Parsons ' Agil Perspective On Social Systems Essay

Deviant behavior is socially constructed with the people in power defining what is expectable and what is deviant.

Merton focused on two elements of social structure and culture, desirable goals and legitimate means which are available in attaining those goals. Lack of integration and what the culture calls for and what the structure permits, results in deviant behaviour, "social structures exert a definite pressure upon certain persons in the society to engage in nonconforming rather than conforming conduct" (Brym, 2001, p. 455).

Each area of a person’s life has a certain social norm to follow; this includes one’s home, school, work, and hanging out with friends. The social norms for an individual’s behavior change as his or her environment changes.

social norms were important to follow if one wanted to lead a happy and successful life. To be

reflects understanding of how social norms define the society that they are applied to. Also

‘social groups create deviance by making the rules whose infraction constitutes deviance, and by applying those rules to particular people and labelling them as outsiders. From this point of vie, deviance is not a quality of the act the person commits, but rather a consequence of the application by others of the rules and sanctions to an ‘offender’. The deviant is one to whom the label has successfully been applied, deviant behaviour is behaviour that people so label. (Becker 1963, pg 9)

Throughout life, in any society we develop a sense to conform and adjust to our surroundings but why? Our values in our society determines our norms and why we do the things we do. I recently sought out to break these social conformities that violated the values, and norms we hold as a society. Every society is different and, in every society there are different and similar values, norms, sanctions folkways, and mores. Breaking them up and analyzing them we began to understand why these terms and values are so important to us.

Situational deviance is relative to a particular setting as well as dependent upon who is doing the defining. There are different degrees of deviance, there’s individual and system blame. The

For the research, I looked at Fox News, specifically politics. On October 31st, the headlines had a title called “John Ashcroft: This Is Not the Justice Department That I Knew”. The author, Matthew Wisner indirectly states that John Ashcroft was disappointed with the Justice Department (specifically the FBI). When I briefly read the article, Ashcroft seems to not conform to any sides, the sides being the Clinton Campaign and the FBI. Rather than conforming to either side, he finds fault in both of them. While society chooses sides, that being the norm, Ashcroft didn’t. Norms are the understood role for being accepted, social norms being an understood role to be accepted by society. The people who did choose sides on the FBI incident were conforming

Abnormal behavior in one society appears normal in the other society (Nairne, 426). Deviance is weighed by the society’s reactions to the particular behavior, also it is measured by the society’s way of life so that it defines the unwelcoming behavior. It ignores the social order and some organizations believe, the reality in society.

"Social groups create deviance by making the rules whose infraction constitute deviance, and by applying those rules to particular people and labelling them as outsiders-deviance is not a quality of the act of a person commits, but rather a consequences of the application by others of rules and sanctions to an 'offender' The deviant is one to whom that label has successfully been applied. Deviant behaviour is behaviour that people so label."

Deviance is socially constructed because it is defined and outlined firmly by society’s norms. As a result, a deviant act in one society may not be considered deviant within a different society. Societies define themselves through the shared common values of the individuals and in order for a society to maintain these values and cultural identity they create and maintain boundaries (Erikson, 2005, p17). These boundaries allow individuals to relate to each other in an articulate manner and so that they may develop a position within society (Erikson, 2005, p17). The boundaries are created by individuals’ behavior and interactions in their regular social relations. Deviance then becomes the actions which society perceived to be outside of its boundaries. In other words, an act is viewed as deviant when it falls outside of those commonly shared values and norms which created the boundaries. This is because the society is making a declaration about the disposition and arrangement of their boundaries. Boundaries are not fixed to any society rather they shift as the individual’s redefine their margins and position on a larger cultural map (Erikson, 2005, p20).

In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen makes brilliant use of her characters and their situations to paint an image of society in the early 19th century. At the same time, the norms and values which she presents bear some remarkable similarities to today’s world. Social norms are defined by Kendall, Murray, and Linden in Sociology in Our Times as “established rules of behavior or standards of conduct” (664), while a social value is defined as “a collective idea about what is right or wrong, good or bad, and desirable or undesirable in a particular culture” (668). These terms can be used fairly interchangeably; they both

For some, conformity is an unthinkable evil in American society. All individuals living within a community conform in some way to social norms, yet to label someone a conformist is akin to labeling them ignorant and unoriginal. However, conformity - and its associated impacts - are as integral to the functioning of society as the principles of nonconformity. Conformity is often positively utilised to induce positive social change nationally and internationally. It prompts dissemination of workload, provides protection (‘strength in numbers’), and encourages strict rule enforcement. Although less appreciated than non conformists, conformists and their resulting principles play a vital role in the smooth conduction of society.

“Social influence is the process by which the actions of an individual or group affect the behavior of others” (Feldman 495). These influences are strongly experienced by members in the group. Every group is unique and is mostly guided by a particular norm and behavior. An individual in a group passively or actively allows himself to be influenced by the group just to have a sense of belongingness. In the bid to prevent being excluded or rejected from a group, some individuals overtly adhere to the norms of the group. “Thus, people conform to meet the expectations of the group” (Feldman 495).