Deviant Behavior

I’m on my way to Sociology class one day this semester, my Tuesday and Thursday 2:00pm session with Gloria Clay. I find myself in a bit of a rush this afternoon. Slept in late, had a lot of errands to run, lost track of time. At least I’m grateful that the weather is nice and the traffic is sparse today, but this doesn’t eliminate the fact that I’m not going to be on time for class. I am trying to stay relaxed in this situation but little do you know, I really hate running late for everything. It’s about time my lead foot kicks in-- I find myself exceeding the speed limit. I actually get halfway to school when I notice the sporadic movement of blue and red lights in my rear view mirror. So here I am, hanging out in the shoulder of I-95, waiting for my new police buddy to come up to my car. The clock on my dashboard moves forward, I grow more late than I would be if I took my time driving to school. The officer approaches my window and the first thing he asks me, do I know why he pulled me over? I did. I was unlawfully speeding. It was then I realized and nevertheless questioned myself, if I know it is wrong why do I do it? And am I accepting my own deviant behavior? Throughout this paper I hope to present to you and myself various explanations in which I have personally related to being causes of deviant behavior in today’s society. Deviance is defined as a violation of rules or norms. Deviant behavior usually evokes formal and informal punishment, restrictions, or other controls of society. These formal and informal controls constrain most people to conform to social norms. Despite the social sanctioning and controlling, however, we sometimes observe deviant behavior around us. Then, why do some people engage in such deviant behavior even if social punishments are expected? Sociologists have attempted to explain it in various aspects. I have found there to be three possible explanations for my actions of deviance: the psychological, biological, and the

References: Pearson Education (2007). Social Problems.      Web site: http://ablongman.com/catalog/academic/course/0,1143,72402,00.html Wolpe, Paul Root (2006). Explaining Social Deviance. Web site: http://www.teach12.com/ttcx/coursedesclong2.aspx?cid=675&pc=Science%20and%20Mathematics Hamlin, John (1996) Sociological Theories of Deviance. Web site: http://www.d.umn.edu/~jhamlin1/soc3305.html Henslin, James M. (2007). Essentials of Sociology: A Down To Earth Approach.      (pp. 138-165). Chapter 6: Deviance and Social Control.