Deviant behavior

Deviant behaviour is the branch of sociology that concerns itself with behaviour that does not conform to social norms and values. It is often associated with the study of criminology as a subdivision of sociology.

What is Deviance?

Simply defined, deviance is behaviour that does not conform to social norms and values, and in doing so elicits a negative response. Deviance encompasses both crime and otherness. Otherness is non-conformance with both formal and informal norms and values, whereas crime is specifically an infraction against norms and values that have been codified into law. The former type of deviance is based on the interpretation of the observer, unlike the latter which is based on established criteria.

Approaches

As with all subcategories of sociology, deviance is studied from a variety of approches based on the key theoretical models of sociology. Although, other models may be developed specifically for the subject being studied. This is the case of the Chicago School approach. The popular approaches are as follows:

• Chicago School
• Functionalism
• Social Control
• Symbolic Interactionism
• Confilct Theory
• Others (Feminist, Left Realism, Power-Control, etc.)

Subjective vs. Objective

There are competing perspectives on the subject of crime and deviance, including the nature of deviance as either subjective or objective. These perspectives are formalized in the various above approaches. The objective approach to deviance assumes that certain behaviours are naturally deviant, in that they go against widespread concensus in society. The affected norms are viewed as absolute. An example of a behaviour classified as objective positivists view as deviant would be rape, murder, and and theft. Other behaviours are not the object of widespread concensus, including marijuana use, and homosexuality. Subjective humanists view these behaviours as the objects of socially constructed norms and values, and are therefore constantly affected by some degree of flux.

External Links

Professional Organizations

• American Sociological Association
• Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association
• International Sociological Association

Resources

• Project Gutenburg
• Project Muse
• Journal Storage