DEVIANCE IN SOCIETY
Nature of Deviance

Deviance: any violation of the
norms of society

There are always individuals who
break rules of their society or
group

What’s considered deviant?
 Vary based on the situation



Robber shoots someone – Deviant
Police officer shoots robber –
Acceptable
Also varies from society to society

Being considered a
deviant:
Dedication to deviant act
 Stigmatized by society
 Things that define or
discredit someone

 Being
labeled as a:
 Sex offender
 Prison inmates
 Drug dealer
Causes of Deviant Behavior
Viewed through the different sociological perspectives
Functionalist Perspective
 Deviance is a natural
part of society
 Emile
Durkheim
classified several
functions of deviance

Functions:
 Clarifies
moral boundaries
 Conforming
behavior
 Promotes
social unity
 Punishment
of deviants fosters
“we” feeling
 Promotes
How is deviance
functional to society?
behavior vs. Deviant
social change
 Violations
that gain enough
support become new acceptable
behaviors
Deviant Behavior – Functionalist Perspective
• Strain theory (Robert Merton)
• Difficulty identifying with norms of society
• One’s goals and his/her means to accomplish such goals do not coincide
MODES OF ADAPTATION

Conformists (most common)



Acceptance of goals and means of
reaching goals – even if unable to
accomplish
Use socially acceptable means of reaching 
goals
Innovators


Ritualists

Abandoning goal while upholding norms


Going through the motions
Teacher who is “burned out”
Retreatists

Reject goal and means of achieving goal

Turn to drugs or alcohol
Seeking alternative means of reaching
 Rebels
goal
 Similar to retreatist
 Violating acceptable norms
 Attempt to substitute new set of goals
 Ex. – embezzlers, robbers, con artists,
 Revolutionaries – extreme cases
drug dealers
Deviant Behavior - Conflict Perspective


Deviance is explained
through power and
inequality

 Commit
deviant acts to stay
in power
 Consider
acts of others that
might challenge power as
deviant
Competition and social
inequality lead to
deviance
 “Haves”

vs. “Have Nots”
Capitalist class vs. Working class
Those in power

People without power
 Turn
to deviant behaviors
 Often
out of necessity
Deviant Behavior – Interactionist Perspective


Deviance is influenced
by interactions among
individuals
Involves several
theories:
 Control
theory
 Transmission theory
 Labeling theory

Control theory:
 Deviance
is a natural
occurrence
 Focus
is on why people
conform
 Dependent
on social ties
 Those with strong
community attachments are
less likely to commit
deviant acts
Deviant Behavior – Interactionist Perspective
Control Theory


 Morals
Impacted by learned
behaviors and conformity
at a young age
 Conscience
 Religious
principles
 Impacted by societal bonds
 What
causes children to
conform?


Two control systems work
against our motivations to
deviate
Inner controls:
Outer controls:
 Family
 Friends
 Police
Deviant Behavior – Interactionist Perspective

Transmission Theory
 Deviance
is a learned behavior
 Learned
through association with deviant
individuals
 Differential
association
 Deals with frequency and closeness of association
 Example: Gang membership

All individuals conform
 Difference
lies in what they are conforming to
Deviant Behavior – Interactionist Perspective

Labeling Theory
 Focuses
on how people
come to be identified as
deviant
 Deviance is relative
 Depends on how
society views
actions/behaviors
 Social labels
 “drunk”
 “pot-head”
 “whore”
 All
people commit deviant
acts during their lives
 Two
types:
 Primary
deviance
 Goes mostly undetected
 Temporary, trivial
 Secondary
deviance
 Multiple occurrences
 Individual is labeled a
deviant
Rejecting Labels
How People Neutralize Deviance

Most people resist labels
 Five techniques:
that others try to pin to them.
 Denying responsibility

Example: People who
vandalize property but
consider themselves
conforming members of
society

 Denying

Techniques of neutralization:
 Suspension of moral
beliefs to commit deviant
act
injury
“Who did it hurt?”
 Denying


“It was an accident”
the victim
“He got what he deserved”
 Condemning

“The police are corrupt”
 Appealing

authorities
to higher loyalties
“I did it to protect my family”
Social Control
Consists of the forces and processes that encourage conformity

3 Factors:
 Internalization
– process of building conformity to norms
and values from our groups into our self-concept
 Informal
social control – self-restraint exercised because of
fear of what others might think
 Formal
social control – administrative sanctions such as fines
and imprisonment

Recidivism – relapse into a previous mode of behavior
 Being
rearrested
Rationalizing Punishment
Four Primary Reasons for Imprisonment

Retribution
 To
right a wrong by making offender suffer or pay back
what was taken
 Attempt to restore balance

Rehabilitation
 Re-socialize

Deterrence
 Create

offender to create conforming citizen
fear so that others won’t break the law
Incapacitation
 Remove
offenders from circulation