Sociology Writing assignment This is a simple question and written response. Section on choose four questions and bullet point under the question the written answer. Section two answer three and bulle

Up to this point in the class we have been learning about how people conform to the expectations of society. Culture teaches us how to behave, values teach us what we should want from the society and the norms tell us how to behave, the feral children demonstrated what humans would be like away from culture, the system of stratification affects our lives from beginning to end. Since there are so many aspects to culture, we cannot write down all of our norms. It is impossible to know exactly what we should and should not do all of the time. That is why the study of deviance is so central to sociology. Sometimes the only way that we become aware of the rules of the society is when someone breaks those rules. Remember the example of standing backward on the elevator or any of the folkways that you violated in the second assignment. Sometimes the only way we know what the norms are is by having someone go beyond those norms and violate the culture.

The most difficult part of studying deviance sociologically is to understand the definition. The word deviance is much broader than most people imagine. Our definition of deviance is a violation of norms. It does not matter whether that norm is a folkway, a more or anything in between. Any violation of a norm, a socially accepted behavior, is considered an act of deviance. The first thing that you must remember is that since deviance is a violation of norms, deviance does not always mean crime. Crime is a specialized category in the study of deviance. Crime is a violation of law. Laws are simply norms that have been codified or written down. There is another part to that definition. Deviance is a violation of norms that brings a negative response from others people. Not only does the act have to occur but someone has to respond to it. In some ways the reaction signifies that you have violated the cultural expectations. Notice again how central culture is in understanding sociology.

What I want to start with are some of the previous attempts to explain deviant behavior. Throughout history all cultures have tried to explain or account for why would someone go outside of the culture. Let's start with some of these previous attempts.

THEORIES OF DEVIANCE

The first types of theories, or explanations for deviance, were the Demonological theories. The main idea of a demonological theory of deviance is that there is some power, not of this world that is controlling the actions of humans. This spirit, demon, devil, whatever, is not bound by the material and physical limits that humans are and it cannot be controlled by common people.

Deviant behavior under this type of explanation was simply evidence of what everyone believed at the time was possible had occurred. The person had become possessed by the devil or some type of demon. These types of theories were very popular for thousands of years. Notice that the cause of deviance in these theories is outside of the person's control. Some other worldly spirit is controlling behavior.

The second type of theory is called the Classical Theory. These theories were the first to really challenge the assumption that deviance was caused by the devil or some evil spirit. These theories saw the cause of deviance as lying within the person themselves. The classical theory views deviance as a result of free will and the nature of man. This is the time of the Enlightenment and the challenges of the authority of the Church.

The main ideas of the Classical Theory can be explained by the list of ideas below. Compare this to the demonological explanations.

1. Humans had originally existed in a state of Nature. This was a time before culture, norms, government, or any outside human control. This was a time when humans were in their "natural form".

2. Human's emerged from this state by application of their reason. The state of nature ended.

3. Humans have free will. Each human is rational and has a free choice in all matters. Notice how this conflicts with the demonological idea of human behavior controlled by outside forces.

4. Because humans have free will the primary way to control behavior is through fear. Especially fear of pain.

5. Punishment (pain, humiliation, disgrace) was needed to create fear and thus control behavior.

6. Society has the right to punish the individual.

7. Some code of behavior was necessary. Some form of punishment was also necessary.

The classical theory presupposes beliefs about human nature. The main ideas of these theories are that "nature has placed humans under the governance of two masters, pain and pleasure". According to this theory all human activity can be understood as the self-interested pursuit of pleasure or the avoidance of pain.

Using this definition, deviance satisfies a combination of these two tendencies. Deviance is not unique in its motives or desires, it is not controlled by God, the Devil or an evil spirit. Deviance is simply a human choosing the pleasure of the act over the pain it may cause.

The question then became how can deviant behavior be limited or controlled. The theory claimed that the way to deter deviance was to make the pain of the actions so large that people decide not to do it. Remember according to this theory all humans are rational and will choose pleasure over pain. There were 4 types of "sanctions" that controlled devaint behavior.

The first type of sanctions were called Physical Sanctions. The consequences of the behavior itself are so severe that a rational human chooses not to engage in that behavior. The act itself is so risky that people avoid it. For example drug use. No one will deny that human bodies enjoy drugs. There is a lot of pleasurable drugs out there, but there are also dangers. Accidental overdose, infection, psychological damage, death, loss of friends, family, money etc. Yes, a human being, according to this theory could choose to use drugs but the physical consequences are too severe.

A second example is promiscuous sex. No one will deny that sex is pleasurable. Yes it is. You could have sex with lots of people lots of times. But there are also dangers. There is the risk of disease, pregnancy, stigma for your behavior, death. So a rational human being, in this theory avoids the act because of the danger. Physical constraints are clear to "prudent" people.

A second type of sanction is the Religious Sanction. In this case humans do not engage in deviance because they fear punishment in the next life. If your religion teaches you that you will pay for what you have done wrong then you will control your behavior. Not because some spirit possessed you to do it, but because you chose to or not to do the behavior.

The third sanction is the Moral Sanction. Here the person fears the reactions of your friends and neighbors. The person does not want to look bad in front of those who are important to them so they limit their behavior because of a fear of being stigmatized.

The fourth and final sanction is the Political Sanction. Here the person avoids the action because they so not want to be punished by the government, sent to prison or labeled in some way.

I cannot stress here enough the importance of the difference between these types of theories. Notice the demonological theories looked outside of the person to a possession or an evil spirit, whereas the classical theories focused on the choices the person made themselves. Into this mix we must add a third type of theory before we get to our sociological theories of deviance.

The third type of theory is the Biological Theory. The biological theories were looking for some physical or biological reason to explain deviant behavior. The deviant, in these theories had to be biologically different than the non deviant. There had to some physical characteristic that would account for the deviance. All of the biological theories believe that structure determines function. Individuals who behave differently are somehow different structurally or physically. All differences in behavior would be due to some kind of structural difference. There was some physical and/or biological abnormality is the distinguishing mark of the deviant.

Some examples of biological theories of deviance included:

1. Deviation in head size and shape from common type to race and region where the person lived.

2. Asymmetry of face.

3. Excessive dimensions of the jaws and cheekbones.

4. Eye defects.

5. Ears of unusual size, too large or too small or like a chimpanzee that stand out from the head.

6. Nose upturned, twisted or flattened in thieves. Beak like in murderers.

7. Protruding lips. Swollen.

8. Pouches in cheeks like those of animals.

9. peculiarities of the palate.

10. Abnormal dentition.

11. Receding chin, excessively long or short.

12. Abundance of wrinkles.

13. Abnormal, especially hair characteristic of the opposite sex.

14. Too many or too few ribs

15. Excessively long arms.

There were literally hundreds and hundreds of biological theories of deviance. Everyone seemed to be looking for that one distinguishing physical trait to describe deviant behavior.

Try to imagine what this time was like, there were all of these competing theories of deviance. Everyone was seeking the cause of deviant behavior. The demonological theories were looking at the evil spirits that may have possessed people, the classical theorists were saying it was human's free will, the biological theorists were seeking that physical trait that led to deviance. It was into this mix that along came sociology.

If we go back to our definition of deviance, deviance is a violation of norms. Well in order to understand deviance you must understand norms, in order to understand norms you must understand values, in order to understand values you must understand culture. We are back to culture. If you remember our list of Culture is, one of that was that culture is relative. So if culture is relative then values are relative, if values are relative then norms are relative, if norms are relative then definitions of deviance are relative. Imagine the effect this had on these theories at the time. It is not the act or the person that is deviant but how the culture defines that behavior. What is considered deviant in one culture may not be considered deviant in another culture. Again, it is not the action but the meaning that the culture attaches to that action.

According to this idea deviance is relative to three different things. Deviance is relative to time. As cultures change over time so do definitions of deviance. What your grandparents considered deviant is probably different than behavior you would call deviant. Behavior is not different, it is how the culture defines behavior.

Deviance is also relative to location. You may perform the same action but in one place it may be all right to do that but in another setting it is not. For instance wearing pajamas to bed at night is considered appropriate in our culture. Wearing pajamas to the mall on Saturday afternoon is considered deviant. The act is exactly the same, wearing pajamas, it is the location that culture has defined as "wrong".

Finally deviance varies according to circumstances. The exact same action under one set of circumstances is punished while the same action under other circumstances is rewarded. Again, it is not the behavior much as it is the cultural definitions of the action. For example, you shoot one of your teachers because they gave you a bad grade and we call that deviant. Take the same action, killing someone, except now you are wearing a uniform from your government and it is time of war and that is what you are supposed to do, kill others. It is not the killing, it is the definition that is attached to that behavior.

Notice the different focus of these theories. The Demonological, Classical and Biological all look at the cause of deviance as residing inside the individual. A sociological theory will seek the explanation for deviance as residing in the culture and how that culture interprets your behavior.

Before moving to the sociological theories of deviance I must return to the work of Durkheim. Durkheim was the first sociologist who started us thinking about studying deviance sociologically. After his study of suicide Durkheim formulated some basic ideas about deviant behavior. His most widely known idea related to deviance is that every group of people must have someone or some thing called deviant. Think about that idea for a few minutes. According to Durkheim, every culture needs to have a deviant. Deviance is necessary, you must have it. Why would this be so? There are two reasons for this according to Durkheim.

The first reason why every group of people must have a deviant is that the deviant teaches everyone else what they should do. By having someone go outside of the norms and get that negative reaction, the rest of us learn where those boundaries are located. In effect the deviant is a part of socialization. We cannot possibly write down all of our norms so we need the deviant to teach us where those boundaries are located so we know how far we can go until we receive that negative reaction.

The second reason for the deviant is that social change only occurs because of the deviant. If no one ever stepped outside of the boundaries and forced us to think about our norms and what is appropriate and inappropriate behavior, norms would never change. If norms never changed then the culture begins to stagnate and a stagnant culture will die.

So according to Durkheim, we need to have the deviant to show us where those boundaries are located and to bring about any social change. If you go back to the start of the semester, according to Durkheim, deviance is functional. Deviance serves a function in our culture. Now let's turn our attention to the sociological theories of deviance.

Sociological Theories of Deviance there are three main sociological theories of deviance. The main factor that you must know about sociological theories of deviance is that they do not look at the individual deviant at all. The explanation for deviance lies in how the culture understands, defines and labels your behavior.

The first sociological theory of deviance is called the Anomie Theory. It is also called the Strain Theory. This theory starts out with two main ideas. Ideas that you are already familiar with so this is not a completely new idea. The first main idea is that each culture creates what are called Goals. Goals are what our culture teaches is most important, what we should be striving for, working towards, seeking in life. Remember values? Same idea, different word. If there is a goal then there must be a way to reach that goal. This theory claims that the socially accepted ways to reach the goals are called the Means. These are the means to the goals, the ways we are taught to reach our goals, think of norms at this point.

This theory then goes on to create what are called the responses to the Goals and Means. For this example imagine that the goal is the pursuit of money. Our culture has taught us all to pursue money. Not only the dollars but all that money can bring us, houses, cars, fame, prestige, vacations, etc., we are all socialized into these goals. If there is a goal there must be a way to reach that goal, the means. The means, in our example would be to go to school, get a job, save, money, work hard and you will reach that goal. Culture has created the goals and the means and we are expected to live up to those expectations.

The first response to the goals and means is conformity. If this is your response to the goals and mean, then you accept both the goals and the means and act on them. You have been socialized into these beliefs and you accept them as yours and begin to act on them. For most people this is their response to the goals and means. Conformity is not deviant.

The second response to the goals and means is innovation. If this is your response to the goals and means, you accept the goals but reject the means. The goal is yours, you have been socialized into that goal and you want to achieve that goal. If the goal is money you want the money, fame, power, prestige that the culture has taught you to want. The difference here is that for some reason you feel blocked from reaching those goals. Maybe you cannot go to school, or you cannot get a decent job, so what do you do? You Innovate, you go against the culturally prescribed means to reach the goal while still trying to reach it. In our culture right now a classic example of innovation is a drug dealer. This person is pursuing the same goal that you are. They want the money, power, prestige, fancy clothes, everything that come with having money. The only difference is that they are using means that we as a culture said you should not do, selling drugs is against our norms of behavior. Notice it is not the action but how the culture defines your behavior.

The third response to the goals and means is Ritualism. If this is your response to the goals and means, you accept the means but this time reject the goals. In our culture the goal is not only having money but having more and more of it. Someone once said 'in America you can never be too rich or too thin'. So let's say there is someone in our culture who went to school, has a job, and is following the means but they are not always striving for more. That person will be looked down in our culture. If anyone has ever told you that you were not doing all you can do, or you were not living up to your potential, they were not complimenting you, they were not patting you on the back, they were criticizing you, they were calling you a deviant. In a culture where we have a phrase "you snooze, you lose" anyone not striving is looked down upon. As Inge Bell writes in her book, being called "lazy" is one of the worst things you can be called in America. We as a culture look down on those who slack off, who do not strive, who are called drones. Like it or not, the culture will determine whether your behavior is right or wrong, good or bad. The cause of deviance is not an evil spirit, the bumps on your head or your own free will, the definition of deviant behavior lies in the culture.

The fourth response to the goals and means is retreatism. If this is your response to the goals and means then you reject both the goals and the means. You simply drop out of the culture. You know the stigma we as a culture attach to someone drops out. In this culture the phrase "winners never quit and quitters never win", summarizes these thoughts. We as a culture expect you to live up to certain expectations and if you do not and simply drop out of the culture we will call you a deviant. You are a loser, quitter, slacker, any socially stigmatizing label. Again, notice it is not the action but how the culture defines what is right and not right, at this time. Actions in one culture may be perfectly acceptable but in another they may be called deviant.

The final response to the goals and means is rebellion. If this is your response to the goals and means, you reject both the goals and the means but instead of dropping out of the culture, you attempt to change it. You have different goals and different means that you wish to pursue. In this culture we stigmatize those who are in religious cults. To our culture that is deviant. To those in the cults, the way that we (you and I in this culture) have organized our lives is wrong. They think we focus on money and material possessions too much and would like to see a new, more spiritual life. They have different goals and different means and are seeking to reach those goals by means we may not agree with.

You really have to look at a sociological theory as it compares to the other types. Here the focus is on the larger cultural definitions that are attached to your behavior. The Anomie theory is easy to remember if you look at it as a chart. Picture it like this:

Now we will compare the Anomie to another Sociological Theory of deviance that believes that deviance is learned simply the same way that all other behavior is learned, as a result of socialization. This theory is called the Differential Association theory and stresses how deviance is learned as acceptable or not acceptable in the context of our primary groups; friends, families, those who are close to us. Those who are close to us define behavior as acceptable or not acceptable and depending on how frequently we see these people, how important their views are to us, and how many countervailing definitions of behavior we are exposed to, we either act on their definitions or do not. Differential Association is easy to understand with these nine main ideas:

1. Deviant behavior is learned.

2. Deviant behavior is learned in interaction with other persons in a process of communication.

3. The principal part of learning of deviant behavior occurs within the intimate or primary group. Friends, family, etc.

4. When behavior is learned the learning includes (a) techniques of deviance, some complicated, some simple (b) the specific direction of the motives, drives, rationalizations, and attitudes.

5. The specific direction of the motives and drives is learned from definitions of the normative code as favorable or unfavorable. In some societies an individual is surrounded by persons who invariably define the normative code as rules to be observed, while in others he is surrounded by persons whose definitions are favorable to the violation of the normative code.

6. A person becomes deviant because of an excess of definitions favorable to the violation of norms over definitions unfavorable to violation of the norms. This is the principle of differential association.

7. Differential Associations may vary in frequency, duration, priority, and intensity. This means that associations with deviant behavior and associations with anti-deviant behavior vary in those respects

8. The process of learning deviant behavior by association with deviant and anti-deviant patterns involves all the mechanisms that are involved in any other learning

9. While deviant behavior is an expression of general needs and values, it is not explained by those general needs and values, since non-deviant behavior is an expression of those same needs and values. Thieves generally steal in order to secure money, but likewise honest laborers work in order to secure money. The attempts by many scholars to explain deviant behavior by general drives and values, such as the happiness principle, striving for social status, the money motive, or frustration, have been, and must continue to be, futile, since they explain acceptable behaviors completely as they explain deviant behavior. They are similar to respiration, which is necessary for any behavior, but which does not differentiate deviant from non-deviant behavior.

As mentioned above, this theory simply believes that the deviant learned that deviant behavior was acceptable by those around them and began to act on their definitions. Deviance in this theory is the result of socialization from our family and our friends. Our agents of socialization define the behavior as acceptable or not acceptable and we act on the definitions of behavior that predominate at the time. As with all sociological theories, the role of individual biological, psychological or spiritual characteristics is minimized.

The final sociological theory of deviance is called Labeling. Much like Anomie, this theory also starts out with two main ideas. These main ideas are statements. The first statement is that deviance is behavior that people so label. The second main idea is that labels are attached by the powerful to the powerless. Keep these ideas in mind as we build this theory.

Labeling actually follows a five step sequence in describing how a person becomes labeled deviant. The first step in labeling is called Primary deviance. Primary deviance is an act that if seen by someone in a position of power they would call it deviant. The person in power could be a parent, police officer, teacher, doctor, anyone with power to define behavior. I am sure that everyone has committed acts of primary deviance. Think back over your life, all of those things you have done that you are glad no one saw you do would be called primary deviance. If you ever stole anything and did not get caught, it is primary deviance. Every time you drive over the speed limit and do not get caught that is primary deviance. If you have ever smoked marijuana and did not get caught, it is primary deviance. You could commit hundreds of acts of primary deviance. Everyone has committed acts of primary deviance but not everyone has been labeled. So then it is not the action that leads to the label. There must be something else going on, that is the main idea of labeling. It is not the action but the label.

The second step in labeling is the act is observed. Now someone sees your act of primary deviance. A police officer, parent, teacher, doctor, someone sees this action.

The third step is to attach a label. The act is called something and so are you. If the act is called theft you are called a thief. If the act is called drug use, you are called a user. If the act is called cheating, you are called a cheater.

The next step then becomes to accept the label. Remember, labels are attached by the powerful to the powerless. How much power does one person have to fight off a label, not that much. So after a while they begin to think about themselves in the context of that label.

The last step in labeling is called secondary deviance. Secondary deviance is when you begin to act on the label. You become what you have been called. Everyone has called you a thief, they treat you like a thief, no one will hire you because of that label, and now you become that label.

Labeling would look like this in a sequence:

Primary Deviance ---> Act is Observed ---> Attach a Label ---> Accept Label ---> Secondary Deviance

To give you an idea as to how labeling works from beginning to end here is an example. Imagine a third grade class. The teacher leaves the room. The children begin to act up and run around the room (primary deviance). The teacher returns to the room and wishes to put an end to this activity. The teacher leaves the room again except this time they wait right outside the door. As soon as that first little child stands up (act is observed) the teacher comes back in the room and says "You!! I saw you! You are the troublemaker in this class" (attach a label). So they send the child down to the Principal's Office where the Principal asks, "Why are you a troublemaker in the third grade class?". A letter is sent home to Mom and Dad, who ask, "Why are you causing trouble in third grade class?". All the other children at recess time on the playground say 'You're the troublemaker! You're the troublemaker!". How much power does the child have to fight off that label? Not much. Pretty soon they begin to think about themselves as the troublemaker (accept the label). Eventually, that is what the child becomes. Put them in that situation and they will act on that Label (Secondary Deviance).

All three of our theories are classic sociological theories of deviance in that they rely on the larger social context in which the behavior occurs. Notice that none of them rely on spirits, demons or devils. None of the sociological theories claim that you choose to engage in deviance because the same behavior at one time is called deviant but the same behavior at another time is not called deviant so how could deviance be an individual choice? Also these theories do not rely on the biological or physical attributes of the person. All of these theories stress that we need to use our sociological imagination and see human behavior, deviant or not deviant in the context that the culture has created.

Keep checking the announcements for the next step regarding the class.