Defining Deviance - Deviance and Social Control - Lecture Slides, Slides of Sociology of Deviance

Download Defining Deviance - Deviance and Social Control - Lecture Slides and more Slides Sociology of Deviance in PDF only on Docsity! Defining Deviance docsity.com Defining deviance is not a straightforward problem. • How about a list of “deviant” behaviours or identities? • Problem: that list is too long and it’s not clear what belongs and what doesn’t! docsity.com Definition 1: The Statistical Definition • Deviance is any behaviour or condition that represents a departure from majority and/or average experience. This is a very concrete and clear definition. • Problem 1: This definition is overly inclusive: It makes everyone deviant. • Problem 2: Most people determine deviance according to what “ought” to be, not what “is.” docsity.com The Absolutist Definition • Deviance is any aberration from a given, “absolute” set of standards of conduct, such as standards imposed by religious or psychiatric authority. • Problem 1: There is almost always disagreement over “absolute” standards. • Problem 2: Even if one standard is “absolutely” true, it tells us nothing about sociologically-relevant topics such as the social organization of deviants. • Problem 3: That “absolute truth” may in fact be in the hands of a tiny minority and it would be odd to charge that all non- followers are “deviant.” docsity.com The Reactivist Definition • From Howard Becker: “The deviant is one to whom the label has successfully been applied; deviant behaviour is behaviour that people so label.” • Problem 1: the definition asserts that unobserved behaviour cannot be deviant. • Problem 2: it also asserts that the label “deviance” has nothing to do with the behaviour per se but only the process of defining something as deviant. docsity.com