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.

External Links

Professional Organizations

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

Resources

• Project Gutenburg
• Project Muse
• Journal Storage