DEVIANCE AND CONTROL CHAPTER 8 WHAT IS DEVIANCE

DEVIANCE AND CONTROL CHAPTER 8

WHAT IS DEVIANCE? �Any act that violates a social norm �Criminal Deviance: homicide, robbery, & rape (involve violating criminal law) �Noncriminal Deviance: homophobia, using pornography, mental disorder, & corporate crimes

EXAMPLES OF VARIATIONS

MENTAL PROBLEMS & DEVIANCE � 20% of US adults suffer from problems serious enough to need psychiatric help; 12% of adolescents suffer Types of noncriminal deviance: �Psychosis: loss of touch with reality �Neurosis: persistent fear, anxiety, or worry about trivial matters

HOMOPHOBIA �Noncriminal deviance: prejudice & discrimination against gays & lesbians (aka “heterosexism”) �#1 excuse: says it’s wrong in the Bible & those people are to be put to death (Leviticus 20: 13) �#2 excuse: same-sex marriages “cannot produce babies, ” which is a “deviant” act to them

DEVIANCE IS HELPFUL AND HARMFUL �Emile Durkheim: “ deviance is an integral part of all healthy societies” �He came up with anomie = social condition in which norms are absent, weak, or in conflict (aka “normlessness”)

DEVIANCE IS HELPFUL AND HARMFUL �Robert Merton agrees w/Durkheim • anomie may occur when there’s an inconsistency between goals & the socially approved ways of achieving them �Problem: too much emphasis on success of the goal & not enough means for achieving it creates a strain on people (especially lower classes)

3 PERSPECTIVES OF DEVIANCE �Both functionalists and conflict theorists view deviance as a product of society �Symbolic Interactionists say it is learned through interactions w/other people • People learn how to perform & define these acts • Ex: stealing if you’re hungry/poor = pro-deviant definition; wrong to steal = anti-deviant definition

LEARNING THROUGH DEVIATION �If kids pick up on enough pro-deviant definitions, then they will likely be deviant �This is called differential association = process of acquiring a deviant behavior through interaction w/others

LABELING THEORY �Looks at societal reactions to rule violation & impact of this reaction �Society looks at a rule-breaking act & labels it as deviant can forever label a person

DIFFERENT LABELS � Before being forever labeled, people go through stages” � 1. primary deviance = 1 st time violations (kids break windows, skip school, etc) � 2. leads to possible secondary deviance = if adults see these “pranks” as serious, they label the kid…leads to continued violations b/c it’s almost expected of them

WE HAVE CONTROL �Almost everyone deviates at a point in their life from social norms considered deviant acts �Therefore control by others to limit deviance & maintain order is known as social control (people are pressured to conform to social norms)

TYPES OF SOCIAL CONTROL INFORMAL �Relatives, neighbors, peers, strangers �Enforce control through frowning, gossip, ridicule, etc. FORMAL � Police, judges, prison guards, educational institutions, welfare, media, & medicine � Controlled through our criminal justice system