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Deviance & Social Control. Deviance and Social Control. Social norms : standards or expectations of appropriate behavior for members of a given culture or subculture Deviance is a violation of social norms.
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Deviance and Social Control • Social norms: standards or expectations of appropriate behavior for members of a given culture or subculture • Deviance is a violation of social norms
Deviance involves the violation of group norms, which may or may not be formalized into law • Deviance includes not only criminal behavior but also many actions not subject to prosecution • Standards of deviance vary from one group (or subculture) to another, and change over time
Theoretical perspectives on deviance • Structural theories (aka Functionalist perspective, pp. 175-176) • emphasize the relationship of deviance to certain structural conditions within a society • focus on epidemiology, or the distribution of deviance in time and place • are considered general theories • e.g., Anomie theory and conflict theories • Process theories (aka Interactionist perspective) • describe the processes by which individuals come to commit deviant acts • focus on etiology, or the origins and development of deviance • E.g., Labeling theory, control theory, and learning or socialization theories
Social Control • Social control refers to the techniques and strategies for preventing deviant human behavior • Operate on both group level and societal level • Conformity: going along with peers, or individuals of our own status • Obedience: compliance with higher authorities
Informal and formal social control • Informal: gossip, gestures, physical methods (e.g., corporal punishment) • Formal: carried out by authorized agents such as police officers physicians, school administrators, employers, military officers, etc.
Control theory • Explains why we do not behave in deviant ways • When we feel a part of, or bonded with, society, the more our behavior is controlled, preventing deviance, e.g., • Attachments • Commitments • Involvements • Beliefs
Patchwork Nation’s types breakdown as follows • Democratic coalition counties • Industrial Metropolis (Philadelphia, PA) • College and Careers (Johnson County, IA) • MoniedBurbs (Fairfax County, VA) • Competitive counties • Minority Central (Wilson, NC) • Immigration Nation (Maricopa, AZ) • Military Bastions (Norfolk, VA) • Service Worker Stations (Richland, OH) • Republican coalition counties • Empty Nests (Lake, FL) • Boom Towns (Clark, NV) • Evangelical Epicenters (Christian, MO) • Tractor Country (Sioux, IA) • Mormon Outposts (Cassia, ID)