Social Construction Of Deviance

PLEASURE PRINCIPLES: THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF GAMBLING AND SEX ADDICTION TREATMENT

A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Sociology

by M. Kelly James B.A., University of Memphis, 1988 M.A., University of Memphis, 1991 August 2002

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Although many people have helped me accomplish this goal, I thank my family first. They taught me to believe in myself and to work hard to meet my goals and with their love and support, I was able to pursue graduate education.

I would like to thank my committee members for their ongoing advice and tutelage:
Rules are socially constructed to benefit their agendas resulting in many different behaviors being labeled deviant. Various cultural and/or social practices can be considered inappropriate or wrong depending upon who is in power. Other theorists believe that people adjust to life situations through deviance and their actions are simply coping mechanisms deemed unusual by social control agents. This belief system implies deviance is an adaptation to crisis situations or stressful times and should be acceptable and consequently, the people kept free from persecution. Still other models suggest that deviance is biological or psychological in origin and can be fixed with medical or behavioral treatments. Rather than view these behaviors as moral transgressions or sinful activities, they are “medicalized” into sicknesses with organic and environmental causes. Deviants, according to these perspectives, may be cured with the right treatment modality. Answers to the deviance question may be found on both the structural and the individual levels; society and its citizens make the rules, enforce them, and dole out the corresponding punishments. The system is designed to deter deviance through punishment and to fix the problems caused when preventive measures fail. Society may also be stabilized by deviant behavior in small quantities; people experience cohesion as a reaction to common victimization. Controlling potential deviance may be an overall goal,
Social organizations provide symbolic systems and situational constraints but people ultimately act towards situations, not culture and/or social structure (Blumer 1969). What is that process like for the person and how is it achieved? Rosenfield, Vertefuille, and McAlpine (2000) describe the social interaction process below. ‘Basic assumptions about the self and social world share an interpretive character, which situates them within this layer of reflexive consciousness. These assumptions, fusing cognitive with emotional components, are part of our first impressions in new situations and our visceral feelings in general. In this sense, such assessments form a part of our personal philosophy and ways of being in the world. p.209’ Individuals, cognizant of both self and society, act either within the realm of acceptability or outside of it. The choices they make comprise their own philosophies and identities as well as influence their future interactions. Labeling theory stems from the interactionist perspective and explicates the relationship between group membership and deviant careers. In addition, the theory encourages the exploration of deviance within a community (Prus 1996). Labeling theorists connect the creation of deviant labels, their application, and the consequences of this application. By focusing on the events related to identification of rule