Deviance in Sociology: Definition, Theories & Examples

Committing acts of violence, such as assault or murder, is also considered deviant behavior. Other examples of deviant behavior include but are ... DevianceinSociology:Definition,Theories&Examples ByCharlotte Nickerson,publishedAugust31,2022|FactCheckedbySaulMcleod,PhD KeyPoints Definition Examples Types Theory KeyPoints Deviantbehaviorisanybehaviorthatdoesnotconformtosocietalnorms. Therearemanydifferenttypesofdeviantbehavior,includingimpoliteness,violence,andsubstanceabuse.Thesebehaviorsmayormaynotbecriminal. Whilesomeformsofdeviantbehaviormaybeconsideredharmfulordangerous,othersmaysimplybeseenasoddorunusual. Insomecases,itcanbeseenasapositivething.Forexample,manyculturesencouragetheirmemberstochallengethestatusquoandpushboundariesinordertocreatechange. Durkheimsuggestedthat modernindustrialsocietieswereconsequentlycharacterizedbymoralconfusionor ‘anomie’.Thismeansthatsomemembersofsocietyweremorelikelytochallengeandrejectshared valuesandnormsofbehaviorandthis‘normlessness’oftenresultedincrimeand deviance. Anomietheoryhassincebeenfurtherdevelopedbyothertheorists,suchasRobertMerton,whousedittoexplaindevianceinhisstraintheory. Themaintenetsofmodernanomietheoriesarethat:(i)Peopleconformtosocietalnormsinordertogainrewardsoravoidpunishment;(ii)Whenthereisadiscrepancybetweenthegoalspeoplewanttoachieveandthemeansavailabletothemtoachievethosegoals,anomieresults,motivatingdeviance. WhatisDeviantBehavior? Devianceisabehavior,trait,orbeliefthatdepartsfromasocial normandgeneratesanegativereactioninaparticulargroup.Inotherwords,itisbehaviorthatdoesnotconformtothenormsofaparticularcultureorsociety.Itincludesthosebehaviorsthatattractnegativeresponsesandsocialcontrols.Italsoinvolvescrimescommittedinthesociety.  Whatisconsideredacceptableorrudevariesdependingonthe cultureyouarein.Forexample,eatingwithyourlefthandinArabnationsis consideredrude. Somebehavioursareacceptablefromcertainagegroupsandsomeactivitiesareillegalforsomeagegroups. Forexample,somepeoplewhoengageindeviantbehaviordosoinordertochallengeexistingsocialnormsandbringaboutchange. Additionally,deviancecanalsobeawayforpeopletoexpressthemselvesandtheirindividuality. Examples Anybehaviorthatbreaksthelaworgoesagainstsocietalnormscanbeconsidereddeviant.Oneexampleofdeviantbehaviorisdruguse.Usingillegaldrugsisconsidereddeviantbehaviorinmostsocialgroups. Committingactsofviolence,suchasassaultormurder,isalsoconsidereddeviantbehavior. Otherexamplesofdeviantbehaviorincludebutarenotlimitedto:theft,vandalism,graffiti,publicintoxication,loitering,andlittering. Truancycanbeconsideredtobeaformofdeviance.Truancyisabehaviorwhereastudentregularlyavoidsschoolwithouttheknowledgeoftheirparentsorteachers. Becausedevianceissociallyconstructed(notnaturally occurringbutcreated bythesocietyin whichitisfound),therearenoactionswhichinthemselvesareinherentlyabnormaloruniversallycondemnedbyallsocietiesatalltimes.Devianceisthussituationalandcontextual. Forexample,whilestealingisconsidereddeviantbehaviorinmostsocieties,itisnotconsidereddeviantinsomeindigenouscultureswhere"stealing"isseenasawaytoredistributeresources. Similarly,whilearrangedmarriagesarethenorminmanycultures,theywouldbeconsidereddeviantinWesterncultureswhereindividualshavethefreedomtochoosetheirownpartners. Somebehavioursareacceptablefromcertainagegroupsandsomeactivitiesareillegalforsomeagegroups. Ultimately,whatisconsidereddeviantbehaviorvariesfromculturetoculture,andevenfromonesocialgrouptoanother.Whiledevianceinsocietyoftenhasnegativeconnotations,devianceincultureisnotnecessarilybad. TypesofDeviantBehavior FormalDeviantBehavior Formaldeviantbehaviorisdefinedasbehaviorthatviolatesformallyenactedlaws.Thistypeofdeviantbehaviorisoftencriminalinnature,andcanresultinpunishmentssuchasfines,imprisonment,orevendeath. Examplesofformaldeviantbehaviorincludebutarenotlimitedto:murder,robbery,assault,rape,andchildmolestation(Griffithsetal.,2012). InformalDeviantBehavior Informaldeviantbehaviorisdefinedasbehaviorthatviolatesinformalsocialnorms.Thistypeofdeviantbehaviorisoftenseenasmoreminorthanformaldeviance,andtypicallydoesnotresultinlegalpunishment. Instead,peoplewhoengageininformaldeviantbehaviormayberidiculedorostracizedbytheirpeers. Examplesofinformaldeviantbehaviorincludebutarenotlimitedto:littering,jaywalking,publicintoxication,andloitering(Griffithsetal.,2012). Althoughinformaldeviantbehaviorisoftenseenaslessseriousthanitsformalcounterpart,itcanhaveseriousconsequences.Showinguplatetowork,forexample,isanactofinformaldeviancethatcanresultindismissalfromone'sjob. SubculturalDeviantBehavior Subculturaldeviantbehaviorisdefinedasbehaviorthatviolatesthenormsofaparticularsubculture.Asubcultureisasocialgroupwithinalargerculturethathasitsowndistinctvalues,beliefs,andbehaviors. Examplesofsubculturaldeviantbehaviorincludebutarenotlimitedto:gangviolence,druguse,andprostitution. Whilesubculturaldeviantbehaviorisoftenseenascriminalorharmful,itcanalsobeawayforpeopletoexpresstheiridentityandsolidaritywithothersintheirgroup. Forexample,manygangsuseviolenceasawaytoestablishtheirturfandprotecttheirmembers,aswellastocreateasharedsenseofidentityas"strong"andreadytotakeaction(Copes&Williams,2007). SerialDeviantBehavior Serialdeviantbehaviorisdefinedasapatternofrepeateddeviantbehavior.Forexample,beingconvictedofmultiplecrimes.Forexample,ateenagerwhoshopliftseverytimetheyenteradepartmentstorefortheexcitementiscommittingserialdeviantbehavior. Thosewhohabituallyshowinformallydeviantbehaviorcanalsobeconsideredtoexhibitserialdeviantbehavior. Forinstance,someonewhobelchesloudlyandstandsunnecessarilyclosetoothersmaydevelopanimagecharacterizedbythisunacceptablebehavior,resultinginsocialpunishment(Chercourt,2014). SituationalDeviance  Situationaldevianceisdefinedasbehaviorthatisconsidereddeviantinaparticularsituationbutnotinothers. Forexample,publicnudityisconsidereddeviantinmostpublicplaces,butisexpectedonnudebeaches.Similarly,usingprofanityisonlyconsidereddeviantwhenitoccursinsettingswherecursingisnotallowedorfrownedupon,suchasatworkorschool(Chercourt,2014). Evenwithinthesesettings,theattitudesofthosearoundthepersoncommittingthedeviantactinfluencehowdeviantthebehaviorisconsideredtobe.  Whilesomeformsofsituationaldeviancemaybeseenasharmlessorevenhumorous,otherscanhaveseriousconsequences. Forexample,whilebeinginebriatedinmanysituationsmaybeinterpretedasentertainingorhumorousbyothers,drivingundertheinfluenceofalcoholcanresultinaccidents,injuries,andevendeath. SociologicalExplanationsOfDeviance SocialStrainTypology(RobertK.Merton) ThesocialstraintypologyisatheoryofdeviancethatwasdevelopedbysociologistRobertK.Merton.Thetheorysuggeststhattherearefourtypesofdeviantbehavior:subcultural,serial,situational,andcultural. Merton'stheoryisbasedontheideathatthereisatensionbetweengoalsandmeansinsociety.Goalsarethethingsthatpeoplewanttoachieve,suchaswealthorsuccess.Meansarethewaysinwhichpeoplegoaboutachievingthesegoals,suchasworkinghardorgettinganeducation. Whenpeoplecannotachievetheirgoalsthroughlegitimatemeans,theymayturntodeviantbehaviorinordertogetwhattheywant.Forexample,someonewhowantstobewealthybutcannotlegitimatelyearnenoughmoneymayturntotheftorrobbery. Thesocialstraintypologyisahelpfulwayofunderstandingwhypeopleengageindeviantbehavior.Italsohelpstoexplainwhysomeformsofdeviancearemorecommonthanothers. Forexample,subculturaldevianceismorelikelytooccurinpoorneighborhoodswherelegitimatemeansofachievinggoalsarelimited.Serialdevianceismorelikelytooccurinindividualswhohaveahistoryofengagingindeviantbehavior. Andsituationaldevianceismorelikelytooccurwhenpeoplefindthemselvesinsituationswheretheyaretemptedtobreaktherules. StructuralFunctionalism Structuralfunctionalismisasociologicaltheorythatviewssocietyasasystemofinterconnectedpartsthatworktogethertopromotestabilityandorder.Thetheoryisbasedontheideathatsocietiesareorganizedinawaythatallowsthemtomeettheneedsoftheirmembers. Durkheimsuggestedthat modernindustrialsocietieswereconsequentlycharacterisedbymoralconfusionor ‘anomie’–somemembersofsocietyweremorelikelytochallengeandrejectshared valuesandnormsofbehaviourandthis‘normlessness’oftenresultedincrimeand deviance. Thefunctionalistperspectivearguesthatdeviantbehaviorservesapositivefunctionforsocietybyprovidingasafetyvalveforpeoplewhocannotcopewiththedemandsofeverydaylife. Forexample,peoplewhoengageinminordeviantbehaviors,likerudenessorangryoutbursts,maybelesslikelytocommitmoreseriouscrimes,suchasmurderorrape(Parsons,1985). Thefunctionalistperspectivealsoarguesthatdeviantbehaviorcanleadtosocialchange.Forexample,peoplewhochallengethestatusquoandpushboundariesmayhelptobringaboutpositivechanges,suchasincreasedequalityorimprovedworkingconditions. Gandhi,forexample, isoftencreditedwithhelpingtoendBritishruleinIndiathroughhisdeviantbehaviorofleadingpeacefulprotestsandcivildisobedience. Thepublicpunishmentofcriminalsalsoreinforcessocialconformityby remindingmembersofsocietyaboutwhatcountsasacceptableand unacceptablebehaviour.Inotherwords,itfunctionstosociallycontrol societybyreinforcingtherules. ConflictTheory Conflicttheoryisasociologicaltheorythatviewssocietyasasystemofpowerrelationshipsthatareinconflictwithoneanother.Thetheoryisbasedontheideathatsocialorderismaintainedthroughcoercionandforce,ratherthanconsentoragreement. Conflicttheoristsarguethatdeviantbehaviorisaresultofsocialinequality.Theybelievethatpeoplewhohavelesspowerinsocietyaremorelikelytoengageindeviantbehaviorasawayofchallengingtheexistingorder.Forexample,peoplewhoarepoorormembersofminoritygroupsmayturntocrimeasawaytogettheresourcestheyneedtosurvive(Bartos&Wehr,2002). ThistheoryoriginatesfromtheworkofKarlMarx,whoarguedthatsocialconflictisanecessarypartofeconomicchange.Marxbelievedthatcapitalismwouldeventuallyleadtoarevolutioninwhichtheworkingclasswouldoverthrowtherulingclassandestablishamoreegalitariansociety. WhileconflicttheoryhasitsoriginsinMarxism,ithasbeenadaptedandexpandedbyothersociologists,suchasMaxWeberandRandallCollins.Conflicttheoryisnowusedtoexplainawidevarietyofsocialphenomena,includingcrime,violence,anddiscrimination(Bartos&Wehr,2002). LabelingTheory Labelingtheoryisasociologicaltheorythatviewsdevianceasaresultofthewaysocietylabelspeople.Thetheoryisbasedontheideathatpeoplewhoarelabeledasdeviantaremorelikelytoengageindeviantbehavior. Lemertwasoneofthefirsttodefinetheconceptofprimaryandsecondarydeviance(1951).Primarydevianceisdeviantactsthatoccurwithoutlabelsputonthepersoncommitingtheact. Forexample,ateenagerwhodrinksalcoholsociallyatapartyandiscaught,butonlygentlyreprimandedbytheirparents,hascommittedprimarydeviance. Secondarydeviance,meanwhile,isaresultofthelabelsthatareputonnsomeoneforcommittingdeviantacts. Apersonmovesfromprimarydeviance(thethingthatgetshim/herlabeledinthefirstplace)tosecondarydeviance(adeviantidentityorcareer). Theimportanceofthedistinctionbetweenprimaryandsecondarydevianceisthateveryonecommitsprimarydevianceactsfromtimetotime,withfewsocialconsequences. Labelingtheoryarguesthattheactoflabelingsomeoneasdeviantcausesthemtobeseenasdifferentfromothers.Thisdifferencecanleadtodiscriminationandsocialexclusion,whichcaninturnleadtofurtherdeviantbehavior. Forexample,someonewhoislabeledasacriminalmayhavedifficultyfindingajoborhousing.Asaresult,theymayturntocrimeinordertomakeendsmeet.Or,someonewhoislabeledasmentallyillmaybeexcludedfromsocialactivitiesand havedifficultymakingfriends.Thisisolationcanleadtofurthermentalhealthproblems(Becker,2018). Labelingtheoryhasbeenusedtoexplainawidevarietyofdeviantbehaviors,includingcrime,mentalillness,anddruguse.Thetheoryhasbeencriticizedforitslackofempiricalevidence,butitremainsaninfluentialperspectiveinsociology. FAQs Whataresomeofthemaincausesofdeviantbehavior? Someofthemaintheoreticalperspectivesthatsociologistsusetoexplaindevianceincludefunctionalism,conflicttheory,andlabelingtheory. Sociologistshavefoundthatdeviantbehaviorisoftenaresultofsocialinequality. Forexample,peoplewhoarepoorormembersofminoritygroupsmayturntocrimeasawaytogettheresourcestheyneedtosurvive. Additionally,peoplewhoarelabeledasdeviantbysocietymaybemorelikelytoengageindeviantbehaviorduetodiscriminationandsocialexclusion. Whatisthedifferencebetweendeviantandcriminalbehavior? Devianceisbehaviorthatviolatessocialnormsandarousesnegativesocialreactions.Crimeisbehaviorthatisconsideredsoseriousthatitviolatesformallawsprohibitingsuchbehavior. Notalldeviantbehavioriscriminal.Forexample,socialnormsaroundclothingstylesforhairstylesmayvaryfromplacetoplace.So,someonewhowearsunconventionalclothesorhasanunconventionalhaircutmaybeconsidereddeviantinonecommunitybutnotinanother. Similarly,peoplewhobreakminorlaws,suchasjaywalkingorlittering,maybeconsidereddeviantbutnotcriminal. Similarly,notallcriminalbehaviorisdeviant. Forexample,breakingalawagainstsellingalcoholonaSundaydoesnotinvolvecommittinganactofdevianceinasocietywheresellingandconsumingalcoholisacceptable. Isdeviantbehavioraformofnon-conformity? Devianceisaconceptthatdescribesnon-conformitytosocialnorms,valuesandcivicexpectations.Hence,itisaformofnon-conformity. Nonetheless,notallnon-conformityisdeviant. Socialnormsvaryfromplacetoplace,sowhatisconsidereddeviantinonesocietymaynotbeconsidereddeviantinanother.Additionally,socialnormschangeovertime,sosomethingthatwasonceconsidereddeviantmaybecomeacceptable(andviceversa). Forexample,tattoosandpiercingswereonceconsidereddeviantbutarenowwidelyaccepted.Nonetheless,inaplacewheretheyremainuncommon,theymaybenon-conformist. AbouttheAuthor CharlotteNickersonisamemberoftheClassof2024atHarvardUniversity.Comingfromaresearchbackgroundinbiologyandarchaeology,Charlottecurrentlystudieshowdigitalandphysicalspaceshapeshumanbeliefs,norms,andbehaviorsandhowthiscanbeusedtocreatebusinesseswithgreatersocialimpact. FactChecking Contentisrigorouslyreviewedbyateamofqualifiedandexperiencedfactcheckers.Factcheckersreviewarticlesforfactualaccuracy,relevance,andtimeliness.Werelyonthemostcurrentandreputablesources,whicharecitedinthetextandlistedatthebottomofeacharticle.Contentisfactcheckedafterithasbeeneditedandbeforepublication. ThisarticlehasbeenfactcheckedbySaulMcleod,aqualifiedpsychologyteacherwithover17years'experienceofworkinginfurtherandhighereducation.HehasbeenpublishedinpsychologyjournalsincludingClinicalPsychology,SocialandPersonalRelationships,andSocialPsychology. 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