Normative Definition Of Deviance

Strain Theory – Modes of Adaptation – how individuals adapt to the strain of not having access to scarce resources such as money, education, talent, ability, etc. Merton says we don’t all have the same opportunities in life

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

Deviance is a behavior that does not conform to social norms, therefore is socially created. Since most people in the United States believe that homosexuality is wrong, society has created homosexuality to be a deviance. Since deviance is relative and not absolute to a society, homosexuality is not a universal form of sexual deviance. There are many cultures that accept forms of homosexuality. The Western society is not accepting of it though, and many times this non-accepting view cause discrimination towards homosexuals. Is homosexuality a way for some people to deviate, or is it just the way some people need to live their lives? If that is the way of life for some people than society has to become accepting towards this lifestyle.

Deviance is defined as the fact or state of departing from usual or accepted standards, especially in social or sexual behavior. There are many different forms of deviance in today 's society. Something that is viewed as being deviant in one culture might be seen as normal in another. There are many different types and theories in which define deviance, however their are 3 broad categories, these 3 categories are positivist, relativist, and critical conceptions of deviance. These 3 categories are important in defining deviance because they break down deviance as a whole and better help understand the different acts in which we label as being deviant. Deviance as a whole is important to study especially in today 's society with their

Deviance is the variation from a set of norms or shared social expectations and deviants as the people who violate these shared expectations (page 149). A person may think of deviance or deviant act, as someone who is breaking the law or have some type of behave problem. What do you consider a deviant act?

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

As I have been constantly reminded throughout the duration of this course, deviance can have many definitions. For the purpose of this paper, I will used the relativist definition: deviance is behaviors that illicit a definition or label of deviance. However, behaviors or acts are not inherently deviant. They become so when the definition of deviance is applied. So the focus is not on why individuals violate norms, but instead how those norms are constructed. Norms are rules of behavior that guide people’s actions (Inderbitzin, Bates and Gainey 2015:3). They are society’s rules of appropriate behavior. Norms are generally broken down into three categories: laws, mores, and folkways. Laws are the strongest norms backed by official sanctions or a more formal response. Mores are “moral” norms that may generate outrage if broken. And folkways are everyday norms that do not generate much uproar if they are violated.

labeling someone as a deviant can have any major consequences for the individual who is labeled. some of those consequences are once a person who has been labeled may start to incorporate the stigma that goes along with it. this effort happens and can happen when a friend in high school is drinking underage and by being associated with that person can have yourself labeled as deviant even if you never commit a deviant act. other problems that come when labeled is being put into a certain category which people will treat you different, look at you different, and also think that you are going to commit other deviant acts which means they can not trust you, and you tend to lose respect in society.

1.) Describe the definition of deviance in class and or/ the textbook, which you will use for this assignment. • Sociologists use the term deviance to refer to any violation of norms (or rules or expectations) 2.) Commit a legal act of deviance. You may not use previous deviant experiences for this assignment.

The definition of deviance has the same definition around the world but its interpretation is changed on what is considered when someone is departing from usual or accepted standards. As quoted from Sociology Matters “ deviance is behavior that violates the standards of conduct of expectations of a group or society” : Schaefer (2014:106). A big part about what deviances means depends on the country that the person is in. As an example, if you were in the United States of America as a woman, you would be able to mostly whatever you wanted to wear. If you wanted to wear your hair a different way because you just felt like it, you would be able to. Overall women in America has a lot of choice to on what they decided to wear or not. But if you

Deviance is defined by the social norms that a person breaks. Looking at my life, I have committed deviance in many instances, at least once a day, so the act of deviance I am going to focus on is a something bigger than just the minute daily cases. A specific deviant act that I can clearly remember is a time that I swam in the Johnson Hall fountain in the middle of the night. Aside from my deviant act, I have a deviant identity that I achieved from going to bed very early as a college student. My peers noticed my secondary deviance of going to bed early, which is how it became my deviant identity. I am also part of a deviant group on Meredith College’s Liberal campus by being an open Republican and Donald Trump supporter. There is a small fraction of us but we stay together as a group that stands out on the campus. Reflecting on my past, I found that these three instances are bold examples of deviance as they have drastically set me apart from my college-aged peers.

Throughout the decades many theorists have tried to define as to why an individual may engage in a ‘criminal’ manner. But we have to ask ourselves whether or not that is the right question. Travis Hirschi goes beyond and asks why do most of us conform to societal views, allowing him to understand what differentiates offenders from non-offenders rather than uncovering why someone commits a deviant act. Despite disagreeing with the others starting point, Hirschi did indeed attempted to mix the theories in with each other in order to explain social control. In this sense, control theory is not so much a theory of deviance as a theory of conformity (95). This essay will argue that Hirschi’s Social Control (Bond) theory is easily comparable and contrastable with Classical Criminology, Durkheim’s Theory of crime, and Merton’s Theory of crime

In the 1998 film American History X, Derek Vineyard is paroled after serving 3 years in prison for brutally murdering two black men who were breaking into his truck. Through his Brother Danny’s narration of a paper he is writing, it is learned that Derek was the leader of a large Neo-Nazi group known as D.O.C., or Disciples of Christ, that committed many acts of racial crime throughout Los Angeles. During his time in prison Derek decides that hate is a waste of time after being violently raped by fellow white supremacists, and his only friend being a black man, who was only in prison for a misunderstanding. After getting out on parole, Derek learns that Danny is headed down the same racist path as him, and decided that he must put a stop to it. Throughout this film there are many examples of the five theories of deviance; Functional, Conflict, Labeling, Broken Windows, and Differential Association. From Derek’s initial exposure to racism, all the way to him deciding to change, all five theories are exemplified through Derek, Danny, their Father, Cameron, or the D.O.C. as a whole.

With changing norms in response to deviance, the deviant behaviour can contribute to long-term social stability. This provides the key to understanding the disruption and recalibration of society that occurs over time. Some traits that could cause social disruption will be stigmatized. As traits become more mainstreamed, society will gradually adjust to incorporate the formerly stigmatized traits. Take, for example, homosexuality. In urban America 50 years ago, homosexual behaviour was considered deviant. On the one hand, this fractured society into those marked as homosexuals and those unmarked as normative heterosexuals. While this us-versus-them mentality solidified social identities and solidarities within the two categories, there was nevertheless an overarching social schism.

In the United States of America, societal deviance changes nearly on a daily basis. Depending on the current culture, deviance is modified to make societal heroes like celebrities, political figures, and sport players look less deviant and more like role models for the public. The change in what is considered “normal” is customarily a result of society in general. By using a reference group of people, individuals tend to identify with those who are in the lime light. Then when that role model does something appalling, the public becomes desensitized to this behavior and its abnormality and becomes less distinct thus adding to the change in social deviances.