The Conflict Perspective of Deviance and Deviants
Works Cited Not Included
· When it comes to the conflict perspective and deviance, researchers have
discovered one of the most influential lines of theory and research (Quinney,
1980; Chambliss and Seidman, 1982; Swaaningen, 1997; Arrigo, 1999). Marxist
criminologists see deviance as a product of the exploitative nature of the
ruling class. Deviance is a behavior that the rich and powerful see as
threatening to their interests. An example of the conflict perspective relating
to deviance is white- collar crimes. (Edwin Sutherland {1940,1983}) White-collar
crime is any crime committed by respectable and high status people in the course
of their occupations. (Lower status people commit crimes of the streets; higher
status people engage in ?crimes of the suites?). (Nader and Green, 1972; D.R.
Simon, 1998). Examples of these crimes include: price fixing, illegal rebates,
embezzlement, manufacture of hazardous products, toxic pollution and more. (
Geis Meier, and Salinger, 1995; J.W. Coleman, 1977; Calavita,Pontell, and
Tillman, 1999). Although the costs of these crimes are higher than lower status
crimes, and these crimes are more harmful to society, tolerance is shown and
leniency is shown because of their high-class position. In the end penalties are
both tougher and more likely to be imposed for crimes committed by lower class
people than those of higher social classes. The conflict approach to deviance
underscores the relativity of deviance. The conflict perspective when applied to
the study of deviant behavior emphasizes social inequality and power
differentials. The most powerful members of society are said to determine group
norms, and consequently who will be regarded as deviant. Conflict theorists
relate deviance to capitalism pointing the relationship between race, ethnicity,
and crime.
2) Please explain deviance and discuss the relationship between race and
deviance as it relates to crime and criminal behavior. Please consider
differences in perception among groups or people who define persons as deviant.
· Deviance is any behavior that departs from societal of group norms. (Ex:
criminal behavior; violations of significant social norms) These significant
norms are those that are highly important to either most members in a society or
to the members wit...
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...s another person would), and game stage (children learn to engage in more
sophisticated role taking. Mead believes the self is composed of two separable
parts: the ?me? and the ?I?. The ?me? is self- formed through socialization. The
?I? interacts constantly with the ?me? as we conduct ourselves in social
situations. Cooley believed self- concept is an image of oneself as an entity
separate from other people--- that still stands today. He also believes that
children learn to judge themselves in terms of how they imagine others will
react to them. We serve as mirrors for the development of self. (Cooley). He
called this concept the looking glass self. (A self-concept based on our
perception of others? judgments of us.) We use others as mirrors reflecting back
our imagined reactions of them to us. According to Cooley, the, looking glass
self is the product of a three-stage process that is constantly taking place.
First we imagine how we appear to others. Next, we imagine the reaction of
others to our imagined appearance. Finally, we evaluate ourselves according to
how we imaged others have judged us. The result of this process is negative or
positive self-evaluation.
Sociologists suggest deviance is a violation of any societal norm. Yet some have suggested deviance is a socially outmoded concept based on a Durkheim’s model of social solidarity. Therefore suggesting now it is obsolete, there is no longer a use for it in a (post) modern progressive and diverse society like Australia. According to Roach Anleu (2004) Colin Sumner was one such claimant. Sumner suggested that the sociological concept of deviance and any coherent theoretical development stagnated in mid 1970s, as no agreement on how deviance should be set never happened, therefore there was never an answer to the question, “deviant from what”? Secondly, Sumner states there is no explanation for why deviance is the chosen subject of research, instead of the norms that specify deviance. He believed it only made sense to examine deviance within the framework of social disapproval. Sumner also believed the relationships between deviance, crime, and difference to be unclear. Lastly he thought that the search for a general concept to encompass such a assorted range of activities, problems and situations was misguided because there can be no behavioural unity for such a diverse range of practices. Sumner (1994) suggested that the focus should analysis how deviant categories are constructed and managed by the power relationships that are continually changing. (Sumner 1994), (Roach Anleu 2014) Roach Anleu (2014) describe norms as reflecting some level of consensus and can be laws, rules, regulations, standards, or unspoken expectations. However, within large communities, there can be individuals, and groups whose behaviour is perceived as deviant according to the accepted norms. Those individuals and or groups may not necessarily be consider...
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.
Our society as a whole is beginning to evolve into numerous classifications. Our society branches off of the social norm structure that we have thrived from for our whole existence. Now however, people in society are going throughout their lives not always aware of the impacts that their choices and influences make on the everyday world around them. From the time people are able to grasp the concept of right and wrong until it is their turn to pass down what is right or wrong, they are not only affecting the social structure of life, but the lives of so many around them, whether they may know it or not. Although most people in society try to avoid the negative forces around them, it is now becoming an excruciating challenge to avoid the pressure and rise to a daunting task. With so many types of deviance floating around the air, it is now nearly impossible to try and not get exposed to deviance and the consequences that come with it. Deviance does not just occur in one place either. Now, it is harder than ever to not catch this behavior. It is
The five principles that help us understand social deviance. Deviance is socially constructed, deviance is relative, not absolute, the majority determines who and what is deviant, deviance is an integral part of all societies, and the violators of important social norms are often stigmatized. Firstly, deviance is socially constructed because deviant behavior violates the norms of a group. Social organizations create what is correct and incorrect by originating norms and a person could violate this which is deviant. Secondly, deviance is relative, not absolute means that whether an act is deviant depends on how other people react to it. Differences in knowing what
American History X is a great film that delivers a very strong message about deviant behavior. The story of Derek Vineyard and Danny inspires a lot in terms of changing the deviant behavior through various social concepts. The film shows good application of these theories and it involves the audience into a gripping tale of the change one hoes through to fight deviance and get through the tough journey of correcting oneself and choosing the right path.
For the past four years I have worked at my family’s company that has been in business now for 47 years. Once my grandfather hit retirement, he had passed on the ownership of the business to my father. I thoroughly enjoy working with my family, but like all jobs - the work has its pros and cons. Being that I am the owner’s daughter, my co-workers have the tendency to cast judgment upon me for receiving perks and benefits or so called “royal treatment”, that is not equally distributed upon all who are employed. For example, I am not reprimanded when arriving late to work, I receive raises in my pay check without asking for it, I don’t need to work full-time if I am not in want or need of more hours, and when it comes to vacation
Four of the different theories of deviance, anomie, conflict, interactionist, and labeling, each have their own differences, but some similarities between the four. Conflict theory states that devein can be a sign of oppression, that conflict arises because groups with power dictate that the actions of a minority group are deviant. The presence of deviance in conflict theory suggests that society is in the need of change, and that some social norms have only been constructed to keep a minority down. Similar to conflict theory, anomie suggest that there is a group struggling to meet the expectations of a stronger class, and that serious changes to a society as a hole would need to be made to stop the deviant behavior. However, in
ourselves to others. We often compare ourselves to similar people, in order to establish a criteria on which we are able to make certain judgments about ourselves. We may sometimes compare ourselves in an upward direction or we may compare ourselves in a downward direction. Both serve a purpose in that. they can result in positive or negative feelings about one’s self. In turn this can cause our behavior to change. We may decide to act upon those feelings to improve our own mental standing. We often subconsciously compare ourselves to others in terms of physical,
Norms are a part of everyday life. Without norms the world would be in total chaos. Norms by definition are rules of behavior shared by members of a society and rooted in the value system. ( ) Norms are held at a high standard in a society and are valued by its members. Norms vary from society to society. What is considered normal in one society may not be acceptable in another society. Norms are a societies way of living if a member of society breaks that norm they may be looked at as strange or even penalized depending on what kind of norm is broken. Norms are broken into three categories which are folkways, mores, and laws. Folkways are customs or desirable behaviors that are not strictly enforced. Violating a folkway is not criminal, but violating a folkway may have you looked at as weird. Mores are the strongest form of norms they have great moral significance in a society. Violating a more is considered immoral or borderline criminal. The strongest form of mores are taboos which are unthinkable action within a society. Laws are the third category of norms that a...
With the stigmatization that is placed on acts of deviance and deviant individuals, many of these individuals feel pressured by society to conform, or else be shamed and cutoff. Therefore, the deviant individuals in question need to be able to manage the stigma given to them. Managing a stigma plays a significant part of secondary deviance. Secondary deviance is a type of deviance associated with the Label theory, which was put forth by Edwin Lemert and Howard Becker. Secondary deviance only makes up one part of the Label theory. The other part of the theory is primary deviance. Primary deviance only involves individuals that commit and acts of deviance once and learns from their “mistake.” However, when it comes to secondary deviance, it is not defined by one act. Secondary deviance is a label that sticks with an individual for either as long as the lifestyle resides in the individual or for the rest of the individual’s life. Stealing a cookie and learning a lesson from that act would be an example of primary deviance. On the other hand, robbing ten houses over the course of two months would constitute as
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?
When most of us think of deviant behavior, we think of someone who is breaking the law or acting out in a negative manner. ‘Different’ or ‘unexpected’ are words often used to describe deviance from a sociological perspective (Adler, 2000). Generally, deviant means departing from the norm but for a sociologist, that can be biased towards the positive or the negative (Kendall, 2003). While there are crimes that are certainly deviant because they are outside the norm, such as murder and rape, there are also crimes that are not deviant. Taking speeding for example, Adler (2000) argues that, it isn’t at all unexpected to see someone speeding. Interestingly, from a sociologist perspective, speeding would not be considered deviant in most cities in a country like the United States of America.
Social norms are the guidelines by which we, as a culture, look to for our actions. Using the norms to guide our social interactions in order to avoid embarrassment or ridicule. Different cultures have different norms, depending on their values, such a thing as personal space can be defined in different incriminates, and some may think it is six inches while others view it as three feet. These norms may even vary from situation to situation, such as an empty bus vs a crowded bus, it may not be socially acceptable to take a seat right next to someone on an empty bus, but it is socially acceptable to do so on a crowded bus. Social norms are relative depending on what social groups one is a part of one will prescribe to a different set of norms. Social norms have many different effects on our everyday lives, they can be used to foster pro-social behavior or they can be manipulated for wrongful purposes, and when breaking a social norm one will not always receive a negative reaction.
Norms tend to guide the group. Even unknowingly, members act within the norms established. Staying within these boundaries, which become ingrained in their behavior patterns, the group becomes equipped accomplish its goals. While group norms may help a group progress towards its goal, some norms may also hinder the group from working together
A norm is “an accepted standard for how people should behave that is usually unwritten and learned unconsciously through socialization”. Every society in the entire world has norms. An example of these norms are “the expectation that children should follow their parents’ advice, that people standing in line should be orderly, and that an individual should accept an offer of a handshake when meeting someone for the first time”. These are things that everybody in this world does every single day.