CHAPTER 8:
deviance and social control
Deviance and Social Control
Defining Deviance
The Role of Deviance Within Social Structures
Explaining Deviance
Culture and Deviance: Deviant Bodies
Power and Deviance
Social Control and Deviance
Crime and Punishment
In Transition: Deviance as a Marketable Product
Through a Sociological Lens: When Deviance Is Inherited: Genetic Explanations and Stigma
Sociology Works: Donna Gaines and the World of Punk Music
Sociology Matters: Women’s Prison Association
Defining Deviance
Deviance and Social Context
Durkheim: the collective conscience
Deviance: behavior that does not conform to basic cultural norms and expectations
collective conscience: the shared norms, beliefs, and values in a community
Labeling Theory: Defining Deviant Behavior
A behavior is defined as deviant when it is marked publicly as deviant by those with
enough power to enforce that designation.
Erickson: “Deviance is not a property inherent in any particular kind of behavior; it is a
property conferred upon that behavior” [1966].
The Effects of Deviant Labels
Stigma: the shame attached to a behavior or status that is considered socially
unacceptable or discrediting
Secondary deviance
deviant behavior that is a response to the negative consequences of labeling
Chapter 8: Deviance and Social Control
Introduction
We have been socialized so effectively to accept our culture’s norms that we rarely
recognize them
Nonconformity helps us clarify the boundary between normal and abnormal
People develop their sense of self and identity through social interaction. Interaction in
small groups form the basis for social structure, and social structure provides people with
norms and expectations about appropriate behavior
Deviance refers to behavior that does not conform to basic cultural norms and
expectations
We will discuss consequences of violating norms and various agents that encourage
conformity
Defining Deviance
Boundaries between normal and deviant are rarely clear-cut because people often
disagree about where the line should be drawn
Ultimately what is defined as deviant depends on the particular social context in which
the behavior occurs or a person lived and on the power of those who label it
For those defined as deviant, the negative effects can be long lasting, even devastating
Deviance and Social Control
A sociological perceptive on deviance requires looking beyond particular behaviors to the
connections between those behaviors and social norms.
Durkheim argues that crime [and deviant behavior, more generally] could be defined only
in relation to the social norms a criminal act violates. He claims that we are not offended
by an action because it is a crime; rather we define an act as criminal because it offends
basic social norms.
oThese basic norms, contribute to what Durkheim called the collective conscience,
the shared norms, beliefs, and values in a community.
What is considered normal or deviant varies over time and across cultures, and
definitions of normal often shift in response to social change.
Labeling Theory: Defining Deviant Behavior
A behavior is defined as deviant when it is marked publicly as deviant by those with
enough power to enforce that designation
oLabeling theory argues that deviance is the result of how others interpret a
behavior and that individuals who are labeled deviant often internalize the
judgment as part of their self-identity
Labeling theory highlights the interactive aspects of deviance- the interplay between
behavior and the response to the behavior
oFrom the perspective, behavior is deviant only when it is labeled as such
Effects of Deviant Labels
People who are labeled as deviant are likely to face negative consequences and limited
options in life
Those who are labeled deviant must deal with the stigma or shame associated with their
deviant label
oStigma refers to the shame attached to a behavior or status that is considered
socially unacceptable or discrediting
Labeling people as deviant may lead them into secondary deviance, which is deviant
behavior that is a response to the negative consequences of labeling
Page 1