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Sociology Chapter 7 Section 3: Symbolic Interactionism and deviance. Differential Association Theory. According to symbolic interactionism, deviance is transmitted through socialization in the same way that nondeviant behavior is learned. How is deviance learned?.
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Sociology Chapter 7 Section 3: Symbolic Interactionism and deviance
Differential Association Theory • According to symbolic interactionism, deviance is transmitted through socialization in the same way that nondeviant behavior is learned.
How is deviance learned? • Differential association theory emphasizes the role of primary groups in transmitting deviance. • The more that individuals are exposed to people who break the law, the more apt they are to become criminals.
Three characteristics affect differential association: • The ratio of deviant to nondeviant individuals. • Whether the deviant behavior is practiced by significant others. • The age of exposure.
Labeling Theory • Labeling theory explains why deviance is relative- that is, sometimes of two people breaking the norm only one may be labeled a deviant.
Is deviance defined by the act or by the individual? • Deviance exists when some members of a group or society label others as deviants.
Labeling theory allows us to understand the relativity of deviance. • It explains why unmarried pregnant teenage girls are more negatively sanctioned than the teenage biological fathers. • Traditionally, society expects females to set the boundaries.
Labeling theory also explains why a middle-class youth who steals a car may go unpunished for “borrowing” the vehicle whereas a lower-class youth goes to court for stealing.
Are there degrees of deviance? • In the case of primary deviance, a person engages only in isolated acts of deviance. • When college students are asked to respond to a checklist of unlawful activates, most admit to having violated one or more norms. • Yet the vast majority of college students have never been arrested. • If their deviance stops at this point, they have engaged in primary deviance.
Secondary deviance refers to deviance as a lifestyle and as a personal identity. • Their life is organized around deviance.
What are the consequences of labeling? • Labeling people as deviants can cause them pain and suffering, as well as determine the direction of their lives.
Stigma- an undesirable characteristic or label used by others to deny the deviant full social acceptance. • Example: Ex-convicts • People with a disability • Unemployed people