere, his mother having lived with a series
  of violent men who were heavily involved in drug
  dealing and prostitution. At the age of 18,
  Jethro was jailed for the brutal mugging and
  stabbing of an older adult woman. This was the
  first time in a long

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• series of arrests for offenses ranging from
  drug trafficking to car thefts to counterfeiting.
  At one point, between jail terms, he met a woman
  at a bar and married her the next day. Two weeks
  later, he beat her when she complained about his
  incessant drinking and involvement with shady
  characters. He left her when she became pregnant,
  and he refused to pay child support. From his
  vantage point now as a drug trafficker and leader
  of a child prostitution ring, Jethro

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• shows no regret what he has done, claiming that
  life has sure given me a bum steer.

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Diagnostic Features

• This diagnosis is assigned to adult who as
  children showed evidence of conduct disorder and
  who, from the age of 15, have shown a pervasive
  pattern of disregard for and violation of all the
  rights of others, as indicated by three or more
  of the following

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1. Repeated engagement in behaviors that are grounds
   for arrest.
2. Deceitfulness, such as lying, using false
   identities, or conning others for personal profit
   or pleasure.
3. Impulsivity, or failure to plan ahead.
4. Irritability and aggressiveness, such as repeated
   fights or assaults.
5. Reckless disregard for the safety of self or
   others.

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• 6.Consistent irresponsibility, such as repeated
  failure to keep a job or honor financial
  obligations.
• 7. Lack of remorse, such as being indifferent to
  or rationalizing ones hurtful or dishonest
  behavior.

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• 7. Psychoanalytic theory
• - this is based on the work of Sigmund Freud
  and his followers. This theory holds that the
  unconscious (the part of individual consisting of
  irrational thoughts and feelings of which he/she
  is not aware) causes one to commit deviant acts.

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• According to Freud, our personality has three
  parts
• 1) ID our irrational drives and instincts.
• 2) SUPEREGO our conscience and guide
• as internalized from our parents and
• other authority figures.
• 3) EGO the balance among the impulsiveness
• of the ID, the restrictions and demands of
  the
• superego, and the requirements of the
• society.

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• According to psychoanalytic theory, all of us
  have deviant tendency because of the ID. But, we
  learn to control our behavior because of
  socialization.
• Most of the people are able to function
  effectively according to societys norms and
  values.

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• 8. Behavior theories
• - people adjust and modify their behavior in
  response to the rewards and punishments elicited
  by their actions. If an action leads to favorable
  outcome, one is likely to repeat the action. If a
  behavior leads to unfavorable outcomes, one is
  not likely to do the same action.

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• According to this approach, deviant behavior is
  learned by a series of trials and errors.
• One learns to be a snatcher, or a thief in the
  same way the professionals learned their
  profession, or the artists learn their craft.

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• 9. Containment theory
• - Walter Reckless and Simon Dinitz (1967)
  explained juvenile delinquency as
• outcome of the childrens personality traits.
• - under this theory, the desire to engage in
  delinquent activities can be contained if the
  young individuals have developed strong moral
  values and a positive self-image in younger age.

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• It is held in this theory that the good
  children seem to have a strong conscience (or
  Sigmund Freuds superego), generally coped well
  with frustration, and identified positively with
  cultural norms and values. Hence, they are far
  from becoming deviant. This is usually not the
  case among what is described as bad children.

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Sociological Theories of Deviance

• 1. Functionalist Theory
• - Emile Durkheim said that there is nothing
  abnormal with deviance. He gave four major
  functions of deviance
• 1) Deviance affirms cultural values and
• norms.
• 2) Responding to deviance clarifies moral
• boundary.

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• 3. Responding to deviance promotes
• social unity.
• 4. Deviance encourages social change.

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• 2. Strain theory
• - Robert Merton claimed that American society
  pushes individuals toward deviance by
  overemphasizing the importance of monetary
  success while failing to emphasize the importance
  of using legitimate means to achieve success.

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• Merton meant that those people occupying
  favorable positions in the social class
  structures have many legitimate means at their
  disposal to achieve success. On the other hand,
  those in unfavorable positions do not have such
  means.

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• In this case, the goal of financial success
  combined with unequal access to important
  environmental resources creates deviance.

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• Merton gave the following types of deviance that
  emerge from this strain
• (pp. 218-219)
• 1) Conformity involves accepting both the
  cultural goal of success and the use of
  legitimate means for achieving that goal.
• - conformists use positive success goal and
  legitimate means.

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• 2) Innovation this response involves accepting
  the goal of success but rejecting the use of
  socially accepted means to achieve it, turning
  instead to unconventional illegitimate meas.
• - The innovator resorts to deviant ways of
  reaching a cultural validated goal.

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• 3) Ritualism occurs when people no longer set
  high goals but continue to toil as conscientious,
  diligent workers.
• - The ritualists are people who deemphasize or
  reject the importance of success once they
  realize they will never achieve it and instead
  concentrate on following or enforcing these rules
  than ever was intended.

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• 4) Retreatism this means withdrawal from
  society, caring neither about success nor about
  working.
• - The retreatists are individuals who have
  pulled back from society altogether and who do
  not pursue culturally legitimate goals.
• - Examples of these are vagabonds, outcasts,
  drug addicts, alcoholics, and other similar
  groups.

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• 5) Rebellion this occurs when people reject and
  attempt to change both the goals and the means
  approved by society.
• - The rebels try to overthrow the existing
  system and establish a new system with different
  goals and means.
• - The rebels reject both the goals of what to
  them is an unfair social order and the
  institutionalized means of achieving them.
• - They propose alternative societal goals and
  institutions.

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• It has to be noted that Merton applied Durkheims
  concept of ANOMIE by linking deviance to certain
  societal imbalances.
• He started with the observation that financial
  success is widespread goal in America.
• The society endorses certain means to thata goal.

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• Ideally, success is achieved through obtaining an
  appropriate education and hard labor.
• Success gained through theft or other dishonest
  activities is a violation of cultural norms.
• He argued that if people are socialized to aspire
  for success and to play by the rules, conformity
  should result.

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• 3. Deviant subcultures
• - There is an extension of Mertons theory
  developed by Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin
  (1966).
• - They pointed out that criminal deviance
  results when there is limited legitimate
  opportunity to achieve success plus available
  illegitimate opportunity.

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• For Cloward and Ohlin, patterns of deviance and
  conformity largely reflect the relative
  opportunity structure confronted by various
  categories of young people.
• They also said that if an illegal (criminal)
  structure is not readily available in a given
  social location, a criminal subculture is not
  likely to develop among adolescents.

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• Furthermore, if violence offers a primary
  channel to a higher status in a community, a
  greater participation by juveniles in conflict
  (violence) will normally occur.
• This means that if relative opportunity favors
  what Merton might call organized innovation,
  criminal subculture is likely to develop.

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• Commonly, delinquency is pronounced among
  lower-class youth because they are denied the
  opportunity to achieve success in a conventional
  way.

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• 4. Control theory
• - An advocate of this theory is Travis Hirschi
  (1969).
• - He assumed that the family, school, and
  other social institutions can greatly contribute
  to social order by controlling deviant tendencies
  in every individual.
• - If such control is lacking or weak, people
  will commit deviant acts.

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• The control theory is based on the idea that
  social ties among people are important in
  determining their behavior.
• It asks what causes conformity, instead of what
  causes deviance.
• This theory hold that what causes deviance is the
  absence of that which causes conformity.

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• Under the control theory, conformity is a direct
  result of control over the individual. It is,
  therefore, the absence of social control that
  causes deviance.
• This means that people will be free to violate
  norms and standards of society if they lack
  intimate attachments of their parents, teachers,
  and friends.

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• The absence of these attachments and the
  acceptance of conventional norms usually lead
  young people to violate norms since there is no
  expected disapproval.
• According to this theory, many people do not
  commit deviant acts because of their strong bond
  to society.

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• Hirschi suggests four ways in which individuals
  become bonded to society and the conventional
  behavior prevailing in it
• 1) Attachment to others
• 2) Commitment
• 3) Involvement
• 4) Belief

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• 5. Shaming theory
• - While Hirschi emphasized how society
  controls individuals through bonding, John
  Braithwaite (1989), an Australian sociologist,
  emphasized how society controls people through
  shaming.

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• Shaming involves an expression of disapproval
  designed to evoke remorse in the wrongdoer.
• Under this theory, there are two types of
  shaming
• 1) Disintegrative shaming
• 2) Reintegrative shaming

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Conflict Perspective-Devianceand Social
Inequality

• Conflict theory
• - this holds the view that some laws are used
  to protect and preserve the capitalist system.
• - Richard Quinney (1974) blamed unjust laws on
  the capitalist system contrary to the assumption
  that the law is based on the consent of citizens,
  that it treats citizens equally, and serves the
  best interest of society.

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• According to Quinney, some criminal laws are used
  by the state and the ruling class to secure the
  survival of the capitalist system.

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• Furthermore, according to Quinney
• It hires law enforcers to apply those definitions
  and protect its interests.
• It exploits the subordinate class by paying low
  wages so that the resulting oppressive life
  conditions virtually force the powerless to
  commit what those in power have defined as
  crimes.
• The dominant class defines as criminal those
  behaviors like murder, robbery, etc., that
  threaten its interests.

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• 4) It uses these criminal actions to spread and
  reinforce the popular view that the subordinate
  class is dangerous in order to justify its
  concerns with making and enforcing the law.

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• Power theory
• - this can also be a significant cause of
• deviance.
• - it may stem from relative deprivation, the
  feeling that disables to achieve relatively high
  aspiration.

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• The powerful enjoys greater opportunities for
  deviance. This explains why corruptions are
  likely to involve people in high positions.

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• Likewise, the powerful are subjected to weaker
  social control because they have more influence
  in making laws and in they have more influence
  in the making of laws and their implementation

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• Symbolic Interactionalist Perspective
• - This describes deviance as a product of
• slavery.
• - This considers deviance as a process of
• interaction between the person
• considered deviant and the rest of
• society.
• - This considers deviance as learned.

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• 1. Differential association and opportunity
  theories
• - According to Edward Sutherland (1930s),
  individuals are likely to become deviant if more
  of their primary group interactions favor
  deviance rather than oppose it.
• - For him, deviance is learned in the same
  way as normative behaviors through a differential
  association.

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• Differential association and opportunity theories
  are founded on the following premises
• 1) All criminal behaviors, including habitual,
  professional, organized, and white-collar is
  learned.
• 2) Social interaction and communication are
  essential to the learning process.

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• 3) Criminal behavior is the result of personal
  participation in groups, rather than impersonal
  contacts with mass media and formal agencies of
  institutions.
• 4) The learning of criminal behavior includes
  the acquisition of criminal techniques and the
  formation of new attitudes, motives, drives, and
  forms of neutralization that have been
  systematically reinforced.

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• 5) Criminal behavior occurs because group norms
  favor rather than oppose, violation of the law.
  This is reinforced by the group commitments or
  relationships the individual has established.

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• 6) The tendency to commit crimes reflects the
  contacts an individual has with a group that
  accepts or approves of such acts.
• 7) The criminal and non criminal behaviors are
  learned by the same process.

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• 8) Criminal and non-criminal behaviors are both
  expressions of the goals and/or values of the
  individual or group.

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• 2. Labeling theory
• - This view emerged in the 1950s from the
  writings of Edwin Lemert in 1972. Since then,
  many sociologists have elaborated on the labeling
  approach.

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• According to labeling theory, society tends to
  react to a rule-breaking act by labeling it as
  deviant.
• Deviance is not something that a person does but
  merely a label imposed on that behavior.

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• Once a person is labeled a thief or a delinquent
  or a drunkard, the individual may be stuck with
  that label for life, and may be rejected or
  isolated as a result.
• Paradoxically, this labeling process actually
  helps bring about more of the deviant behavior in
  society.

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• Being caught and branded as deviant has important
  consequences for ones further social
  participation and self-image.
• It creates a drastic change in the individuals
  public identity.

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• - Tischler (1990) identified at least three
  factors that determine whether a persons
  behavior will set in motion the process by which
  he/she will be labeled deviant
• 1) the importance or gravity of the norms
• that are violated.
• 2) the social identity or status of the
• individual who violates them.
• 3) the nature of the social context of the
• behavior in question.

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• - Two types of deviance (acc. to labeling
  theory)
• 1) Primary deviance refers to the
• original behavior that leads to the
• individuals being labeled deviant.
• 2) Secondary deviance emerges as a
• result of having been labeled deviant.

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• Functions of deviance
• 1) Deviance serves as an outlet for diverse
• forms of expression.
• 2) Deviance serves to define the limits of
• acceptable behavior.
• 3) Deviance may also promote in-large
• solidarity.
• 4) Deviance can serve as a barometer of
• social strain.

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Social Control of Deviance

• Social control refers to the efforts of a group
  or society to regulate the behavior of its
  members in conformity with established norms.

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• Social control involves the application of
  systematic behavioral restraints intended to
  motivate people to obey social expectations.

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• Ideally, people conform on their own because they
  have internalized the norms.
• They have absorbed deeply into their way of
  thinking through the process of socialization.

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• Two types of deviance
• 1) Informal sanctions
• a. Social gossips, intrigues, ostracism,
• alienation
• b. Psychological low self-esteem
• c. Spiritual remorse of conscience

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• 2) Formal sanctions
• a. Administrative warning,
• suspension, termination, expulsion
• b. Civil indemnity (payment for
• damages)
• c. Criminal incarceration
• (imprisonment)