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What are deviant groups?

by Guest62093  |  earlier

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what are deviant groups and exampls if possible thx

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  1. criminals

    sexual fetishists


  2. *  Behavior, beliefs, or conditions viewed by relatively powerful segments of society as serious violations of important norms (mores).

    * Examples: heroin users; atheism; cancer patient

    * Note that:

    * The behaviors may not always be freely chosen

    * But choice in the arena of deviance tends to be considered very important

        * Deviance is relative: linked to how serious a violation something is in relation to various social norms.

    Deviance  

      * Deviance exists that is not criminal: mental illness, ideological deviance; cross-dressing

      * Criminal activities exist that are not violations of major social norms (not deviant): jaywalking; minor tax evasion; status offenses

       * Other acts are both deviant and criminal: violence & other major law violations

    Deviance is Relative

    * Deviance concerns judgments made by individuals

    * Deviance varies by time period; culture; group

    * What is important is who controls the definition of deviance!

    William Chambliss – Saints & Roughnecks

        * A study of the impact of social group labeling

        * “Saints” – middle-class boys who engaged in a variety of deviant and criminal acts

        * “Roughnecks”– lower-class boys who also engaged in a variety of such acts

        * Saints manipulated the system in ways that hid their major delinquency.

        * Roughnecks were often an obvious deviant “target” by the community & policy.

    Saints & Roughnecks (cont.)

        * Saints perceived as “good boys” who were “sowing their wild oats” before settling down – had bright futures

        * Roughnecks perceived as delinquents & troublemakers – had poor futures.

        * In the eyes of the community, the roughnecks were more deviant, even though their behaviors were very similar to those of the saints.

        * In the final analysis, the boys who were saints grew into more successful adults – while most of the roughnecks continued to do poorly.

    Chambliss’ study shows:

        * The link between social structure and perception of deviance.

        * The effect of labeling as a self-fulfilling prophecy.

    Quinney & deviance definition

        * Laws and norms are established to serve the interests of the social elite

        * As a result, some behaviors are penalized more heavily than others

        * Those acts that are penalized more heavily or more frequently are generally those associated with the non-elite (Exceptions: serious, violent crime)

        * The laws that affect the elite are less enforced (environmental protection laws)

    Why do people deviate?

        * Biological explanations

        * Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909)

        * Criminals are “evolutionary throwbacks”

        * Criminals are born, not made

        * William Sheldon (1898-1977)

        * Linked personality type to body type

        * Body type is related to behavior (focus on criminal types – mesomorphs more likely to be criminal)

        * Psychological explanations

        * Freud – criminals have weak or damaged egos or poor superego control.  Driven by the “id”

        * Other psychological factors: cognition; learning; personality traits.

    Why do people deviate? (Cont.)

        * Social learning theory

        * Deviant behavior that is positively reinforced may be repeated or imitated

        * Deviant behavior is learned in group context

        * Sociological Explanations

        * Strain theory

        * Lower-class focal value theory

        * Differential association theory

        * Control theory

    Strain Theory

        * Robert Merton (1910-2003)

        * Deviance is the product of a gap  between the culturally prescribed goals of a society and the legitimate means for their achievement

        * Deviant behavior is an ordinary response to prevailing structural conditions: blocked opportunities

        * When there is a cultural emphasis on achievement there is pressure to succeed at any cost

    Strain Theory: How people adapt to strain given a blocked opportunity structure. (see Table 6.1, p. 164)

    Walter Miller: Focal Concerns Approach (1958)

        * Delinquency linked to “value system” of the lower class

        * Delinquent youth are socialized in an environment where unlawful behavior is viewed favorably

        * Focal concerns linked to delinquency among lower-class youth: trouble; excitement; smartness; fate; autonomy; toughness

    Differential Association Theory: Edwin Sutherland (1885-1950)

        * Deviance learned through interactions with intimates

        * Deviance arises from an exposure to an excess of definitions favorable to the violation of norms (laws)

        * Degree of deviance has to do with characteristics of the exposure to these “pro-deviant” attitudes & behaviors:

        * Frequency

        * Duration

        * Priority

        * Intensity

    Social Control Theory (Travis Hirschi)  

        * Social Control: Measures taken to ensure conformity to norms (internal & external)

        * Deviance is the product of weak or broken social bonds.

        * Everyone is potentially deviant.

        * Focus is on:

        * Attachment: relationships with others that shape acceptance of social norms

        * Commitment: how much time, energy and effort placed on conventional activities and goals?

        * Involvement: Doing conventional things leaves less time to engage in deviant acts

        * Beliefs: How much respect is present for conventional values?

    Societal Reaction Theory

        * Labeling theory

        * Focuses on people’s reaction to deviancy

        * Deviance is created by the existence of rules

        * “Rule breakers” are labeled outsiders – not as worthy as “we” are

    Labeling’s Consequences

        * Primary deviance

        * Secondary deviance

        * Self-fulfilling prophecy

  3. Becker - deviant behaviour is behaviour so labelled as deviant.

    Normative Behaviour Codes (Foucault) apply to things like - sexuality, dress, crime, etc.  So anything you can think of that goes against the norm is, to some level, deviant.  This can be anything from a lip piercing to murdering someone, and everything in between that 'most' people or 'common sense' would consider to be normal :-)

  4. To answer you simply, a deviant is a person or group of people who exhibit and practice beliefs and values that are vastly different from those of the majority of the cultural group. That is why in America a criminal is a deviant because the majority of Americans do no break laws but follow them. Good luck!

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