deviance
DEVIANCE
Definition
The recognized violation of cultural norms, rules and expectations.
Can be criminal or non-criminal.
Usually of sufficient severity to warrant disapproval from the majority of society.
In sociology, “deviance” is not a term of negative judgement, but is meant to be descriptive.
In psychology, studies link deviance to abnormal personality stemming from either biological or environmental causes.
Rules and expectations concern appearance, manner, and conduct.
Appearance (what we look like)
- norms concerning clothing, and other presentational aspects of our body
- includes social extensions of the person like the objects thought to represent the individual in some way
Manner (Our style of doing things)
- informal expectations concerning the way we express ourselves
27622509017000- personal style (personality) expectations because of the way he or she acted in the past
16859259144000- group style expectations attached to a social group
Conduct (what we say, what we do)
- human behaviour
- includes rules of authority, obligation, and account giving
Functions of Deviance (by Emile Durkheim)
Deviance affirms cultural values and norms
- Deviance is indispensable to the process of generating and sustaining morality.
Responding to deviance clarifies moral boundaries
- By defining some individuals as deviant, people draw a social boundary between right and wrong.
Responding to deviance promotes social unity
- People react to serious deviance with collective outrage.
Deviance encourages social change
- Deviant people push a society’s moral boundaries, suggesting alternatives to the status quo and encouraging change.
Social Foundations of Deviance
Deviance varies according to cultural norms
- No thought or action is inherently deviant; it becomes deviant only in relation to particular norms.
People become deviant as others define them that way
- Deviance depends on how others perceive, define, and respond to
Definition
The recognized violation of cultural norms, rules and expectations.
Can be criminal or non-criminal.
Usually of sufficient severity to warrant disapproval from the majority of society.
In sociology, “deviance” is not a term of negative judgement, but is meant to be descriptive.
In psychology, studies link deviance to abnormal personality stemming from either biological or environmental causes.
Rules and expectations concern appearance, manner, and conduct.
Appearance (what we look like)
- norms concerning clothing, and other presentational aspects of our body
- includes social extensions of the person like the objects thought to represent the individual in some way
Manner (Our style of doing things)
- informal expectations concerning the way we express ourselves
27622509017000- personal style (personality) expectations because of the way he or she acted in the past
16859259144000- group style expectations attached to a social group
Conduct (what we say, what we do)
- human behaviour
- includes rules of authority, obligation, and account giving
Functions of Deviance (by Emile Durkheim)
Deviance affirms cultural values and norms
- Deviance is indispensable to the process of generating and sustaining morality.
Responding to deviance clarifies moral boundaries
- By defining some individuals as deviant, people draw a social boundary between right and wrong.
Responding to deviance promotes social unity
- People react to serious deviance with collective outrage.
Deviance encourages social change
- Deviant people push a society’s moral boundaries, suggesting alternatives to the status quo and encouraging change.
Social Foundations of Deviance
Deviance varies according to cultural norms
- No thought or action is inherently deviant; it becomes deviant only in relation to particular norms.
People become deviant as others define them that way
- Deviance depends on how others perceive, define, and respond to