1. Chapter 7 – Deviance and Social Control
What is Deviance?
Chapter 7 – Deviance and Social Control

2. What Is Deviance? Deviance: The violation of social norms
“It is not the act itself, but the reaction to the act, that make something deviant.”

3. What Is Deviance? Deviance Is Relative
What is deviant to some is not deviant to others
Based on location, age, social status, and individual societies

4. What Is Deviance? A Neutral Term
Sociologists view deviance as any act that people view negatively
Do not use term “deviant” in judgmental way
Are all of us deviants?

5. What Is Deviance?
A person does not need to act in a deviant manner to be considered deviant
Stigma: Characteristics that discredit people
Appearance (ex: facial birthmark)
Ability (ex: mental handicaps, blindness, deafness)
Involuntary Memberships (ex: having AIDS, having a relative who is a criminal)

6. Norms Make Social Life Possible
Norms make social life possible by making behavior predictable
Prevent chaos
Set guidelines for how we should interact with others
Social Order: A group’s usual and customary social arrangements, on which its members depend and on which they base their lives

7. Norms Make Social Life Possible
Social Control: A group’s formal and informal means of enforcing its norms
Positive Sanctions: A reward or positive reaction for following norms
Negative Sanctions: An expression of approval or disapproval for breaking a norm

8. Explanations of Deviance
Biosocial Explanations:
Focus on genetic predispositions, inherent tendencies to commit deviant acts
Ex: XYY Theory
Ex: “Born Criminal” Theory
Image: Italian criminologist Cesare Lombroso believed people were born criminals and that certain facial features indicated this
Both the XYY Theory and Born Criminal Theory have been discredited

9. Explanations of Deviance
Universally, men commit more violent crimes than women do
Women have more empathy and self-control
Men engage in more risk-taking behaviors

10. Explanations of Deviance
Psychological Explanations:
Focus on abnormalities within the individual
Personality Disorders: A personality disturbance causes an individual to violate a social norm
Have not found a specific childhood experience to be linked to deviance

11. Explanations of Deviance
Sociological Explanations:
Focus on factors outside the individual
Socialization
Membership in Subcultures
Social Class