1. Sociology 12
Social Deviance

2. What is Social Deviance
Brainstorm as many examples of deviance you can think of.
The Definition for Deviance is…

3. What is Deviance..
The word deviance refers to any violation of society’s norms.
Deviance can range from something minor, such as picking your nose in public, to something major, such as murder.

4. What is Social Deviance Con’t
Each society defines what is deviant and what is not
definitions of deviance differ widely between societies
Deviance is relative – it is socially defined

5. Relativism & Deviant Behaviour
What is considered deviant behaviour is based on:
Location
Age
Gender
Social Status
Individual Societies

6. 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.

7. AGE
A five-year-old can cry in a supermarket without being considered deviant, but an older child or an adult cannot.

8. Gender
Given the definition of Deviance… Do you think that there is a difference in deviant perspectives between genders? Examples?
In Canada, women who cry in public in response to emotional situations are not generally considered deviant—even women who cry frequently and easily.

9. Gender & Deviance Con’t
Is this different from men?
Not so much anymore, men crying in public in the 1950s would have been considered a deviant behavior.
However, men now are shown in public to cry in extreme situations such as admitting defeat (politicians, and athletes, as well as accepting awards)

10. 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 non-famous person would be considered deviant for trying to do the same.

11. Individual Societies
In Canada, 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.

12. What is “deviant” may change over time
For example:
Men crying in public
Several hundred “witches” were executed in Europe during the middle ages; now the crime doesn’t exist
Racist comments used to be socially accepted
Tattoos and piercing are now common among students

13. Deviant behaviour also varies in its degree of seriousness
ranges from mild transgressions of folkways (keeping a library book past its due date or skipping class),
to more serious infringement of folkways (cheating on an exam),
to quite serious violation of laws.
Later we will dig deeper into serious violation of laws - CRIMES

14. Deviant Traits
A person does not need to act in a deviant manner in order to be considered deviant. Sometimes people are considered deviant because of a trait or a characteristic they possess
Sociologist Erving Goffman used the term stigma to identify deviant characteristics

15. Deviant Traits Con’t
What do you think some examples of deviant traits would be, given the description on the previous slide.
Violations of the norms of physical ability or appearance. For example, people who are confined to wheelchairs or who have IQs over 140 are deviant because they do not represent the usual behaviors or characteristics of most people
Pop Quiz: How many of you were thinking only negative context?

16. Social Control & Social Deviance
Punishing people for deviant behavior reminds people what is expected of them and what will happen if they do not conform to society’s norms. Every society has methods of social control.
Positive & Negative Sanctions!

17. Positive Sanctions
Society uses positive sanctions to reward people for following norms. Positive sanctions can be formal, such as an award or a raise. They can also be informal and include words, gestures, or facial expressions.
Example: The smile that a mother gives her child when he says “thank you” is a positive sanction.
Unintended Positive Sanctions.

18. Negative Sanctions
Like positive sanctions, negative sanctions can range from formal to informal.
Example: A speeding ticket or a prison sentence is a formal negative sanction. A raised eyebrow or a stare is an informal negative sanction.