SOC 101
SOC101-Intro to Sociology
March 2013
1. Part A. Describe the sociological concept of deviance. Briefly explain each of the approaches to explaining deviance (functionalist perspective, interactionist perspective, conflict perspective), telling which is most convincing to you and why. Provide examples from your own experience as appropriate.
2. Part B. Analyzing your own life; discuss your status in terms of ascribed status, achieved status, and master status. For each of these statuses, discuss the roles that you play. Give one example of role strain and role conflict from your own experience. Thinking about the future, which role do you think will cause you the most difficulty in terms of role exit? Why?
The Sociological concept of “deviance” is any behavior that disobeys the usual conduct or expectations of a group within a society. A deviance act can be one that is punishable by law or it can be one that is not a criminal behavior. Individuals turn out to be deviance when their actions disagree with the set of rules imposed by the society. For instance, from my culture piercing or body tattoos could be labeled as a deviance behavior because body tattoos are associated with criminals or gangs members. There are three approaches to explaining deviance Functionalists Perspective, Interactionist Perspective, and finally Conflict Theory. The functionalist theorists define deviance as normal and can have both positive and negative consequences. The Conflict Theory points out that people with power protect their own interests and define deviance to suit their own needs (Schaefer, 2010, p173). Lastly, the Interactionist Perspective explains deviance in two ways, the cultural transmission and routine activity theories.
According to Functionalists, deviance is a common part of a human existence, with positive as well as negative consequences that follows for social stability. Deviance helps define the limits of proper behavior. For example an employee
March 2013
1. Part A. Describe the sociological concept of deviance. Briefly explain each of the approaches to explaining deviance (functionalist perspective, interactionist perspective, conflict perspective), telling which is most convincing to you and why. Provide examples from your own experience as appropriate.
2. Part B. Analyzing your own life; discuss your status in terms of ascribed status, achieved status, and master status. For each of these statuses, discuss the roles that you play. Give one example of role strain and role conflict from your own experience. Thinking about the future, which role do you think will cause you the most difficulty in terms of role exit? Why?
The Sociological concept of “deviance” is any behavior that disobeys the usual conduct or expectations of a group within a society. A deviance act can be one that is punishable by law or it can be one that is not a criminal behavior. Individuals turn out to be deviance when their actions disagree with the set of rules imposed by the society. For instance, from my culture piercing or body tattoos could be labeled as a deviance behavior because body tattoos are associated with criminals or gangs members. There are three approaches to explaining deviance Functionalists Perspective, Interactionist Perspective, and finally Conflict Theory. The functionalist theorists define deviance as normal and can have both positive and negative consequences. The Conflict Theory points out that people with power protect their own interests and define deviance to suit their own needs (Schaefer, 2010, p173). Lastly, the Interactionist Perspective explains deviance in two ways, the cultural transmission and routine activity theories.
According to Functionalists, deviance is a common part of a human existence, with positive as well as negative consequences that follows for social stability. Deviance helps define the limits of proper behavior. For example an employee