Day 23: Deviance and Social Control

Any act which breaks a norm is a deviant act. Norms vary in how important it is to follow them; we can see that by looking at the severity of the sanctions that are imposed when they are broken.

Crimes are particular deviant acts that a government has decided to outlaw.

What is considered deviant is “socially constructed” – that is, those meanings are created by people. What has been considered deviant has changed over time, and varies from society to society, and from context to context.

Social control: processes meant to keep people from deviating from accepted norms. There are three general forms of social control:

· Self-control: we internalize norms through socialization, and police our own actions. This is the most powerful form of social control.

· Informal control: when we conform because we don’t want to invite negative reactions (i.e. informal sanctions) from the people around us.

· Formal control: this is exercised through institutions, which formally enforce norms, and impose formal sanctions when we break them (police and courts, religious institutions, schools, etc). This is the weakest form of social control.

What sociologists find interesting to study about why deviance occurs are those situations in which there is a social influence (personality differences which may predispose some people to deviance is for the most part the job of psychologists).

Sociolgocial Theories of Deviance:

· Macro-level explanations of deviance focus on characteristics of social structure

· Micro-level explanations focus on interactions between people.

Durkheim’s and Merton’s theories of deviance are macro-level theories. They are not designed to predict whether a particular person will deviate. Rather, they are designed to understand rates of deviance – how much deviance occurs in a society at any given time.

Here are some ideas that macro-level theories of deviance offer:

1. Durkheim:

§ when the collective conscience of a society is strong (that is, most people conform to the same belief systems), deviance tends to be lower than when the collective conscience is weak, which usually happens in times of rapid social change.

§ Rapid social change introduces structural strains; change causes people’s experiences to vary widely, and the old belief systems may be insufficient to guide people’s responses to those changes (which decreases the strength of self control).

§ To the extent that the social changes diminish people’s social ties to one another, they become less integrated into society (which of course decreases the strength of informal social controls).

§ Rapid social change also makes it hard both to know what the norms are (needed for self-control), and for the system to enforce norms (formal control). Durkheim called this a state of anomie. Anomie is a characteristic of social systems, not of individuals. Of course, an anomic system affects individual behavior …..

2. Merton:

§ Merton pointed out that these days, constant change has become normal – thus, anomie is now an enduring characteristic of modern societies.

§ Merton refined the definition of anomie by suggesting that it is a condition in which there is a mis-match between social norms and social structures. By this he meant that

o there are accepted goals, which are cultural meanings, and therefore part of social structure, and

o there are accepted means for achieving those goals, which are norms.

· When following the accepted means is a good way for most people to accomplish accepted goals, there is a match between social norms and social structures.

· If it starts to happen for many people that following the accepted means does not put them on the path to accomplishing accepted goals, there is a mis-match between social norms and social structures.

§ Merton’s theory suggests that people might respond to a social mis-match between means and goals in a variety of ways. These are discussed on pages 168 and 169, and summarized in Table 11.2 Which of these responses should we call deviant responses? Why?

Micro-level theories of deviance focus on social interaction at the level of individuals. Concepts which describe the process of socialization are useful in thinking about micro-level theories of deviance. Your book described two different ways that interaction may lead to deviance:

· Becker’s study focuses on the process by which deviance is learned. How might the concept of the looking glass self be useful in understanding this process? The concept of the “I” and the “Me”?

· Labeling theory also focuses on interaction between individuals, but introduces the role of differences in power as an important factor.

o What is primary deviance? How widespread do you think this is?

o What is “labeling”?

o What is secondary deviance?

o What is the relationship between labeling and stigma?

o Do you think that the power of the person/organization doing the labeling (relative to the power of the deviant) influences the likelihood that the individual will internalize the label (as a stigma)? Wil this also increase the chances that the person will engage in secondary deviance?

A final question: Think about the functions of deviance (described on pp. 177-178). Do you think we will ever get rid of deviance? Explain (give a sociological explanation, not a psychological one).

MLS17: “Becoming a Racist:

Answer these questions:

1. Is racism, or at least being a member of racist organizations, considered deviant from the perspective of mainstream culture today?

2. Are any of the concepts listed above (from PS) useful for thinking about the process by which the women studied become members of racist organizations?

3. Do any of the women see their activity as deviant from the standpoint of mainstream culture? Why do you say so?

4. Do you think that the membership in racist organizations increases and decreases according to changes occurring at the level of social structure? Explain.

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