DEVIANCE

Deviance, in a sociological context, describes actions or behaviors that

violate informal social norms or formally-enacted rules. Among those who
study social norms and their relation to deviance are sociologists,
psychologists, psychiatrists, and criminologists, all of whom investigate how
norms change and are enforced over time.
Deviance is often divided into two types of activities.
FORMAL DEVIANCE includes criminal violation of formally-enacted
laws. Examples of formal deviance include robbery, theft, rape, murder
and assault.
INFORMAL DEVIANCE refers to violations of informal social norms,
which are norms that have not been codified into law. Examples of
informal deviance include picking ones nose, bleching loudly, or
standing unnecessarily close to another person.
Deviance can vary dramatically across cultures. Cultural norms are relative,
which makes deviant behaviour relative as well.
Sociologically, we are all deviant from time to time.
Each of us violates common social norms in certain situations (social v.
criminal deviance)
Deviance involves the violation of group norms which MAY OR MAY NOT
be formalized into law (written norms enforced by the government).
Standards of deviance vary from one group (subculture) to another.
Deviance varies over time.
Deviance is often subjective subject to social definitions
Deviance is SOCIALLY CONSTRUCTED (made up by society)
TYPES OF DEVIANCE:
ADMIRED BEHAVIOR:
o Good or Admirable behaviour that breaks social norms...
o Example: Extreme heroism (saving another persons life while
putting yours at risk)
ODD BEHAVIOR
o Things like strange ways of dressing, being a cat lady, etc.
o Behaviors that are not criminal, but still differ from acceptable
behaviour
BAD BEHAVIOR

o Generally this behaviour is law breaking/ criminal behaviour

PRIMARY DEVIANCE
o Person only occasionally breaks norms; not a lifestyle
o Example: College student may drink at parties, high school
student may do something dumb and break a law
SECONDARY DEVIANCE
o Person for whom deviance is a way of life; a normal reaction for
that person
o Example: Career Criminals like John Dillinger, Serial Killers
o We must be careful not to label primary deviants because it
could lead to secondary deviance

SOCIETAL AND SITUATIONAL DEVIANCE

o Ken Plummer (an English sociologist) has argued the
difference between societal (society-wide) and situational
(localised) deviance since this distinction helps to reinforce the
idea that behaviour considered deviant in one situation may be
considered non-deviant in another.
o By societal deviance Plummer means the various categories of
behaviour that are either illegal or which are commonly sensed
by people to be deviant (such as swearing at your teacher).
o Situational deviance, on the other hand, refers to the way
different subcultural (or situational) groups develop norms of
behaviour that may be at odds with those of society as a
whole. In such situations, behaviour that might be considered
societally deviant (theft, homosexuality and so forth) may be
perfectly acceptable.
o To illustrate this distinction more clearly, consider the following
example:
In our society, killing someone is considered deviant. To not go
around killing people is, therefore, non-deviant.
However, for a soldier, fighting in a war, the reverse is true. To
not kill the enemy is considered deviant.
Thus, in the latter situation the basic values and norms of
society are inverted by the demands of the situation.

First, in Durkheims deviance theory, he argued not only that deviance is a

natural and necessary part of the society but that its actually impossible not
to have deviance in a functional society. He used a monastery as an

illustration: to outsiders, monks are extremely peaceful and therefore live in

a near-Utopian society. However, even there, deviance still occurs. It may be
as seemingly innocent as missing a morning prayer, but in their society, this
deviant behaviour goes against the rules they have created to bring order to
their society. Breaking one, results in negative social reactions.
For example, something as simple as wearing sweat pants to work is an act
of nonconformity to a informal rule/ expectation, and it makes that someone
a deviant. Small deviant acts like this are very common. How many people
do you know that have forgotten to return a library book on time, ran a red
light, or played hooky from work or school?
Nonconformity isnt always a negative instance of rule breaking. We can also
include behaviors that fall into the category of overachievement as deviant.
What deviant actions negative or positive have in common is that they
are different from the norm. Gretchen is clearly not performing an act of
criminal deviance by choosing to keep her maiden name. However, taking
the husbands surname is a norm in our society. Because she violated that
norm, she is still performing a deviant act.

GENDER AND DEVIANCE

In the United States, women who cry in public in response to emotional
situations are not generally considered deviant even women who cry
frequently and easily. This view of women has remained relatively
constant. Over the past fifty years, however, societys perception of
men who cry has changed. A man who cried publicly in the 1950s
would have been considered deviant. Today, men who cry in response
to extreme emotional situations are acting within societys norms. Male
politicians cry when announcing defeat, male athletes cry after winning
a championship, and male actors cry after winning an award. By
todays standards, none of these men is committing a deviant act.

RELATIVISM AND DEVIANCE

Deviance is a relative issue, and standards for deviance change based
on a number of factors including the following:
LOCATION: A person speaking loudly during a church service
would probably be considered deviant, whereas a person
speaking loudly at a party would not. Society generally regards
taking the life of another person to be a deviant act, but during
wartime, killing another person is not considered deviant.
AGE: A five-year-old can cry in a supermarket without being
considered deviant, but an older child or an adult cannot.

 SOCIAL STATUS: A famous actor can skip to the front of a long

line of people waiting to get into a popular club, but a nonfamous person would be considered deviant for trying to do the
same.
INDIVIDUAL SOCIETIES: In the United States, customers in
department stores do not try to negotiate prices or barter for
goods. In some other countries, people understand that one
should haggle over the price of an item; not to do so is
considered deviant.

CULTURAL NORMS AND DEVIANCE

In Japan, there are strict norms involving the exchange of business
cards. One person presents his or her business card with the writing
facing the recipient, who looks at it for a moment and asks a question
about some of the information on the card. The question may be
irrelevant, but it tells the giver that the recipient has read the card and
acknowledges the person and his or her company. A Japanese
executive who receives a business card and does not take the time to
look at it and ask a question would be considered deviant.