Deviance And Crime Reflection Paper

Deviance as a sociological term does not mean perversion or depravity, deviance is exhibiting behavior that violates the standards of conduct or expectations of a group or society. When on the topic of deviance, we are discussing the violation of social norms. Social norms are the rules that a group uses for appropriate and inappropriate values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. These rules may be explicit or implicit, meaning they are either expressed clearly or simply implied indirectly. There are many different causes of deviance, willingly or unwillingly. When talking about deviance, a person can get a deviant identity in many ways. You can look at it in terms of physical or behavioral characteristics. When people acquire a deviant role, it is common to be viewed in a negative way by many people.

A cross-cultural examination of certain deviant acts surface interesting observations of both the root of function of deviance in that given society. This observation will illustrate how the ways in which deviance is viewed in a specific culture is not universal. The author also touches upon how the “concept of normal” is equated with the “concept of good”; therefore, by consequence, anything remotely outside this pre-established box is viewed in a negative manner (Benedict 1934:4). The category of deviance is employed by society as a strategic means of reducing diversity, maintaining order and above else, upholding the social norm. Individuals who threaten this system are immediately labeled as evil wrongdoers who are then treated differently on every level. A further scholar, Erikson, compares the social system to a “nucleus, “which” draws the behavior of actors toward [itself] within range of basic norms,” (Erikson 1962: 309). This analogy provides powerful imagery of how the social system functions and the reason for why deviance is seen as such a threatening act. He further draws a comparison between the law and the norm arguing that both are reinforced by consistently being “used as a basis for judgment,” (Erikson 1962: 310). The entanglement of

Deviance is a behavior, trait or belief that is not the norm and provokes a negative reaction in a particular group. The documentary, “Prison State”, explores four citizens who have been deemed deviant under law in the United States. The main focus of this documentary is crime, punishment, and the cycle that filters people in and out of the penitentiary. The documentary can be supported by many examples and theories of deviance explained in chapter six of the textbook, however there are a couple that are more prevalent than others, such as, crime and demographics, as well as, deterrence and punishment. Crime is a type of deviance that is punishable when enforced by the law.

Marxist claim that the bourgeoisie choose what they consider is criminal and deviant behaviour within society. They say the proletariat are the main culprits of the criminal behaviour, and they and those who are in a lower class are forced into committing crimes to survive as there is no other option for them. The main reason for the high crime rate is due to how the system works. White collar crimes seem to usually be ignored while lesser crimes such as burglary, vandalism and every day street crime tend to be highlighted more within the public eye and seen as much worse. This may well be because the ruling class have the funds to provide good lawyers and the power to cover their crimes up. Because the working class are policed heavier, as they are expected to break the law more, they are more likely to be caught for any offences. Marxists value the norms and values of society believing that if you do not conform and obey the rules you should be punished. This is why schools, religion and the justice system (prison) are used to encourage people to conform to what society expects of them.

Emile Durkheim studied deviance with the functionalism approach. Functionalism argues that each element of social structure helps maintain the stability of society (156). Durkheim actually viewed crime and delinquent behavior as a normal and necessary occurrence in a social system. These societies see the behavior as wrong and a punishment is the consequence. Functionalists believe that deviance helps clarify moral boundaries. It helps society’s moral compass to distinguish the difference between what is right and what is wrong. A function of deviance is to promote social cohesion; people can be brought together as a community in the face of crime or other violations (156).

Interactionists do not believe that deviants and criminals are different to others, they believe that everyone commits deviant acts however only some are caught, stigmatized and ridiculed for them.

In order to gain a better understanding of Sociological Perspective of Deviance it is important to understand the broad consensus of behavior and its place in society. Situational deviance pertains to a group who engages in behavior that is considered “non- defiant and acceptable “however the behavior is still viewed as societally deviant. “Bad” deviance pertains to criminal behavior such as murder, rape, theft, and physical, mental or emotional abuse inflicted on

Examine and assess the usefulness of one of the following theories of crime and deviance in terms of explaining crime and the social problems in modern society.

For the interduction Francis T. Cullen, Robert Agnew, and Pamela Wilcox (253) do is introduce Labeling Theory in the chapter of Labeling, Interaction, Crime: Societal Reaction and the Creation of Criminals. The three go on to discuss the creation of criminals from secondary deviance (253). After discussing secondary deviance, they begin to inform us about the rise and fall of Labeling Theory (Cullen, Agnew, and Wilcox). Next Cullen, Agnew, and Wilcox (256) begin to explain some new contemporary theories. Finally they discuss how Labeling Theory could affect policy. In the second part of this chapter Edwin M. Lemert (263) discusses primary and secondary deviance. The first thing Lemert (264) talks about is types of deviance. He goes on to explain

Deviance can be defined as an absence of conformity to the social norm. Not all deviant behavior is necessarily illegal or harmful to individuals, these behaviors can range from standing in another’s personal space to murdering another individual. In some cases, it can be looked upon as a positive change or a unique and favorable act. Although, considered deviant because it is not the social norm, it still can have a very positive social aspect or lead to social change. Culture and the societies within these cultures have a significant impact on what is considered deviant and what is acceptable or even lawful behavior. The degree of deviance is measured by society’s reaction towards the action and the lawful sanctions that may take

Based on Howard Becker’s symbolic or labeling theory, all acts of deviance and the person seen to be acting in a deviant manner are given labels. These labels generally come from someone in there community or group who are in hierarchy or authority figure. That means no action is deviant unless specified by the particular community or group (Bessant & Watts 2002). Becker’s labeling theory concentrates on the lower class, and anything apart from what the group expects is labeled as deviant. The term Once a criminal always a criminal is familiar, it is these type of labels that maybe detrimental in terms of a person internalizing labels as truth, and how others sees them (D. Conley 2008). The labels and or judgments given negatively, isolate the person from the group, and may hinder the person’s opportunity to reach their full potential. The strains put on a person to conform to the particular cultures norms and values, does not allow any person to differ in nature or thought. When one is pressured to perform in ways that may be foreign or

Deviance and crime are wide-ranging terms used by sociologists to refer to behavior that varies, in some way, from a social norm. Cultural Norms are society's propensity towards certain ideals; their aversion from others; and their standard, ritualistic practices. Essentially the 'norm' is a summation of typical activities and beliefs of group of people. This essay will evaluate the sociological theories associated with crime and deviance and to compare and contrast these main theories. And find links between these theories to today’s society. There are various Sociological deviance theories, including Structuralist: why do some people break the rules? ,

Merton's Anomie of Strain theory hypothesises that deviant behaviour is the result of a "disjunction

Deviance is described as being behaviour that is not part of the norms in your particular society. This can be different throughout the world because some cultures have very different norms (Stephens and Leach, 1998:17). Most deviant behaviour will attract disapproval from others in the society or punishment from authorities. There are many different types of deviance such as addiction, mental illness, alcoholism, criminality and homosexuality. Throughout this essay six types of theories will be discussed about how and why people are deviant. Four of these theories support the idea of deviance being biological and three support the idea of it being caused by your social construction. Also the essay will talk about the differences between

The functionalist theory interprets all parts of society: the functional and dysfunctional. Although crime and deviance may seem to be dysfunctional to society, they are important aspects of society because they help to create social norms and social order. Crime and