Deviance

Chapter 7
Deviance

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

 Deviance

Concept
•Understand the symbolic approach such as Labeling
Theory, Medicalization of Deviance, Differential
Association Theory and Hirshi’s Control theory
•Understand the social-conflict approach to explain
deviance

Application
As crime investigator – learn method to narrow down
potential criminals
As an activist – to fight for laws that protects everyone
and not just the upper strata of society

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

 Labeling Theory

Which crime is more serious?

Stealing Illegal Download

Chocolates of Software

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

 Labeling Theory

Explains how people look at you in everyday situations

Labeling Theory – is the idea that deviance and conformity

result not so much from what people do as from how others
respond to those actions

Edwin Lemert (1972) divide violations into 2 types

Primary Deviance - Norm violations that provoke slight

reaction from others and have little effect on a person’s self-
concept (example forget to return borrowed pens)

Secondary Deviance - Response to primary deviance by which

a person begins to take on a deviant identity and repeatedly
breaks the rules (example stealing mobile phones)

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

 Labeling Theory

Stigma
Erving Goffman (1963) calls it a deviant career when people
develop a stronger commitment to deviant behavior.

They acquire a stigma, a powerfully negative label that greatly

changes a person’s self-concept and social identity. A stigma
operates as a master status - discredited in the minds of others
and becomes socially isolated.

If an entire community formally stigmatizes an individual

- Harold Garfinkel calls it a degradation ceremony.

A criminal trial is one example. A person stands before the

community and is labeled negatively. Remember public canning in
school?

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

 Labeling Theory

Retrospective and Projective Labeling

Retrospective labeling - interpreting someone’s past in

light of some present deviance

Projective labeling - using a person’s deviant identity

to predict future actions.

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

 Medicalization of Deviance

Deviance as a Medical Condition

The transformation of moral and legal deviance into a

medical condition. Its about “Bad or Good” versus “Sick or
Well”?

Alcoholism is it a crime or a disease?

How about drug addiction? Or even sexual promiscuity?

Behaviors that used to be defined as criminal—such as

smoking marijuana are more likely today to be seen as a
form of treatment.

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

 Medicalization of Deviance

Marijuana is now considered as medicine in many states in US

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

 Medicalization of Deviance

Second Man Charged In Craigslist Killing Found Not

Guilty by Reason Of Mental Disease
http://www.courant.com/breaking-news/hc-hartford-craigs-list-killing-marvin-mathis-20170525-story.html

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

 Differential Association Theory

Edwin Sutherland (1940) - a person’s tendency toward

conformity or deviance depends on the amount of
contact with others who encourage or reject
conventional behavior.

Young people are more likely to engage in delinquency if

they believe members of their peer groups encourage such
activity.

Research on sexual activity among eighth-grade students.

Two strong predictors of such behavior for young girls was
a.Having a boyfriend who encouraged sexual relations
b.Having
You girlfriends
behave based onthey believedfrom
feedback would approve
your of such
friends
activity.

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

 Differential Association Theory

Differential association theory can be described through 8 key

propositions.
1.All criminal behavior is considered to be a learned behavior.
2. Criminal behaviors are learned through the interactions that
one person has with others
3. Occurs within the intimate personal circles and relationships
of the individual
4. Various components of learning such as:
-Specific techniques that can be used to commit a crime
-Specific motives and rationalizations
-Attitudes of going against societal norm
5. Motives and drives is learned from the favorable or
unfavorable interpretation of the legal codes which exist in that
person’s jurisdictions.
SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang
 Differential Association Theory

5. People become criminals because there is an excessive

number of favorable conclusions to violating the law
compared to the unfavorable conclusions that they are able to
determine.

6. Differential associations can be extremely variable. They may

vary in intensity, priority, duration, and frequency.

7. The process of learning criminal behaviors through

association involves the same mechanisms that people use for
all other types of learning.

8. Criminal behavior may be an express of generalized values

or needs, but it is not explained by those needs since non-
criminal behaviors have the same requirements.

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

 Hirschi’s Control Theory

Social control depends on people anticipating the

consequences of their behavior. Individuals who feel
they have little to lose by deviance are likely to become
rule breakers.

Attachment - Strong social attachments encourage conformity.

Weak family, peer, and school relationships leave people freer to
engage in deviance.

Opportunity - The greater a person’s access to legitimate

opportunity, the greater the advantages of conformity. Someone with
little confidence in future success is more likely to drift toward
deviance.

Involvement - Extensive involvement in legitimate activities such

as holding a job, going to school, or playing sports—inhibits deviance

Belief - Strong belief in conventional morality and respect for

authority figures restrain tendencies toward deviance.
SOCIOLOGICAL People
PERSPECTIVE who
// Lectures by Sean Ang
 Discussion

Application: How can you identify a potential Hijacker

based on Sutherland and Hirschi’s Theory?
SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang
 Social Conflict Approach and Deviance

Najib – Donation or Grand Theft?

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

 Social Conflict Approach and Deviance

Norms or laws reflect interests of rich and powerful

Powerful have resources to resist deviant labels.
People from the lower strata of the society if more likely
to be labelled as deviance

Crime of Powerful People

1. White-collar Crime - Those committed by people of high
social position in the course of their occupations
2. Corporate Crime- Illegal actions of a corporation or people
acting on its behalf
3. Organized Crime - A business supplying illegal goods or
services

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

 Social Conflict Approach and Deviance

The Feminist Perspective: Deviance and Gender

Most society places stricter controls on women than on men.

Sudan - women wearing trousers - imprisonment and, in several

cases, ten lashes.

Iran - women who dare to expose their hair or wear make up in

public can be arrested (law was reviewed recently)

Nigeria - a court convicted a divorced woman of bearing a child

out of wedlock and sentenced her to death by stoning

On the other hand men who sexually harassed women were

labeled only mildly deviant and sometimes escaped
punishment entirely.

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

 Social Conflict Approach and Deviance

Women are punished more harshly for Sexual Immorality

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

 Deviance

Brunei Loyal Family Members Can Get Away from Sharia Laws

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

 Social Conflict Approach and Deviance

Your Personal Action Plan

Campaign for rights of women, the marginalized group
and stricter punishment for the elites

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

 Social Conflict Approach and Deviance

In your opinion, is this punishment fair?

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang
 Social Conflict Approach and Deviance

What are the laws that you need to change?

India: 2013 legislation, allowing a man to rape his wife if she is over
15 years of age.

Michigan, United States: Rapists can claim parental rights

Jordan: Women can be killed in the name of “honour”

Belarus: Women can’t become truck drivers

Israel: Rabbinical law, divorces can only take place if requested by

the husband.

Tunisia: In Tunisia, women’s inheritance rights are limited: sons

inherit twice as much as daughters.

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

 Deviance

THE END

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang