By trying to explain what deviance is, you could say it is any type of behavior that violates what we call social norms (the accepted standard of behavior of social groups), but it is also something much broader and a lot more complex aspect within criminology itself, it is analyzed in order for people to try and understand the reasons behind why it actually happens. (Cliffsnotes.com, n.d.)
Theories of deviance
There are four main theories behind why deviance occurs:
Differential-association theory
Anomie theory
Control theory
Labelling theory
Although all four are important when looking at deviant behaviors, when trying to uncover why social reaction plays a part it is the labeling theory that highlights this.
Labeling theory
This
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This is supported by Howard Becker, an American sociologist, he believes the labeling theory can be applied across the whole criminal justice system when asking ‘how do criminals emerge?’ His answer to this is that society, including the police and the courts, particularly label those who are already deviant and that label then causes the individual to respond through becoming even more …show more content…
For example, when an individual is committed of a crime, when released, it would difficult to find a job.
A ‘deviant career’ can then develop. This is when an individual joins a social group who are all deviant. At this stage, an individual has confirmed and now accepts their deviant identity.
This is now the stage where the label of a deviant can become their ‘master status’ meaning their now deviant identity will overrule any other identity they may have, thus overriding all other relationships outside their social group. (Thompson, n.d.)
Labeling can also be considered a form of social control, this is expressed by Stan Cohen, a sociologist, who became interested in the ‘Mods Vs Rockers’ phenomenon hyped by the media. When looking at the media, it was said the violence between the ‘Mods and Rockers’ was considered a national problem that represented the decay of society. But Cohen (1972) came to a different conclusion in comparison to what the media had portrayed, which was that the violence reported by the media was actually minimal and almost all people down by the seaside that day did not participate in the ‘riots’ and neither were they part of the Mods or Rockers. (smccormac7,
Bohm and Brenda L. Vogel, the Labeling theory is used to explain why people commit crimes and conceive themselves as criminals. Overall the Labeling theory consists of social groups creating rules and then applying those rules to particular people and labeling them as outsiders. This theory is split into two types of deviances: primary deviance and secondary deviance. Primary deviance is the initial criminal act, for example, a man robs a bank. A secondary deviance is committing a crime after the first criminal act and accepting the label of a criminal. Following the previous example, after the man robs the bank, he decides to do it again because he now sees himself as a criminal bank robber and wants to continue doing it and is okay with being seen that
The theoretical study of societal reaction to deviance has been carried out under different names, such as, labelling theory, interactionist perspective, and the social constructionist perspective. In the sociology of deviance, the labelling theory of deviant behaviour is often used interchangeably with the societal reaction theory of deviancy. As a matter of fact, both phrases point equally to the fact that sociological explanations of deviance function as a product of social control rather than a product of psychology or genetic inheritance. Some sociologists would explain deviance by accepting without question definitions of deviance and concerning themselves with primary aetiology. However, labelling theorists stress the point of seeing deviance from the viewpoint of the deviant individual. They claim that when a person becomes known as a deviant, and is ascribed deviant behaviour patterns, it is as much, if not more, to do with the way they have been stigmatized, then the deviant act they are said to have committed. In addition, Howard S. Becker (1963), one of the earlier interaction theorists, claimed that, "social groups create deviance by making the rules whose infraction constitute deviance, and by applying those rules to particular people and labelling them as outsiders". Furthermore, the labelling theoretical approach to deviance concentrates on the social reaction to deviance committed by individuals, as well as, the interaction processes leading up to the labelling.
Labeling theory of deviance suggests that when one is labeled constantly on the basis of any minority it gives rise to deviant behavior in order to prove the strength of the minority. The minority has been labeled so by people for a long time. They have been labeled because of their race. The gang is labeled anti-social because of their criminal behavior which turns them further to deviance. The use of the labeling theory can be seen being implemented very judiciously
Sociologists understand the concept deviance in a variety of ways. It is the result of unsuccessful socialization, the solutions is usually intended to change the mind of the individual, and that order need to remain maintained. Norms determine whether something is deviant or normal. So deviance depends on the social status and power on 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. It is a process because it just doesn’t happen one day it’s usually happens overtime. For example, its two type of deviants the primary deviance and the secondary deviance. Primary deviance would be
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.
Goode, E 2006, 'IS THE DEVIANCE CONCEPT STILL RELEVANT TO SOCIOLOGY?', Sociological Spectrum, 26, 6, pp. 547-558, SocINDEX with Full Text, EBSCOhost, viewed 3 June 2014.
Deviance is the behavior and the standards of expectations of a group or society. It is also behavior that is considered dangerous, threatening or offensive. The people that are deviant are often labeled to be weirdos, oddballs, or creeps. In the United States, people with tattoos, drug addicts, alcoholics, and compulsive gamblers are all considered deviant. Sociologists believe that everybody is deviant from time to time. They believe each person will violate a social norm in certain situations. People are considered deviant if they don't stand for the national anthem at a sports event, dress casually to a fancy restaurant, or skip classes. One category of deviance is Crime. Crime is a violation of norms that have been formally enacted into a law. Another category of deviance is humorous. Deviance is relative, what is deviant in one group or society may not be deviant in another group or society.
Crime is an irrelevant concept as it is tied to the formal social control mechanism of the State; deviance is a concept that is owned by sociology thus our study should be the sociology of deviance, rather than criminology
In conclusion, once an individual is labelled deviant, the pressure within society to conform to the ‘said norm’ is an ever demanding and increasing pressure. Whilst the intention of the said individual may well be to follow the path of ‘ normal individuals’, once labelled, for whit ever reason it is ever increasingly difficult to return to the ‘normal way of life’ without this shadow overwhelming most.
When an individual breaks the societal rules of conduct, they are said to be involved in deviant behaviors. However, due to the dynamism of the societies, what may be regarded as a deviant act in one society could be regarded as normal within another society. This brings out the issue that deviance may be viewed as relative to both time and location with regard to the differences in societies. Out of this understanding, deviance is viewed as the violation of social norms out of any acts, thoughts, or attitudes that the particular society regards as violation of its values or rules (Long Russ). A deviant conduct is against the definitions of the good and bad conduct as agreed upon by members of a social system. Such behaviors are in a negated direction and bear enough magnitude to surpass the acceptance and accommodation limit of the particular community.
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.
...more stimulus for the individual to learn from (Williams.F. McShane.M.2010.p241). Furthermore, deviance within the labelling theory is defined through society’s norms and value’s, where as the deviance within the learning theory is imitation of deviance from society.
To first understand and study deviant behavior one must have a clear definition of what “deviant” means. Merriam-Webster defines deviant as “departing from some accepted standard of what is normal”. In the sociological study of deviant behavior, there are two distinct schools of thought on why deviant behavior occurs. The first school of thought on deviant behavior is Constructionist, also related to social Determinism. Constructionist is a theory of finding deviant behavior that says deviant behavior is not inherently the same and is defined by the social context. This theory places the cause of deviant behavior on society and the definition of “normal” as to why select behaviors are deemed deviant. The other school of thought is the Positivist
Deviance is the sociological concept of behavior which violates the standards of conduct or expectations of a group or society. Functionalists explain deviance as a common part of human existence, interactionist look at everyday behavior to explain deviance, and conflict theorists argue that people with power define deviance.
Labelling theory outlines the sociological approach towards labelling within societies and in the development of crime and deviance (Gunnar Bernburg, and D. Krohn et al., 2014, pp. 69-71). The theory purposes that, when an individual is given a negative label (that is deviant), then the individual pursues their new (deviant) label / identity and acts in a manner that is expected from him/her with his/ her new label (Asencio and Burke, 2011, pp. 163-182).