Social Deviance
Summary
Social deviance is the violation of social norms and cultures in society, either formally or informally. A person can choose to conform or violate social norms, although social norms keep changing with time depending on the situational context. Additionally, a person can conform, and at the same time, violate social norms based on the situation. For instance, over speeding is against the law, hence violation, and conforming to over speeding on a freeway road, where the driver has no option. The paper is about sociology, deviance, and criminal law by Anleu (2020). According to the article, the sociology of deviance is a critical area with various controversies, especially where the concept of deviance has changed over time. The complexity of social deviance is the difference between appropriate and inappropriate behavior, where the concept directly overlaps with the idea of sociology law. The author discusses several social deviance concepts, supported by current trends, and examples that emphasize the topic. Furthermore, the topic discusses the link between crime, social norms, and deviance.
Type of Sociology
Sociology explains how crime occurs in society, and types of social factors that influence deviance, for instance, socialization, social frustrations, and social learning. The author uses qualitative sociology, which focuses on the topic’s ideas by conducting a historical analysis, ethnography, and comparative analysis, such as analysis of Emile Durkheim theory. The author also gets ideas from the various study areas, such as public health study, cultural sociology, alcohol studies, penology, and social psychology (Anleu, 2020).
Sociological Concepts
The article uses the three main sociology concepts: symbolic interactionist, functionalist concept, and conflict concept of sociology. According to the symbolic interactionist concept, the article discusses how social groups and social institutions influence the world through a study known as the micro-social, for instance, how individuals respond to various life situations, according to Thomas, a sociologist. Human social behavior is based on gender norms and identity developed through various social interactions (Anleu, 2020). The conflict concept explains that society consists of different groups of people with different levels of power and resources from sociology. The difference in power is a huge determinant of social deviation, where a certain group of people engages in deviance for survival, whole others based on influence and power. For instance, politicians can violate formal and informal social norms under the influence of power and resources. According to Emile Durkheim and Robert Merton, a functionalist concept, that’s social elements lead to social dysfunctions and social instability, for instance, deviance is both functional and dysfunctional because it creates awareness on morality, enhances social cohesion, and at the same time affect social stability.
Deviant behavior/social control
As per the article, deviance occurs due to a lack of self-control and improper socialization. According to Walter Reckless, an individual’s internal and outer control system determine their deviant tendencies (Unlu et al., 2021). For instance, some people can choose to engage in deviant behaviors while others may choose not to due to a self-control system based on values, morals, and conscience. A person may not engage in deviance due to fear of external controls such as religious authorities and police officers (Anleu, 2020). Children’s proper socialization, especially since childhood, helps people stay away from engaging in deviant behaviors in adulthood.
Impact of the Behaviour on the Society
Anleu (2020) discusses the legalization of Marijuana and the act being a concept of crime or deviance. The consumption of Marijuana is an act of deviance whereby the user goes contrary to the social norms in the society, such as the prohibition of drug use and religion. Involvement in deviant behaviors impact society positively and negatively (Anleu, 2020). For instance, deviance makes the society come together and find solutions to various issues such as theft and alcoholism. Additionally, deviant behavior promotes moral boundaries and leads to social change, according to Durkheim.
The Applicable Theory of Social Deviance
Control theory and containment theory are some of the theory, that explains social deviance and criminal law (Mai’a, 2021). The theory explains why some people engage in criminal behaviors and why some avoid it. The theories explain that social relationships and social gains determine social deviance. For example, individuals will conform to ea deviant behavior because of what they gain. People follow social norms because of the strong bonds created in the society, such as civil and religious authority (Anleu, 2020).
Reaction
How did this article affect you?
The article was very impactful and educative, especially in understanding the reason behind state control over public protests and personal Marijuana. The reading has also helped me understand the boundary between deviance and crime and how gender norms influence deviancy. Ideally, it discusses deviance’s sociology and its theoretical developments, which is a popular subject, especially in criminology. Sociology of deviance is used to determine social norms and how society responds to violations of social norms.
In your opinion what should be done about this issue?
To understand and distinguish the sociology of deviance and sociology of law, it is important to understand the sociology of law is more interested in social norms than are written laws. In contrast, deviance sociology focuses on norms that operate within the non-legal environment (Mai’a, 2021). Furthermore, deviance is a perception based on the cultural and social norms in the society. It is not in all cases whereby deviant behavior is a crime.
References
Anleu, S. R. (2020). 25. Sociology of deviance and criminal law. Research Handbook on the Sociology of Law, 318.
Mai’a, K. (2021). Social Constructivism. In The Palgrave Handbook of EU Crises (pp. 195-211). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Unlu, A., Ekici, N., Tasgin, S., & Entzminger, P. (2021). An Empirical Test of Age-Graded Informal Social Control Theory: New Correlates of Youth Deviance. Crime & Delinquency, 67(2), 179-211.
