...The second class of micro-level origin theories, control theories, explores the causes of deviance from an altogether different perspective. Control theories take for granted the existence of a cohesive set of norms shared by most persons in the society and reason that most persons want to and will typically conform to these prevailing social norms. The emphasis in these theories, unlike learning theories, is on the factors that bond individuals to conforming lifestyles. The bonds act as social and psychological constraints on the individual, binding persons to normative conformity (Toby 1957; Hirschi 1969). People deviate from norms when these bonds to conventional lifestyles are weak, and hence, when they have little restraining influence over the individual. Among control theorists, Travis Hirschi (1969) has made the greatest contributions to our knowledge about bonding processes and deviant behavior. Writing on the causes of delinquency, he argued that four aspects of bonding are especially relevant to control theory: emotional attachments to conforming others, psychological commitments to conformity, involvements in conventional activities, and beliefs consistent with conformity to prevailing norms. Among the most important of the bonding elements are emotional attachments individuals may have to conforming others and commitments to conformity—psychological investments or stakes people hold in a conforming lifestyle. Those having weak attachments—that is, people who are...
Words: 1230 - Pages: 5
...among family structure, patterns of single parent decision making and deviant behavior among adolescents. It reviews family income and non custodial parent involvement. Patterns of family decision making and family structure both have a significant effect on adolescent deviance behavior. Data on the child’s behavior, the child’s life at home, and parental relation with the child are collected through self reports. Understanding the family structure can have an important role in the intervention and prevention of deviant behavior in the child. More parental monitoring was associated with less delinquency in a single parent household. We examine family structure including two parent families, single mother families, single father families, and stepfamilies. This paper addresses the implications of different theories and findings designed to reduce deviance. Single Parent Home Effect on Adolescence Deviant behavior among youth has increased in the United States (Steinberg, 1987). According to the Nature and Meaning of Deviance (2008), Deviant behavior is described as actions or behaviors that violate cultural norms including enacted rules and social norms. This paper will examine the social factors associated with deviant behavior among juveniles. It will explore the correlation, if any, between single parent homes and the rise in deviant behavior in juveniles. The two disciplines, Psychology and Sociology, will help...
Words: 2859 - Pages: 12
...nWho is deviant differs from one culture to another. nStigma is the mark of deviance (the Scarlet Letter). n 5/17/2002 1 Social control n n Social controls are sanctions which try to keep people from deviance. Internal social controls are behaviors and attitudes socialized into the individual to protect them from deviance. External controls are society’s mechanisms like the law and the police. Since everyone breaks social rules and norms, the sociology of deviance usually refers to those who do it big-time. 2 5/17/2002 Theories of deviance Who becomes deviant? Why do they do it? 5/17/2002 3 Labeling theory n Labeling theory: a person becomes deviant when they get labeled as such. Getting a deviant identity means distinguishing between primary and secondary deviance. Primary deviance is where most people do something deviant but it is not discovered; secondary deviance is where a person takes on the identity of a deviant and may be thrust into a “deviant career.” Labeling theory fails to explain when being labeled deviant can jolt someone out of becoming a career deviant. Deviants are seen here as helpless victims rather than bad guys 4 5/17/2002 Transmission theory n 5/17/2002 Cultural transmission theory or differential association theory: deviance is learned through “transmission,” social interactions with others who are deviant. Criminals learn from other criminals. Dependent on the intensity of contact with deviants; the age...
Words: 973 - Pages: 4
...Chapter Eight: Deviance and Social Control Chapter Summary Sociologists use the term deviance to refer to any violation of rules and norms. From a sociological perspective, deviance is relative. Definitions of “what is deviant” vary across societies and from one group to another within the same society. Howard S. Becker described the interpretation of deviance as, “…not the act itself, but the reaction to the act that makes something deviant.” This coincides with the symbolic interactionist view. In some cases, an individual need not do anything to be labeled a deviant. He or she may be falsely accused or discredited because of a birth defect, race, or disease. Even crime is relative when interpreting the deviance of the actor. Deviance is based on adherence to and violation of norms. Human groups need norms to exist. By making behavior predictable, norms make social life possible. Consequently, all human groups develop a system of social control, which involves formal and informal means of enforcing norms. Those who violate these norms face the danger of being labeled “deviant.” Violators can expect to experience negative sanctions for the violation of norms. Members of society who conform to societal norms, especially those who go above and beyond what is commonly expected, receive positive sanctions. In some societies, such as the Amish, shaming is a common negative sanction that acts strongly as a means of social control, minimizing deviance. Biologists...
Words: 3763 - Pages: 16
...Life course theory is a sociological theory that attempts to explain peoples potential for criminality at different ages of their lives. The theory “emphasizes informal social ties and bonds to society at all ages across the life course” (Sampson, Laub p.312). What this means is that, throughout an individuals life, they develop relationships and responsibilities that are close to the normative standard. In a persons early life they have the influence of their family, their friends, and school. As that person ages their social control shifts to higher education, or vocational education. In middle adulthood that control shifts to work, marriage, parenthood, and giving back to the community. The theory argues that by having these bonds throughout...
Words: 1205 - Pages: 5
...DEVIANCE Sociology defines social deviance as an act of omission or commission of an offense where perpetrators risk facing state prosecution and legal punishment. Therefore, the sociological study of deviance looks at various social laws, their influence on the individual and societal behavior, and potential punishments for lawbreakers. Indeed, Kubrin, Stucky, & Krohn, (2009) note that sociology appreciates the fact that social norms vary in description across societies. This implies that an action that is deviant to one community may be morally acceptable to another. Moreover, sociology recognizes that while societies play a more important role than individuals do in creating and imposing norms and rules. This means that views on deviant acts existing in individuals more likely relate to their society’s responses to the behavior (Kubrin, Stucky, & Krohn, 2009). Norms are rules and expectations by which members of society are conventionally guided. Deviance is a failure to conform to these norms. Social norms differ from culture to culture. For example, a deviant act can be committed in one society that breaks a social norm there, but may be normal for another society. Over the years, sociologists have come up with numerous theories and concepts that help explain the causes, effects, and solutions to deviance. For instance, originally studied at the Chicago School, the social disorganization theory owes its application to deviance as a social issue to Roger Miller and...
Words: 1338 - Pages: 6
...Deviant Behavior Deviant Behavior Deviance can be defined as a wayward turn from all of the cultural norms of society that are in place. Basically, it is a violation of the normal ways of thinking and acting by our society. Society looks at deviance as generally having a negative impact on society. However, this can be disputed. What is deviant behavior in one part of the country may be of the social norm in another part of the country. Society and culture determine what is and is not deviant behavior. Deviance can be seen in different forms throughout our society. Actually, deviance does not always have to be looked at as a negative. Deviance could have a positive effect on a society. The norms of a society will change on a continual basis. Sometimes it is necessary to violate a norm so new norms can be introduced. Societies need to keep up with modern norms. Without changing norms from time to time, we would live in a boring world. Everybody would continue to do the same things over and over again. Society would be telling us when to go to wake up and go to bed. Furthermore, without deviance, there would not be a need for a decision making process. Everything would be pre-determined. It would make for a pretty boring world. There is a negative side to being deviant. Some people want all of the attention on them no matter what the cost. These types of deviants are usually very disturbed and depressed. They will not follow the normal...
Words: 1111 - Pages: 5
...Chapter Eight: Deviance and Social Control Chapter Summary Sociologists use the term deviance to refer to any violation of rules and norms. From a sociological perspective, deviance is relative. Definitions of “what is deviant” vary across societies and from one group to another within the same society. Howard S. Becker described the interpretation of deviance as, “…not the act itself, but the reaction to the act that makes something deviant.” This coincides with the symbolic interactionist view. In some cases, an individual need not do anything to be labeled a deviant. He or she may be falsely accused or discredited because of a birth defect, race, or disease. Even crime is relative when interpreting the deviance of the actor. Deviance is based on adherence to and violation of norms. Human groups need norms to exist. By making behavior predictable, norms make social life possible. Consequently, all human groups develop a system of social control, which involves formal and informal means of enforcing norms. Those who violate these norms face the danger of being labeled “deviant.” Violators can expect to experience negative sanctions for the violation of norms. Members of society who conform to societal norms, especially those who go above and beyond what is commonly expected, receive positive sanctions. In some societies, such as the Amish, shaming is a common negative sanction that acts strongly as a means of social control, minimizing deviance. Biologists, psychologists, and...
Words: 3763 - Pages: 16
...Deviance is a behavior or action that goes against the social norms of a society. I choose Deviance as my topic because there have been a lot of social norms that have been broken through the years like how same-sex marriage, abortion, divorce, and euthanasia are a few examples of act that were not permitted and so was considered an act of deviance. Knowing this, a study of deviance in sociology would be relevant because there would many factors to consider in identifying what is a deviance in society. Like in the table made by Robert K. Merton, deviance can be affected by conformity, innovation, ritualism, and retreatism. If all four are failed to be met then rebellion becomes the new means which leads to deviance. Another example would be the hippy movement of the mid-1960’s where in people around the world wanted peace so they banded together and made communities that propagated about ending the war and making peace, but that ended badly as these hippies were not only propagating peace, but also rebellion against the government for letting the war go on. There are several theories about deviance like social pathology, biological theory, psychological theory, social disorganization theory, labeling theory, anomie or structural stress theory, conflict theory, and cultural transmissions or differential association theory. Social Pathology is how deviant behavior is caused by physical and mental illness, malfunctions or deformities. Biological Theory is how deviant behavior is a result...
Words: 1200 - Pages: 5
...unacceptable behavior, but in the sociological sense of the word, deviance is simply any violation of society’s norms. Deviance can range from something minor, such as a traffic violation, to something major, such as murder. Each society defines what is deviant and what is not, and definitions of deviance differ widely between societies. For example, some societies have much more stringent rules regarding gender roles than we have in the United States, and still other societies’ rules governing gender roles are less stringent than ours. Gender and Deviance In the United States, women who cry in public in response to emotional situations are not generally considered deviant—even women who cry frequently and easily. This view of women has remained relatively constant. Over the past fifty years, however, society’s perception of men who cry has changed. A man who cried publicly in the 1950s would have been considered deviant. Today, men who cry in response to extreme emotional situations are acting within society’s norms. Male politicians cry when announcing defeat, male athletes cry after winning a championship, and male actors cry after winning an award. By today’s standards, none of these men is committing a deviant act. Relativism and Deviance Deviance is a relative issue, and standards for deviance change based on a number of factors, including the following: * Location: A person speaking loudly during a church service would probably be considered deviant, whereas a person...
Words: 5129 - Pages: 21
...FINAL PAPER- DEVIANCE AND SOCIAL CONTROL Final Paper Deviance and Social Control Sociological Foundations Oklahoma Wesleyan University Matthew Charles Colaw November 16, 2010 Abstract This paper is covering the different forms of deviance and social control. The word deviance is defined by actions or behaviors that violate a cultural norm. Deviance can be a formal crime or an in-formal act that is not perceived as normal in the culture. Each culture or group in this paper has different sets of norms and moral standards. This paper will discuss deviance within cultures and that many cultures can have different views on deviance. Social control is developed within a culture to punish the deviant acts. These topics will be discussed in the paper. Deviance in text book and from the internet source refers to any violation of a culture’s norms. This violation of cultural norms could be as insignificant as simply speeding a few miles an hour over the speed limit or a major crime such as murder. Deviance is further explained when Howard Becker stated, “It is not the act itself, but the reactions to the act, that make something deviant.” Each culture has a set of cultural norms and when an action or behavior causes a negative connotation in this culture it becomes deviant. (Jim Henslin, 2010) (Robert Keel, 2007) In the textbook it discusses different cultures and how certain acts are deviant. The article in the text...
Words: 2366 - Pages: 10
...Deviant Behavior Provide an example of a human behavior that is considered deviant in one society, but is not considered deviant in others. Deviant behavior is behavior that is a recognizable violation of social norms. Formal and informal social controls attempt to prevent or minimize deviance. One such control is through the medicalization of deviance. It is not the act itself, but the reactions to the act, that makes something deviant. In Saudi Arabia, women exposing skin other than the forehead, eyes, or hands is reflected as deviant to that culture. However, women in America or other parts of the world excluding the Middle East do not consider it deviant when women reveal skin, other than eyes, forehead or hands. What are the factors that have contributed to this society's perspective of the deviant behavior? Why does this society consider the behavior to be deviant but other societies do not? Factors that have contributed to this cultures perspective are based on their beliefs. According to Islam culture any clothing worn by any women should have following qualities: * Must not be tight so to reveal the body's shape and figure. * Must not be transparent or see-through, even partially. * Must not expose any part of the body. * Must not resemble the opposite sex's clothing. Now the reason it is considered deviant, as noted above is not the culture itself, but the action thereafter for those that do not follow through. For the Islam culture...
Words: 454 - Pages: 2
...Summary: Chapter 1 - Outsiders The author defines a deviant as one who deviates from the rules of some social group (and who therefore is an outsider to that group). An outsider is also defined from the point of view of the deviant as those from the social group who act as judges and arbiters of the rules. The author explores deviant behaviour as a phenomenon of definition, as opposed to one of characteristics. That is to say that deviant behaviour is more a question of judgement by a group than a characteristic of the deviant person. Therefore accepting the label 'deviant' means implicitly accepting the values of the social group making the judgement. Chapter 2 - Kinds of Deviance - A Sequential Model In order to discuss models of deviance, the author introduces four types of deviant behaviour: 1. conforming; 2. pure deviant; 3. falsely accused (i.e. perceived as deviant but exhibiting obedient behaviour) and 4. secret deviant (i.e. exhibiting rule-breaking behaviour but not perceived as deviant). The author examines two types of models that could be used to investigate what causes the deviant behaviours to develop:- 1. simultaneous - which assumes that the behaviour develops simultaneously through many causes 2. sequential - where patterns of behaviour develop according to an orderly sequence of stages Simultaneous models are often used in investigations of pathology, to determine the combination of variables that may predict the behaviour...
Words: 1717 - Pages: 7
...consequences." In the 1950’s and 1960’s, labeling theory or social reaction theory came to be out of a rejection of consensus theory or structural functionalism. Sociologists were beginning to study the aspects of different kinds of behavior. Labeling theory was just a theory until 1966 when Thomas J Scheff published his book called, Being Mentally Ill. His book stated that there are certain behaviors and actions that society views as deviant and those who engage in these types of behaviors are considered mentally ill or having a mental illness. Another labeling theorist was Frank Tannenbaum. His theory was of labeling was socially stigmatizing and that suggesting, tagging, defining, identifying, segregating, describing, and emphasizing any individual out for special treatment becomes a way of stimulating, and evoking the very traits that are complained of. A person becomes the thing they are described as being. This theory implies that no act is intrinsically criminal, rather, criminality is established through the formation of laws, and the interpretation of those laws by the courts police and correctional institutions. Deviance is therefore not a set of characteristics of individuals or groups, but rather it is a process of interaction between deviants and non-deviants and the context in which criminality is being interpreted. Labeling theory or social reaction theory is concerned with how the self-identity and behavior of individuals may be determined or influenced by the terms...
Words: 1419 - Pages: 6
...Social Structure & Social Interaction, Groups, Deviance, Poverty and Social Class Both Sides Microsociology emphasis is placed on social interaction- rules, codes, survival strategies, relationships, face to face contact. 1/54 Study: Speller Learn Test Play Games: Scatter Space Race All 54 terms PrintExportCopyCombine Order by Terms Definitions Microsociology emphasis is placed on social interaction- rules, codes, survival strategies, relationships, face to face contact. Location in Social Structure People's location in the social structure accounts for differences in their behavior & attitudes Ascribed Status involuntary status; a status you inherit o Class of parents, gender, sex, ethnicity, race Achieved Status voluntary status; a status you earn o Student, criminal, doctor, friend Society people who share culture & territory Hunting & Gathering Societies simplest form of society, few social divisions, few people, nomadic, most egalitarian [treat all as equals, no one is rich or poor], society with most leisure time. Role Conflict When what is expected of us in one role is incompatible with what is expected in another role. Role Strain When the same role presents inherent conflict- one role Thomas Theorem If people define situations as real, they are real in their consequences- think of people as less than and they will be treated as such. Group members of a group think of themselves as belonging together, they interact with...
Words: 6892 - Pages: 28
