Sociological theories of drug abuse introduction this chapter discusses sociological theories of substance use and abuse. Four main theories have developed in the last 50 years. We can refer to these explanations of deviance as the demonic, the psychotic, and the exotic. Strain theory was first developed by robert merton in the 1940s to explain the rising crime rates experienced in the usa at that time. From a sociological perspective, deviance is relative. Ledford 012009 three schools structural functionalism not normal by norms, values, or laws deviations come from the formation of norms and values which are enforced by institutions macro view of deviance deviants are not deviant by nature but rather are born our of institutions arbitrarily creating new prescriptions or proscriptions symbolic interactionism looks at. Deviance is a behavioural disposition that is not in conformity with an institutionalized setup or code of conduct. In sociology, deviance describes an action or behavior that violates social norms, including a.
Contrast the varying theoretical perspectives on deviance. The crux of karl marx theory is that, society is evolving continuously and evolution is inevitable. The first is the social strain typology developed by american sociologist robert k. Differentialassociation theory edwin sutherland coined the phrase differential association to address the issue of how people learn deviance. In many ways, psychological theories of deviance mirror biological explanations, only with an added emphasis on brain function. While the focus of this chapter is on sociological explanations of deviance, there are explanations from other disciplines as well. Before we look at deviance from a sociological perspective, it is useful to con. Historically few people rule and other were being ruled.
He argued that deviance is a basis for change and innovation, and it is also a way of defining or clarifying important social norms. Psychological theories of deviance social sci libretexts. We will examine how attributes or behaviors are defined as deviant, the social responses and consequences of doing so, and the role of. A second property highlights deviance as a stigma construct, a label bestowed upon certain classes of behaviour at certain times, which then. The libretexts libraries are powered by mindtouch and are supported by the department of education open textbook pilot project, the uc davis office of the provost, the uc davis library, the california state university affordable learning solutions program, and merlot. Strain theory has become popular with contemporary sociologists. Sociologists seek to understand how and why deviance occurs within a society. According to social control theory, deviance occurs when a persons or groups attachment to social bonds is weakened.
For our purposes, sociological theories understand substance abuse as a societal phenomenon, having largely cultural, social, and economic origins or ties. Bonding, control, differential anticipation, differential association, differential. The basics a subculture is a group that has values that are different to the mainstream culture. The study conceptualized and theorized deviance and mental health through the sociological, biological, and psychological dimensions. It is important to confine viewing to the portion of this episode that involves deviance concepts. This task can help reduce any anxiety that you might have about working with theories. Crime and deviance, page 1 crime and deviance introduction crime and deviance is a major topic in sociology but one that many students find difficult. Strain theory states that social structures within society may. This paper focuses on and summarizes the functionalist perspective of deviance, the function of crimes, and how these perspectives have influenced the development of durkheims work, anomie, for.
Conflict theory suggests that deviant behaviors result from social, political, or material inequalities of a social group. Sociology is a study of society, patterns of social relationships, social interaction and culture of everyday life. Most of the time people internalize social norms because of their attachments to others. Durkheim believed that youngsters are taught the rights and wrongs of part ii s theories of deviance. Those of us who are sociologists can probably remember the first time we were. Sociological theories of deviance social sci libretexts. This sociology of deviance textbook draws on uptodate scholarship across a spectrum of deviance categories, providing a symbolic interactionist analysis of the deviance process. Cases for critical and sociological thinking by david hachen. In the case of ecological theories, the causes of crime, for example, are to be found in the way the physical environment in which people live and interact socially. These perspectives or theories provide a framework for understanding observations on topics such as deviance. Theories of deviance psychological and biological explanations. Deviance is relative deviance may vary in time and place 5. Learn four sociological theories of deviance by reading, listening, constructing hypotheticals, and questioning classmates apply theories of deviance to zoot suit riots that occurred in the 1943 examine the role of social norms for individuals, groups, and institutions. I will be describing and evaluating these theories to further answer the question of.
Deviance from conflict perspective can be explain by breaking up the theories of karl marx. Theories of crime and deviance boundless sociology. The sociological perspective is a theoretical viewpoint that sociologists attempt to use in order to analyze societies neutrally. By learning more about these theories, you can gain a deeper and richer understanding of sociology s past, present, and future. Listening to your ipod when on the witness stand before a judge may cause you to be held in contempt of court, and consequently fined or jailed. Durkheims theory attributes social deviance to extremes of social integration and social. Deviance is any behavior that violates social norms, and is usually of sufficient severity to warrant disapproval from the majority of society. For example, there can be class deviance, where the normative expectations of class behaviour are violated. These theories can be grouped according to the three major sociological paradigms. The symbolic interactionist perspective of sociology views society as a product of everyday social interactions of individuals. Behind this seemingly simple and clear cut definition, however, lurks a swarming host of controversies. Criminology is the study of crime from a scientific perspective. His theory argues that crime occurs when there is a gap between the cultural goals of a.
Some theories have fallen out of favor, while others remain widely accepted, but all have contributed tremendously to our understanding of society, relationships, and social behavior. Sociology for a new century, by york bradshaw, joseph healey, and rebecca smith. The theory primarily pertains to formal deviance, using biological reasons to explain criminality, though it can certainly extend to informal deviance. French sociologist emile durkheim viewed deviance as an inevitable part of how society functions. A number of theories related to deviance and criminology have emerged within the past 50 years or so. Deviance and social control chapter summary sociologists use the term deviance to refer to any violation of rules and norms. Core founders of sociology emile durkheim 18581917 was the first to take a position in a university and because of the scientific journal he edited, lannze sociologique the sociological year and his. Many sociological theories of deviance exist, and together they offer a more complete understanding of deviance than any one theory offers by itself. Aug 31, 20 deviance any significant departure from what is considered normal or normative.
I use this activity in my principles of sociology course, but it could also be used in courses such as deviance and social control, criminological theory, and other similar classes. This is a short clip from the functions of crime segment of their new sevenpart dvd short cuts to sociology. The third main sociological theory of deviance is conflict theory. Emile durkheim, the french sociologist generally regarded as the founding father of sociology, advanced the theory that society is made up of. Social structures, and social process theory are examples of. Those who have a relativist conception of deviance define. There are many different theories that explain how behavior comes to be classified as deviant and why people engage in it, including biological explanations, psychological explanations, and sociological explanations.
Theories and causes of crime introduction there is no one cause of crime. Theories of crime and deviance social sci libretexts. Sociological theories an overview of major frameworks. Psychological theories of deviance use a deviants psychology to explain his motivation and compulsion to violate social norms.
Although deviance according to durkheim is inevitable and normal and serves important functions, that certainly does not mean the united states and other nations should be happy to have high rates of serious deviance. This is in part because of the fragmentation and diversity of the different. Views deviance as a learned behavior through interaction with others structural strain theory proposed by sociologist robert k. Sociological theories of deviance are those that use social context and social pressures to explain deviance. Strengths and weaknesses of the functionalist perspective 65. Sociology of crime and deviance socy s141 tuesdays and. In sociology, deviance describes an action or behavior that violates social norms, including a formally enacted rule e. All theories agreed that deviant behaviour begins from childhood through oldage. Before we look at deviance from a sociological perspective, it is useful to consider some of the common ways deviance has been explained in human societies. Sociology 152 page 1 of 8 deviance and social control. Indeed, this was a position which had a certain credence in the earlier writings of the social pathology theorists, and which is still important in some clinical and criminological research. The study of social deviance is the study of the violation of cultural norms in either formal or informal contexts. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. This research paper is a conceptual overview of deviance and its implications to mental health and wellbeing.
In sociology deviance is defined as the violation of a social norm which is likely to result in censure or punishment for the violator. Subcultural theorists argue that deviance is the result of whole groups breaking off from society who have deviant values subcultures and deviance is a result of these individuals conforming to the values and norms of the. Pdf sociology of deviant behavior download full pdf. Those who have a relativist conception of deviance define deviance as those. Anomie theory or structural stress theory durkheim introduced the concept of anomie as a condition within society in which individuals find that the prevailing social norms are ill. Deviance, in sociology, violation of social rules and conventions. Together they help answer the questions posed earlier. Social deviance is a phenomenon that has existed in all societies where there have been norms. This course introduces key theories and concepts in the sociological study of crime and deviance. The three main theories of deviance and their strengths and weaknesses a functionalist analysis of deviance looks for the source of deviance in the nature of society rather than in the biological or psychological nature of the individual.
Merton views deviance as the natural outgrowth of the values, norms and structure of society. Definitions of what is deviant vary across societies and from one group to another within the same society. Anomie theory or structural stress theory posits that deviance exists when people are denied access to accepted means to reach approved goals. We also acknowledge previous national science foundation support under grant numbers 1246120, 1525057, and 14739. Chapter 1 introduction to deviance sage publishing. Secondly, because people are, by definition, socialised into a set of existing cultural values.
This chapter will cover the theories of deviance used by sociologists and will also cover current crime statistics. An overview of theory and methods for second year a level sociology a very brief overview covering the barebones of 1 positivism and interpretivism, 2 is sociology a science. A biological interpretation of formal deviance was first advanced by the italian school of criminology, a school of thought originating from italy during the midnineteenth century. According to merton, there are five types of deviance based upon these criteria. Using the sociological perspective, sociologists who study deviance analyze how and why behavior is defined as deviant, as well as social factors that shape conforming and nonconforming behaviors. Labeling theory is one of the most important approaches to understanding deviant and criminal behavior within sociology. Sociology sociology, social psychology, deviance, and political sociology. Sociology through active learning student exercises. Those who follow the work of karl marx concerning criminology are known as marxist criminologist. Th ree popular explanations in particular provide useful comparisons. My goal is to examine the grounds on which labelling theory calls itself critical. Deviance becomes crime when it is designated by the institutions of society as violating such a law or laws. Since the early days of sociology, scholars have developed theories that attempt to explain what deviance and crime mean to society.
They do this by developing theories that explain factors impacting deviance on a. Typically, sociological theories of deviance reason that aspects of individuals social relationships and the social areas in which they live and work assist in explaining the commission of deviant acts. Commonsensically, deviance has been seen as an attribute, as something inherent in a certain kind of behaviour or person. The three main theories of deviance and their strengths. It is a social science that uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about social order, acceptance, and change or social evolution. The first part of the course will cover the core theories and forms of deviance largely in terms of. The functionalist perspective on deviance boundless.
The sociology of deviance is the systematic study of social norm violation that is subject to social sanction according to henry 2009 p. In case this sociological perspective is not clear to you, the first part of these notes is given. A conceptual overview of deviance and its implication to. Sociologists use a variety of theoretical perspectives to make sense of the world. Travis hirschi developed social control theory to explain the occurrence of deviance. In response to these inequalities, certain groups will act deviantly in order to change their circumstances. The book addresses positivistic theories of deviant behavior within a more encompassing description of the deviance process that includes the work of deviance claims. Sociology theories of deviance and deviant behavior.
This exercise is a fun way to begin to think about the role of theory in the discipline of sociology. Social deviance is a phenomenon that has existed in all societies with norms. The drama of deviance 4 deviance as demonic 6 deviance as psychotic 8. They do this by developing theories that explain factors impacting deviance on a wide scale such as social frustrations, socialization, social learning, and the impact of labeling.