Deviance and Social control

1. Deviance and Social control Chapter 7

2. What is deviance? • Refers to the behavior that departs from societal or group norms. • Difficult to define because not everyone agrees… • It can vary from group to group.

3. Types of Deviance Positive Negative • Involves behavior that fails to meet accepted norms. • May reject norms, misinterpret norms or are unaware of norms. • Involves over conformity to norms leading to imbalance and extremes of perfectionism

4. Deviant • Is a person who has violated one or more of society’s most highly valued norms. • Significant norms are highly important to most members of a society or the members with the most power. • Reactions to deviants are usually negative and involve attempts to control or change the deviant behavior.

5. Social control • All societies have ways to promote order, stability, in social life. If not, life would be chaotic! • It is a way to promote conformity to norms. • Two types: internal and external

6. Internal Social Control Lies with in the individual Developed during socialization. You do something because it is right not because you fear arrest or punishment.

7. External Social Control Based on Social sanctions –rewards or punishments designed to encourage desired behavior. Remember positive and negative sanctions, formal and informal sanctions??

8. Explaining Deviance • Why do people commit deviant acts? • Functionalist-See deviance as contributing to a smooth operation to society. • Conflict-conformity to social norms depends on strong bonds between society and the individual. • Interactionist-Believe that deviance is a learned behavior and is culturally transmitted.

9. Functionalist • View Deviance as a natural part of society. • Anomie: a social condition in which norms are weak, conflicting or absent according to Emile Durkheim. And society will become disorganized because there are no guidelines. • Strain theory: Robert K . Merton says that deviance is an outgrowth of values, norms and structure of society.

10. Functionalist example America places high emphasis on Economic success. But not everyone can reach these goals. (no education, unemployment) Society judges them on how they meet the expected goal.

11. Strain Theory

12. Conflict • Competition and social inequality lead to deviance. • They see life as a social struggle between those who possess power (ruling class) and those who do not have power (lower class) • Both groups commit deviant acts to obtain economic rewards because they feel powerless.

13. Interactionist-Control Theory • Offer 3 major explanations for deviance: control, cultural transmission and labeling theories. • Control theory: states that conformity to social norms depends on the presence of strong bonds between individuals and society. If these bonds are weak (anomie) then deviance will occur. • You conform because you don’t want “to lose face” with your family and friends. • Socialization during childhood is important because parents and family will help children develop social control • http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=iRh5qy09nNw

14. Cultural Transmission Theory • Deviance is a learned behavior through social interaction. • BUT the interaction is between individuals who are engaging in deviant behavior rather than socially accepted behavior. • Occurs in primary groups

15. Labeling • Focuses on individuals come to be identified as deviant. • Primary deviance: deviance that goes undetected by those in authority. • Secondary Deviance: results in the individual being labeled as deviant and accepts the label as true. • Being deviant becomes the person’s master status. Stigma • It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy and may encourage them to commit more deviant acts.