soci 2

SOCI201-012

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Deviance and Subcultures

Subcultures vs. Countercultures

· Subcultures: the values and related behaviors of a group that distinguish its members from the larger culture; a world within a world (could be based on geography, interests, class, occupation)

· Countercultures: a group whose values, beliefs, norms, and related behaviors place its members in opposition to the broader culture

Defining Deviance

· Common definition: the violation of society’s norms

· Ways of defining deviance

· Statistical

· Moral

· Societal reaction

· Normative

· Legal

· Medical

Statistical Definition of Deviance

· Durkheim: deviance is something that is statistically different than the average

Moral Definition of Deviance

· Deviance is a violation of moral absolutes- there are sets of universal morals (often set by religious institutions), and deviance is a violation of them

· Kai Erikson’s Wayward Puritans (1966)

· Daniel Patrick Moynihan (1933) “Defining deviance down”

Societal Reaction Definition of Deviance

· No behavior is inherently deviant- something becomes deviant when society reacts to it and labels it as such

· Howard Becker’s (1960s) labeling theory

Normative and Legal Definitions of Deviance

· Normative definition: the members of different groups come to some sort of agreement of what behaviors are acceptable, and any violation of these norms should be considered deviance.

· Legal definition: an approach most often used in criminology that argues that a behavior should be defined as deviant if it violates an established law

Medical Definition of Deviance

· Medicalization of deviance: re-defining deviance as medical conditions that should be treated as such (deviance as pathology)

· Alcoholism, gambling addiction, anxiety disorders

· Functions to diminish the culpability of the deviant individual

· Transition from sanctions to treatment

Martin, Pescosolido, and Tuch (2000)

· Examined five factors that influence the public’s willingness to interact with people with mental health problems

· The nature of the behavior described

· Causal attributions of the behavior’s source

· Perceived dangerousness of the person

· The label of “mental illness”

· The sociodemographic characteristics of respondents

Symbolic Interactionism

· Differential Association (Edwin Sutherland): we associate with different groups that all give us different definitions of deviance and conformity

· Control Theory (Walter Reckless)

· We are controlled by two systems: Inner controls (internalized morality, sense of right and wrong) and outer controls (people that influence us to not deviate)

· Travis Hirschi: The stronger our bonds are with society, the more effective our inner controls are

· Labeling Theory (Howard Becker)

· Society labels an individual or behavior as “deviant”

· That label affects how a person is viewed (by both themselves and by others), and that perception leads them to be deviant (Self-fulfilling prophecy)

· Sykes and Matza’s “Techniques of Neutralization”

· Denial of Responsibility

· Denial of injury

· Denial of a victim

· Condemnation for the condemners

· Appeal to higher loyalties

Structural Functionalism

· Durkheim- deviance serves 3 important functions in society:

· Deviance clarifies moral boundaries and affirms norms

· Deviance encourages social unity

· Deviance promotes social changes

· Illegitimate Opportunity Structures- opportunities for crime and deviance are woven into the fabric of everyday life

· Strain Theory (Robert K. Merton)

· Non-deviant: conformity

· Deviant: innovation, ritualism, retreatism, and rebellion

Conflict Theory

· Focuses less on what causes deviance and more on how deviance is handled in society

· Conflict theory is often applied in criminology to critique the criminal justice system as a system of oppression

· Michelle Alexander- The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness