SOCI325 070112
From Necowiki
group 9
What is Deviance
- Deviance
- Behaviors, beliefs, or conditions that are viewed by relatively powerful segments of society as serious violations of important norms
- Deviance is relative, thus who decides is crucial
- Universal
- Crime
- Violation of formal statute enacted by a legitimate government
Sociological Positivism
- people like to "fight the norm"
- deviant acts are often driven by the simple fact they are deviant
Theories
- Differential Association Theory: Sutherland
- deviance is learned not inherited
- usualy through interaction in small groups
- Deviants lack controls (Hirschi and Gottfredson)
- attachment to parents and friends not wanting to dissampoint
- commitments to legitimate goals
- deviance is sometimes coming out of more up-scale families by kids who want to rebel from the family
- involvements in routines
- belief in conventional values
- Labeling theory
- A label of deviant is applied to particular people, creating a stigma of powerful negative identity
- labeling can keep someone stuck in the label
- self-labeling - rejecting conventions, blaming your self, feeling low because the individual hasn't been given the opportunities
- informal labeling - by family and friends
- labeling has not been linked to encouraging deviance
Group work
- examples of deviance
- people with disabilities are often seen as deviants, however a record of outstending achievent can overcome the stigma
