DEVIANT BEHAVIOR
Just about everyone has done something that someone else disapproves of. In fact, almost all of us have done something we ourselves have reservations or second thoughts about. Perhaps we’ve stolen something, or told a lie, or gossiped about another person in an especially nasty way. Maybe on occasion we’ve gotten drunk, of high, or driven too fast, or recklessly. Have we ever worn clothes that someone else thought was out of style, offensive, or ugly? Have we belched at the dinner table, or did we ever break pick our nose in public? Maybe we failed to show up for an important class or read a crucial assignment, or permitted our eyes to wonder onto a neighbor’s answers during an exam. Do we like a television program that someone else finds stupid and boring? Didn’t we once date someone our parents and friends didn’t like? Maybe our religious beliefs and practices don’t agree with those of some other members of our society; it could be that they would regard us as too religious or not religious enough. For some people we may be too liberal, too conservative, or too much of a loser. Does someone else consider us too short or tall, too plain of exotic, to thin or heavy, too dark or to light skinned? The number of possible ways that what we believe, or do or are, could be judged negatively by others is infinite.
This means that almost any action or characteristic we could do or think of is approved in some social circles and condemned in others. Almost inevitably, we depart or deviate from someone’s rules, simply by acting or being ourselves, since we can’t conform to all the different sets of rules that exist. Sociologists refer to behavior that is regarded as wrongdoing that generates negative reactions in persons who witness or hear about it, as deviant behavior. Many definitions of deviant behavior exist. In the book titled Deviant Behavior by Alex Thio he states that there are many conflicting definitions for deviant behavior.
There are many theories about how the world came to be, was it the big band, evolution or creation? Well just like there are many different theories for this category, there are also different theories to the cause and origin of deviant behavior. I will mention a few and give a brief definition on what they state. Strain theo...
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... with another person that thinks totally the opposite from us makes us weird, different, deviant in there eyes. Who are we to say what deviance really is? Maybe there is a lady who killed her children because she thought it was the right things to do because she lives in a third world country and her children were starting to die of huger and thirst. Maybe there is a teenager who goes to school gets perfect grades and works part time and wastes all his money on drugs and in prostitutes. Maybe there is a man who worships God every single second of his life and he will not talk about anything else but God. He has no eyes or ears for anything else but God that’s all he talks about and he refuses to talk about anything else. So my question is which of these persons is considered deviant? Is it the lady who killed her children, the adolescent who gets perfect grades, but is involved in drugs and prostitution, or is it the man who is obsessed by God and won’t talk of listen to anything unless its about God? Maybe the answer to this question may never be answered, because we all have our different opinions on the causes and the origin of deviant behavior.
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.
I agree with Shoeplifin that deviance should be measured by the types of responses that it receives. Looking at other people’s reactions to behavior helps to determine whether that behavior is in fact deviant and to also gauge how deviant the behavior is. In response to Shoeplifin’s question “if you violate a norm but there’s no reaction to that violation, is it really deviant behavior,” I do not think it is. If something is deviant, it will provoke a response of some sort. This is because deviant behavior is something that most individuals would choose not to do themselves. Therefore, in seeing someone behave in a way that he
Emile Durkheim (1901) argued that although definitions of what constitutes deviance vary by place, it is present in all societies. He defined deviance as acts that offend collective norms and expectations. Durkheim believed that what makes an act or appearance deviant is not so much its character or consequences, but that a group has defined it as dangerous or threatening to its well-being (Ferrante, 134).
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.
Social deviance is when people who are faced with social norms either choose to conform or to rebel
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.
There exists conflicting theories among sociologists in the area of determining why a person is considered to be a deviant, and the reasons behind why he or she has committed a deviant act. From a positivistic perspective, deviance is based on biological or social determinism. Alternatively, from a constructionist perspective, deviance is created and assigned by society. Both perspectives seek to give a theory for why a person may become known as deviant. Although they both view similar acts as deviant, the basic differences between positivists and constructionists theories are clear.
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).
1. Your uncle consumes a quart of whiskey per day; he has trouble remembering the names of those around him.
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.
Sociologist utilizes several perspectives to explain individual motivations of deviance with an emphasis on biological, psychiatric, psychoanalytic, and psychological terms. The emergence of these ideals temporarily displaced social disorganization theory, which stresses a rapidly changing environment as the cause of deviant behavior. Social pathology seeks to explain deviance by evaluating conditions or circumstances, uniquely, affecting the individual. Sociological theories recognize the existense of social conditions that produce deviant behavior and how society identifies 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.
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.
Deviant Behavior is optional not to conform norms and does not come together with an outlook of prosperity groups of the society as a whole. However, the subculture violence theory is described to have people in these situations which are separated as they begin to believe the acts and values that are ordinary, or better-quality to all other views. A number of things are associated with deviant behavior and the subculture violence theory. Some examples include, no subculture can be completely different or absolutely in conflict with the society, the counter-norm is nonviolence, recognized and unrecognized collective reins that attempt to avoid or diminish deviance, and crime, the infringement of properly enacted the law, is official deviance while having an unofficial social violation.