Deviance and Social Control

What is Deviance? To move away or stray from a set of standards in society Refers to a violation of norms According to Howards S. Becker, it isn’t the act itself, but how society reacts to it, that makes an action deviant ▫Different groups have different norms  What is deviant to some is not to others

What is Crime? Crime is a violation of rules that have been written into law Punishments of crime are more serious that punishments of deviance

Crime v. Deviance Deviance is a more general category than crime Crime is a smaller part of deviance All crime is deviance, but not all deviance is crime

A criminal and deviant act Breaking both social and legal rules ▫Murder, rape, theft, etc. May be more complex than that however, ▫What happens if a killing occurs in wartime?  The “killer” who in other contexts would be condemned as a murderer, might be applauded and called a “hero”

A deviant but non-criminal act Breaking social, but not legal rules Include acts that are seen as deviant when they occur in a certain context ▫Male manager, wearing a dress in a office, someone talking loudly in the middle of a movie

Picture this… A man living in a dark room with the curtains permanently drawn, spending his final years lying naked in an armchair watching old movies on TV. He has few personal contacts and he has an intense fear of germs- to the extreme that he places tissue paper on the floor to step on as he walks. Is this Deviance??

This Man is…. Howard Hughes who was a multimillionaire film producer and aviator

Or this…. On August 2, 1943 Lt. John F. Kennedy’s PT-109 was rammed by a Japanese destroyer. Kennedy helped his crew members to safety and received the Navy and Marine Corp Medal. He ran for public office as a “war hero” Many critics however say that the whole reason why they were attacked in the first place was bc JFK had been inattentive as a commander. He was literally asleep at the wheel and didn’t see the destroyer

How do we now see JFK? A hero, or a deviant who was responsible for the only PT boat to ever be rammed and the loss of 2 lives? These 2 cases show the complexity of how w arrive at definitions of heroism and deviance

Criminal acts but not deviant? Is this possible?? Think about these cases: ▫Going 5 miles over the speed limit– a crime but “everyone does it”

Not all deviance is negative It is possible for someone to deviate in a positive action ▫Standing up for injustices ▫Contributing outstanding and original sciences

Social Construction of Deviance Norms are the product of social construction Behavior can be normal or abnormal depending on the situation the social actor is in Norms can vary across time and space ▫Vary within a society historically and between societies ▫Can you think of an example??

Sociological explanation of deviance Explains deviance by looking outside the individual Social Influences ▫Socialization ▫Subculture group membership ▫Social class  Education  Occupation  Income and wealth