Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Reasons of crime
According to Ballatine and Roberts, deviance refers to violation of society’s norm, which then evokes negative reactions from others (Our Social World p.146). Every society has laws guiding it, law breakers are known as being deviant. Some general act that most societies regard as deviant is; theft, rape, and murder. There are always penalties enforced by the society for perpetrators of such act. This can be in terms of long or short term imprisonment, life imprisonment or even death penalties. Acts that are regarded as deviant differ between societies. Deviance can be said to be socially constructed; the society decides what is deviant, people or an individual can be labelled as deviance due to their social status, race, ethnicity or historical records. A good example of a deviant act, was the murder of a 13 months old boy in his stroller by two teenagers at Georgia. In Brunswick, Georgia two teenage black boys were charged with the murder of a 13-months old boy. Sherry West, the mother of the 13-months old victim, Antonio, was reported to have been coming from the post office at about 9am with her baby in a stroller when two boys, De’Marquise Elkins, 17, and a 14 year old minor approached her, and her son demanding for money. She said she told them continuously that she did not have money; the elder of the boys, who had the younger one hiding behind him then threatened to shoot her son. Elkins, 17, went ahead and shot the toddler at point blank range, and he passed out instantly. The two boys are being held by the Brunswick Police Department awaiting trial (CNN). This deviant act might have been caused by peer pressure, or negative influence of social environment. There are theories that do suggest why individuals engage in cr... ... middle of paper ... ...uent occasions have been labelled as deviants by the society. If they had a background of crime or have been apprehended previously, the society may tagged hem as potential offenders. This can negatively affect their self image and they chose to act based on that image. These theories adequately analysis the deviant act above. Individuals engage in criminal activities due several reasons. The theories covers almost all possible social reasons for the crime to be committed. It gives a good and logical explanation, that would have been the possible cause of the crime been committed. Work Cited Roberts, Jeanne H. Ballantine and Keith A. Our Social World. Los Angeles: Sage publication, 2012. Textbook. —. Our Social World. Los Angeles: Sage publications, 2012. Textbook. Tom Watkins, Nick Valencia and Phil Gast. "CNN." 23 March 2013. www.cnn.com. PDF. 15 February 2014.
Deviance is described as “the recognized violation of cultural norms”(Macionis 238). While deviance can include crime, it is not always such. Deviance can mean trying to sneak into a hospital room, desperately searching for someone like the character of Benny in the movie Benny and Joon. Or it could be preforming on the streets for people to watch. Deviance isn’t always a criminal act. The movie Benny and Joon gave several examples of deviant behavior portrayed by the three main characters, Benny, Joon, and Sam.
What is deviance? What does it mean? What determines a behavior as deviant? Deviance is anything that violates a social norm. For example, when a child burps at the supper table but doesn’t excuse himself. Who we socialize and spend time with will determine what we deem as deviant behavior. There are many types of deviant behaviors, some of these behaviors may not be considered deviant to one culture but to another they are.
In society norms are referred to as a set accepted behavior behaviors or manners for particular roles and the social status there in. Deviance hence refers to complete violation violation of the accepted rules set within the society on behavior that go against the norms whereas crime is the practice of behavior that contracts the set written or accepted rules and are punishable by law.
Much of society mistakenly interchanges the two concepts of crime and deviance, assuming that they are one in the same. "A crime is what the law proclaims it to be, and is an act punishable by law" (Winterdyk 9). Deviance, on the other hand, is a contested concept; it can be defined as differing from a norm or accepted standard of society (dictionary.com). Deviance involves acts that fluctuate from social norms; although such actions can be, they are not necessarily against the law (Winterdyk 9).
Sociologists understand the concept of deviance in a variety of ways. It is the result of unsuccessful socialization, the solutions are usually intended to change the mind of the individual, and that order needs to remain maintained. Norms determine whether something is deviant or normal. So deviance depends on the social status and power of the person, the social context in which the behavior occurs, and the historical place it takes place in. Deviance is all about violating the day to day norms and is usually considered to be wrong, bad, or immoral.
According to labeling theory, deviance is a product of a societal reaction to behaviour. A label is created as a reaction to an isolated incident by agents of social control. The recipient then internalizes the label and absorbs it into their self identity. Once they identify with the label, the individual will act in ways that fulfill the label. The focus of labeling theory is on the process of how the label leads to further delinquent behaviour. The cause of the initial act of deviance is of less concern than how societies reaction to the act creates a condition for further deviance. Thus the focus of study on labeling theory is more concerned with secondary deviance. While the initial deviant act is known as the primary deviance, all deviant acts following the absorption of the label are known as secondary deviance. Primary deviance may be committed for a variety of different reasons and labeling theory looks not to provide a cause for the initial act but for any act of deviance caused by the internalization of a label. Labels can be formally or informally imposed. A formal label...
Several individuals within society typically follow social guidelines that they are unaware of performing. Social guidelines such as stopping at a red light or saying thank you when someone has done something for you. These social guidelines or norms give society a script to follow regarding their behavior and actions. Although norms are the acceptable actions and behaviors that society is taught to perform, there are occurrences where individuals stay away from those in which they are now enacting deviance. To act deviant is considered to break away or do something different of a social norm. There are several forms of deviance that occur frequently within society that violate social norms and hinder society’s overall function.
Deviant behavior is sociologically defined as, when someone departs from the “norms”. Most of the time when someone says deviance they think against the law or acting out in a negative behavior. To sociologists it can be both positive and negative. While most crimes are deviant, they are not always. Norms can be classified into two categories, mores and folkways. Mores are informal rules that are not written; when mores are broken, they can have serious punishments and sanctions. Folkways are informal rules that are just expected to be followed, but have no real repercussions.
Societies are founded on various social norms. Norms can best be defined as a set of acceptable attitudes and practices by a given society. These norms however are found to vary from one society or cultural setting o the other. Deviance on the other hand is simply when one does something that goes against the set societal norms. Deviance is gauged on a scale of attitudes and behavior contradicting to acceptable social standards (Samuels, 2012).
norms are those that are highly important to either most members in a society or
In sociology, the term deviance refers to all violations of social rules, regardless of their seriousness (Essentials of Sociology 136). Deviance is an individual or organizational behavior that violates societal norms and is usually accompanied by negative reactions from others. According to a sociologist S. Becker, he stated that it is not the act itself that makes an action deviant, but rather how society reacts to it.
Social deviancy is the violation of social norms. A deviant is someone who rejects folkways and mores. Any action that violates the values or rules of a social group is deviant behavior. In order to actually be characterized as a deviant, the individual must be detected committing a deviant act and be stigmatized by society. A stigma is a mark of social disgrace, setting the deviant apart from the group. Criminality is healthy for society. Deviance affirms our cultural values and norms. Responding to deviance clarifies moral boundaries and brings people together. There will always be people who break society’s rules and that’s important.
...ifferent crime patterns and thought processes of criminals. The reasons can only come from these theories and will help the justice systems become more prepared to react towards different crimes. However, with adding some enhancements, projects and experiments these two theories have the potential to change the criminology realm forever.
Deviance is defined as actions or behaviors that violate socials norms. In turn the concept of deviance is dependent on the social observation and perception. “By it’s very nature, the constructionism through which people define and interpret actions or appearances is always “social.” ”(Henry, 2009 , p. 6) One’s perception of a situation may be completely different from another depending on cultural and social factors. The way someone talks, walks, dresses, and holds themselves are all factors that attribute to how someone perceives another. In some cases what is socially or normally acceptable to one person is deviant in another’s eyes. For this reason there is a lot of gray area involving the topic of deviance because actions and behaviors are so diversely interpreted.
As we all have observed, throughout history each culture or society has unique norms that are acceptable to that group of people. Therefore, to establish and come to the acceptance of these basic norms, each society must develop its’ own strategies and techniques to encourage the fundamentals of behavior, which is clear in our modern society. Most do assume that everyone in a society will follow and respect such norms. However, some tend to deviate from the adequate norms and demonstrate deviant behavior. Nevertheless, we are inclined to ask ourselves, why do people decide to violate such important standards of living?