Deviant Behavior
10e
Alex Thio
Chapter One:
Perspectives and Theories
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Conflicting Definitions

Sociologists have a proposed variety
of definitions for deviant behavior
Violation of any social rule
 Must provoke disapproval, anger or
indignation
 Physical or mental disability
 Positive deviance – geniuses, saints,
creative artists and glamorous
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celebrities

Conflicting Definitions – cont.
Some say deviance is real in and of
itself
 Others point out that some are falsely
accused or misdiagnosed as deviant


Deviance is less a function of act and
more a function of being labeled as
deviant (labeling theory)
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Conflicting Definitions – cont.
 Others
point to role of power in
defining deviance, detection of
deviance and successful being
labeled deviant
 Powerful
people label others,
particularly the poor and powerless,
as deviant
 Those in power make social rules
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Conflicting Definitions – cont.
Positivistic perspective: associated
with physical sciences; deviance is
intrinsically (absolutely) real
 Constructionist perspective: from arts
and philosophy; deviance is imputed
(created and assigned meaning) by
society to some behavior or set of
behaviors and qualities

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The Positivist Perspective


Assumes deviance is absolute or
intrinsically real (absolutism), an objective
fact, and determined behavior
Weaknesses:


Failure to discover bio or psych traits that
distinguish criminals from non-criminals
Does not recognize changing and relative
nature of criminal statuses
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The Positivist Perspective – cont.
Today, positivists recognize social
factors as determining criminal status
and changes in status across time,
space and culture
 Emphasize objectivity of deviance
 Assume that deviance has intrinsic
characteristics that hurt members of
society

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The Positivist Perspective – cont.


Deviance is observable object, has
objective nature that can be studied.
Positive sociologists used to believe they
could study human behavior in same way
as natural scientists.


Today they see subjects as human beings
with feelings
But they still see deviance as objective and
seek causes of deviant behavior.
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The Positivist Perspective – cont.
 Determined
behavior is belief that
deviance is caused by
environment (social and physical)
 Humans have some free choice
but are influenced by social
environmental features such as
broken homes and social class
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The Positivist Perspective –
cont.

Positivist Perspective in Sum:
The Positivist perspective on deviance
consists of three basic assumptions:



Deviance is absolutely real (deviance has
qualities to set it apart from the conventional)
Deviance is an observable object (a deviant
person or act of deviance can be observed
and studied objectively)
Deviance is determined (by forces beyond the
individual)
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The Constructionist Perspective
 Emerged
in 1960s to challenge
positivistic perspective
 Assumes deviance is a label, a
subjective experience and a
voluntary act
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The Constructionist Perspective –
cont.





Deviance does not have intrinsic value,
but rather comes from people’s minds
Act is deviant only because people think it
is
Police and others have role in labeling
process
Acts can be labeled as deviant by one
group and not by another
Deviance is in the eye of the beholder
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The Constructionist Perspective –
cont.
Deviant people are feeling, thinking,
and reflective subjects of worth and
dignity
 It is crucial to understand how a
deviant sees him/herself and society
 Avoids stats and surface appearance;
takes subjective approach (seeks to
understand lived experiences)

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The Constructionist Perspective –
cont.
 Sees
deviance as a voluntary act
because humans have free will
 Seeks to analyze how social
control agencies define some
people as deviant and carry out
sanctions against them
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An Integrated View




Both positivist and constructionist
perspectives are needed to define
deviance
Deviance is both real and a label and one
cannot exist without the other
The Positivist perspective is more relevant
to serious deviance like murder
Constructivist views are more pertinent to
less serious deviance
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An Integrated View – cont.
Deviance is defined as any behavior
considered deviant by public
consensus (which may range from
maximum to minimum)
 Positivists study higher-consensus
deviance
 Constructionists study lowerconsensus deviance

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Deviance and Crime

Deviance differs from crime and
criminology because:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Crime always involves breaking a law but
deviance may not
Crime is a violation of a formal norm, while
deviance is typically a violation of informal
norms
There is a far greater number and variety of
deviant acts than crime
Some crimes are not (considered) deviance
due to their acceptance throughout society
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