Deviant Behavior: Violations Of Social Norms

Labeling theory holds that individuals come to identify and act as per their labels. The major tenet of this theory is that the behavior and self-identity of individuals is affected by the way they are described by other people (Vold, Bernard, Snipes, & Gerould, 2016). According to this theory, the act of deviance is not implicit in a particular act, but is hedged on the inclination of the majority to ascribe labels to minorities in society who deviate from standard behavior. Labeling leads to dramatization of a particular act – which propagates the behavioral clash between the individual and the community. Through ascribing labels, the individuals acquire a negative self-image. The individuals accept themselves as labeled by the

Deviance is “any behavior that does not conform to social expectations.” The statement, “Deviance is socially constructed” means that because individuals that rebel against the norms of social group, and use deviant behavior, others will join in and this creates a whole new social group. For instance, gay marriage. This has always been considered something wrong and people shouldn’t do it. Although, people started to become deviant and say that it isn’t wrong and that people should be able to love who they so please. Now, since the summer of 2015, gay marriage has been legalized all across the nation and all of these people fit under one social group. Deviance is relative because the rules for each group vary, so in that case it is relative

I hadn 't realized how nerve racking breaking a social norm could be until I decided to purposely go around doing it for a day. For my deviance experiment, I decided to ask ten random people throughout my day on June 30th, 2016 if they wanted to play rock-paper-scissors. The game itself is harmless and fun, but the act of interacting with someone more than a simple “Hello, how are you?" and a quick "I 'm fine, thanks" became a deviant act. The textbook describes deviance as a “recognized violation of cultural norms.” (pg 174) People who go against social norms, who may be considered outsiders or strange are often labeled deviant.

However, these incidents took place in schoolyards, classrooms and hallways when teachers or staff was not present (Black, pgs. 2-5, 2013). Since, Azmi was called names stigmatization occurred because there was labelling that were present. Stigma comes from labelling, which further leads to individuals as social outcasts. Labels are negative assumptions based on gender, gender preferences and stereotypes that are not close to scientific evidence. Also, labelling causes dehumanization of a person (Barris, 2007). However, no human attribute is inferior but these attributes are socially constructed. For example, homosexual men were reflected in the Church as deviant, mentally ill and seducers of boys and these labels were later displayed in many laws (Keller, pgs. 191-192, 1994). Finally, the term “faggot” originated from the time when homosexuals were often burned first to make coals hot for the burning of witches (Keller, pgs. 191-192, 1994). As for Jubran’s case, he did not identify himself as a homosexual individual but he was the subject of ongoing homophobic harassment. This led Azmi to take legal action in regards to the harassment he was experiencing during his school years (Black, pgs. 48,52, 2013).

Associating with the self-fulfilling prophecy, master status, and symbolic interactionism, Howard Becker’s labeling theory, views deviance as not an innate act, but rather, elects to target society impulse to engage in stigmatization (Cartwright, 2011). In this paper, I will discuss the implications of labeling specifically in the articles “The Saints and the Roughnecks” by William Chambliss and “On Being Sane In Insane Places” by David Rosenhan. Additionally, I will be discussing the far-reaching effects of negative labeling an individual, with respect to concepts such as labeling theory, the self-fulfilling prophecy, and master status.

Labeling theorists explore how and why certain acts are defined as criminal or deviant and why other such acts are not. As such, they also who is identified as a criminal, and who is not. They question how and why certain people become defined as criminal or deviant. Such theorists view criminals not as evil people who engage in wrong acts but as individuals who have a criminal status forced upon them by both the criminal justice system and the community at large. From this point of view, criminal acts themselves are not significant; it is the reactions of the rest of society to acts defined as criminal that are most crucial. Crime and its control involve a process of social definition, which involves a response from others to an

Labels are everywhere. Whether conscious or subconsciously, they are a fundamental part of our lives. We label together foods, clothing, colours and things that are alike. But what happens when we expand this form of “labelling” to split up types of people? When we assume character traits about those who belong to a certain group, this can intensely affect the way many react in life. Those who are judged for their sexual orientation, gender, income, mental problems etc., may eventually begin to conform to a stereotype that they belong to. In turn, this stereotyping may be the reason for certain people to partake in deviance acts.

As we all have observed, throughout history each culture or society has unique norms that are acceptable to that group of people. Therefore, to establish and come to the acceptance of these basic norms, each society must develop its’ own strategies and techniques to encourage the fundamentals of behavior, which is clear in our modern society. Most do assume that everyone in a society will follow and respect such norms. However, some tend to deviate from the adequate norms and demonstrate deviant behavior. Nevertheless, we are inclined to ask ourselves, why do people decide to violate such important standards of living?

1. a. deviance is any behavior or physical appearance that is socially challenged or condemned because it departs from the norms and expectations of a group (154)

Labeling theory focuses on the formal and informal application of stigmatization of deviant labels or social “tags” by society on some of its members.

Labeling will more likely cause an individual to become deviant when social groups label them as such.

The basis of Labeling Theory as a whole is practically exactly as it sounds, the labeling, or stigmatizing, of a person or group of people throughout their life. This labeling is the result of how that person, or group of people, identifies and behaves throughout their life. This idea of the Labeling Theory comes from Becker, who claims that individuals will conform with what is said and assumed about them. Becker’s theory states the idea that those who are labeled throughout life as deviant will become deviant and take on a known selfhood as deviant. This idea also claims that those labeled as deviant will act more deviant than if they had not been labeled this way. The Labeling Theory uses social characteristics such as class and race to

At a very early age, children learn about social norms to help them become proper citizens in society. Examples of some social norms that students learn are: “do not yell in the library,” “do not speak unless spoken to,” “do not talk to strangers,” and “close the door when you use the restroom.” As you grow older, these rules become unspoken because everyone knows how to act like a proper individual in society. The textbook definition of a social norm is something that is a rule of behavior that society accepts. (Bicchieri) Since everyone knows these unsaid rules of society, what would happen when someone decides not to follow these rules? What would people think and react? In this paper, I discuss my violation of the social norm “don’t talk to strangers” and discuss what I learned from this experiment.

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

Author of the 2002 Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice, Charles R. states that the word deviance is one that “usually refers to some behavior that is inconsistent with the standards of acceptable conduct prevailing in a given social group, although the term has also been used to designate personal conditions, ideas, or statuses that are stigmatized or disreputable” (p. 1). Assuming this ideal as fact, we must consider those who influence the change in behavior that is deemed “disreputable.” In order to understand this, the Nation must be observed in a large scale while searching for the persons that are most influential. In this way, we must designate which behaviors are considered deviant and how those influential people help those behaviors to be deemed so. Anything similar to gang activity, drug use, violence of any