Lesson 10
Deviant Behavior
and Social Reaction
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Lesson Outline
•
•
•
•
The Violation of Norms
Reactions to Norm Violations
Labeling and Secondary Deviance
Formal Social Controls
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Deviant Behavior
•
Deviant behavior violates the norms that
apply in a given situation.
• Deviant behavior includes:
• Criminal activity
• Cheating
• Substance use or abuse
• Fraud and delinquent behavior
• Behavior considered symptomatic of a
mental illness
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Norms

In any situation, our behavior is governed by
norms.
– Whether a behavior is deviant or not
depends on the norms for behavior in the
situation in which it occurs.
– Types of Norms
• Local and Group norms
• Subcultural norms
• Societal norms
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Anomie & Legitimate Means

Anomie is a state that reduces commitment
to norms or the pursuit of goals.

Legitimate means are acceptable ways of
achieving society’s values goals, such as
material wealth and financial resources.
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Anomie Theory
•
Robert Merton’s theory of anomie suggests:
• Deviance arises when people striving to
achieve culturally valued goals lack the
legitimate means (ways) to attain these
goals.
• People who strive to attain a legitimate
goal but are denied access to the
legitimate means experience anomie.
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Merton’s Strain Theory
Adaptation
Means -- Goal
Conformist
Accepts -- Accepts
Innovator
Rejects -- Accepts
Ritualist
Accepts -- Rejects
Retreatist
Rejects -- Rejects
Rebel
Revolts/Creates
New
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Goal Achievement
•
Goal achievement requires access to two
structures:
– Learning structure
• An environment in which an individual
can learn the information and skills
required.
– Opportunity structure
• An environment in which the individual
has opportunities to play a role, which
usually requires the assistance of those
in complimentary roles.
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Illegal Means of Achieving Goals

Some people do not
have access to
legitimate employment,
so they seek wealth by
alternative illegal
means such as
prostitution.
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Anomie and Social Class

Anomie theory predicts that because lowerclass members are more frequently excluded
from quality education and jobs (lack access
to legitimate means), they will commit more
crimes.
– Studies indicate that crime and social
class are inversely related; the highest
crime rates are found in the lower social
strata.
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Control Theory
•
According to Control Theory, social ties
influence our tendency to engage in
deviant behavior.
– Parental attachments can encourage or
discourage children from engaging in
delinquency.
• Some parents teach their children
how to shoplift, commit burglaries,
and steal cars and trucks.
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Social Bonds and Deviancy

Lack of attachment to parents in childhood
relates to adult deviant behavior.
– Children who are physically and sexually
abused are more likely to be involved as
adults in violent and property crime,
prostitution, and alcohol and substance
abuse.
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Age and Crime
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Differential Association Theory
•
Sutherland’s theory of differential association
argues that although the law provides a uniform
standard for deviance, one group may define a
behavior as deviant, whereas another group defines
it as desirable.
• The principle of deviant association states that a
person becomes delinquent because of an excess
of definitions favorable to violation of the law over
definitions unfavorable to violation of the law.
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The Subculture of Violence

This subculture, which exists within the U.S.,
holds a set of beliefs that justify the use of
physical aggression.
– Within this subculture, violence is considered
appropriate when used as a means of selfdefense and protection of one’s home.
• Endorsing the use of violence was also
associated with delinquency within the school,
including cheating, tardiness, and truancy.
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Labeling Theory
•
This theory views reactions to a norm
violation as a critical element in deviance.
– Only after an act is discovered and labeled
“deviant” is the act recognized as such.
– If the same act is not discovered and
labeled, it is not deviant.
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Quiz Question

The theory that supports the notion that
shoplifting or drunk driving is only deviant
when the thief or drunk driver is caught is
the:
a. Differential association theory
b. Routine activities theory
c. Labeling Theory
d. Control theory
e. Theory of anomie
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Rule Breaking
•
Behavior that violates norms.
• People react to isolated incidents of
unusual behavior in four ways
1. Denial
2. Normalization
3. Making excuses
4. Balancing - recognizing it as a
violation but de-emphasizing it’s
significance.
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Determinants of Reactions to Rule Breaking
•
Actor Characteristics
– People are more tolerant of rule breaking
by family members than by strangers.
– People are more tolerant of rule breaking
by people who make positive contributions
in other ways.
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Determinants of Reactions to Rule Breaking
•
Audience Characteristics
– Members of cohesive groups are more
likely to reward a member who punished a
deviant person than members of groups
with low cohesion.
– Social identity theory suggests that the
group membership of the deviant person
and the audience both influence reactions.
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Determinants of Reactions to Rule Breaking
•
Situational Characteristics
– The definition of the situation in which the
behavior occurs.
– Where did it occur?
– How did others react?
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Consequences of Labeling
Labeling leads members of an audience to
change their perceptions and behavior toward
the actor.
– If they withdraw from the actor, they may
create a self-fulfilling prophecy and elicit
the behavior they expected from the actor.
• Labeling causes the actor to define the self
as deviant.
•
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Self-fulfilling Prophecy
•
Self-fulfilling Prophecy is a condition that
occurs when members of an audience
behave toward a person according to a
label and cause the person to respond in
ways that confirm the label.
• Alcohol Anonymous (AA) makes
constant use of labeling (“I’m John and
I’m an alcoholic”) to remind the person
that drinking alcohol caused him/her to
behave irresponsibly.
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Secondary Deviance
•
Secondary deviance is when a person
engages increasingly in deviant behavior
as an adjustment to others’ reactions.
• This is when the person begins to
openly and actively involve him/herself
in the deviant role by adopting clothes,
speech patterns and mannerisms that
correspond to the other’s role
expectations.
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Deviant Subculture
•
A group of people whose norms encourage deviance
and who positively regard deviant people.
– Subcultures provide acceptance and the
opportunity to enact deviant roles.
– Subcultural groups are an attractive alternative for
deviant persons.
• Deviant individuals are forced out of traditional
groups and subcultural groups provide an
opportunity to associate with others like
themselves.
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A Nudist Subculture
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Formal Social Controls
•
Societies create agencies to deal with
violations of rules or laws.
• These are formal agencies and include the:
– Criminal justice system
– Juvenile justice system
– Mental health professionals and
commitment procedures and institutions
for the mentally ill
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Functions of Labeling
•
Labeling a person as deviant has three
societal functions.
1. Labeling provide concrete examples of
deviant behavior.
2. Labeling provide scapegoats for the
release of tensions.
3. Labeling unifies the group and/or
society.
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Biases in Social Control

Social control agents are more likely to label
those people who have the least power to
resist their certification as deviant.
– Arrests are more likely when a third party
demanded an arrest, when the evidence is
strong, and when the crime is serious.
– In Washington, D.C., African Americans are
subjected to more intense police surveillance
than other racial/ethnic groups.
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Class Discussion

Does racial profiling influence crime
statistics and arrest rates?
– Does racial profiling vary by race and
ethnicity, and is socio-economic status a
profile marker?
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