essay topics related to deviance

Sociology of Deviance Research Paper Topics

In sociology deviance is defined as the violation of a social norm which is likely to result in censure or punishment for the violator. Behind this seemingly simple and clear cut definition, however, lurks a swarming host of controversies. A perusal of course curricula verifies that most sociologists who teach a course on deviance divide the field into two distinctly different perspectives: constructionist approaches and explanatory theories. The constructionist approach sees deviance as ‘‘subjectively problematic,’’ that is, ‘‘in the eye of the beholder,’’ and takes as its primary task an understanding of how judgments of deviance are put together, and with what consequences. Explanatory theories regard deviance as ‘‘objectively given,’’ that is, a syndrome like entity with more or less clear cut, identifiable proper ties whose causal etiology can be explicated by the social scientist. Each perspective has its own mission, agenda, enterprise, and methodology. And though these two approaches define deviance in superficially similar ways, their definitions point to sharply divergent universes of meaning. The enterprises in which these perspectives are engaged are in fact linked only by the objectively similar nature of their subject matter; conceptually and theoretically, they are worlds apart.

45 Sociology of Deviance Research Paper Topics

• Abominations of the body
• Absolutist definitions of deviance
• Addiction and dependency
• Alcoholism and alcohol abuse
• Body modification
• Collective Deviance
• Constructionist perspectives on deviance
• Crime and deviance
• Criminalization of deviance
• Death of the sociology of deviance?
• Deinstitutionalization
• Deviance processing agencies
• Deviance research methods
• Deviance theories
• Deviant Accounts
• Deviant beliefs/cognitive deviance
• Deviant careers
• Deviant identity
• Deviant subcultures
• Explanatory theories of deviance
• Female sex work as deviance
• Medicalization of deviance
• Mental disorder
• Moral boundaries and deviance
• Moral entrepreneur
• Moral panics
• New left realism
• Normative definitions of deviance
• Organizational deviance
• Peacemaking
• Positive deviance
• Positivist theories of deviance
• Poverty and disrepute
• Reactivist definitions of deviance
• Sexual deviance
• Social control
• Transgression
• What is deviance?

Theories of Deviance

Since its inception as a discipline, sociology has studied the causes of deviant behavior, examining why some persons conform to social rules and expectations and why others do not. Typically, sociological theories of deviance reason that aspects of individuals’ social relationships and the social areas in which they live and work assist in explaining the commission of deviant acts. This emphasis on social experiences, and how they contribute to deviant behavior, contrasts with the focus on the internal states of individuals taken by disciplines such as psychology and psychiatry.

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Sociological theories are important in understanding the roots of social problems such as crime, violence, and mental illness and in explaining how these problems may be remedied. By specifying the causes of deviance, the theories reveal how aspects of the social environment influence the behavior of individuals and groups. Further, the theories suggest how changes in these influences may yield changes in levels of deviant behaviors. If a theory specifies that a particular set of factors cause deviant behavior, then it also implies that eliminating or altering those factors in the environment will change levels of deviance. By developing policies or measures that are informed by sociological theories, government agencies or programs focused on problems like crime or violence are more likely to yield meaningful reductions in criminal or violent behavior.

Despite their importance, deviance theories disagree about the precise causes of deviant acts. Some look to the structure of society and groups or geographic areas within society, explaining deviance in terms of broad social conditions in which deviance is most likely to flourish. Others explain deviant behavior using the characteristics of individuals, focusing on those characteristics that are most highly associated with learning deviant acts. Other theories view deviance as a social status conferred by one group or person on others, a status that is imposed by persons or groups in power in order to protect their positions of power. These theories explain deviance in terms of differentials in power between individuals or groups.

This topic reviews the major sociological theories of deviance. It offers an overview of each major theory, summarizing its explanation of deviant behavior. Before reviewing the theories, however, it may prove useful to describe two different dimensions of theory that will structure our discussion. The first of these, the level of explanation, refers to the scope of the theory and whether it focuses on the behavior and characteristics of individuals or on the characteristics of social aggregates such as neighborhoods, cities, or other social areas. Micro-level theories stress the individual, typically explaining deviant acts in terms of personal characteristics of individuals or the immediate social context in which deviant acts occur. In contrast, macro-level theories focus on social aggregates or groups, looking to the structural characteristics of areas in explaining the origins of deviance, particularly rates of deviance among those groups.

Theories of deviance also vary in relation to a second dimension, causal focus. This dimension divides theories into two groups, those that explain the social origins of norm violations and those explaining societal reactions to deviance. Social origin theories focus on the causes of norm violations. Typically, these theories identify aspects of the social environment that trigger norm violations; social conditions in which the violations are most likely to occur. In contrast, social reaction theories argue that deviance is often a matter of social construction, a status imposed by one person or group on others and a status that ultimately may influence the subsequent behavior of the designated deviant. Social reaction theories argue that some individuals and groups may be designated or labeled as deviant and that the process of labeling may trap or engulf those individuals or groups in a deviant social role.

These two dimensions offer a four-fold scheme for classifying types of deviance theories. The first, macro-level origin theories, focus on the causes of norm violations associated with broad structural conditions in the society. These theories typically examine the influences of such structural characteristics of populations or communities like the concentration of poverty, levels of community integration, or the density and age distribution of the population on areal rates of deviance. The theories have clear implications for public policies to reduce levels of deviance. Most often, the theories highlight the need for altering structural characteristics of society, such as levels of poverty, that foster deviant behavior.

The second, micro-level origin theories focus on the characteristics of the deviant and his or her immediate social environment. These theories typically examine the relationship between a person’s involvement in deviance and such characteristics as the influence of peers and significant others, persons’ emotional stakes in conformity, their beliefs about the propriety of deviance and conformity, and their perceptions of the threat of punishments for deviant acts. In terms of their implications for public policy, micro-level origin theories emphasize the importance of assisting individuals in resisting negative peer influences while also increasing their attachment to conforming lifestyles and activities.

A third type of theories may be termed micro-level reaction theories. These accord importance to those aspects of interpersonal reactions that may seriously stigmatize or label the deviant and thereby reinforce her or his deviant social status. According to these theories, reactions to deviance may have the unintended effect of increasing the likelihood of subsequent deviant behavior. Because labeling may increase levels of deviance, micro-level reaction theories argue that agencies of social control (e.g. police, courts, correctional systems) should adopt policies of ”nonintervention.”

Finally, macro-level reaction theories emphasize broad structural conditions in society that are associated with the designation of entire groups or segments of the society as deviant. These theories tend to stress the importance of structural characteristics of populations, groups, or geographic areas, such as degrees of economic inequality or concentration of political power within communities or the larger society. According to macro-level reaction theories, powerful groups impose the status of deviant as a mechanism for controlling those groups that represent the greatest political, economic, or social threat to their position of power. The theories also imply that society can only achieve reduced levels of deviance by reducing the levels of economic and political inequality in society.

The rest of this article is divided into sections corresponding to each of these four ”types” of deviance theory. The article concludes with a discussion of new directions for theory—the development of explanations that cut across and integrate different theory types and the elaboration of existing theories through greater specification of the conditions under which those theories apply.

Macro-Level Origins of Deviance

Theories of the macro-level origins of deviance look to the broad, structural characteristics of society, and groups within society, to explain deviant behavior. Typically, these theories examine one of three aspects of social structure. The first is the pervasiveness and consequences of poverty in modern American society. Robert Merton’s (1938) writing on American social structure and Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin’s (1960) subsequent work on urban gangs laid the theoretical foundation for this perspective. Reasoning that pervasive materialism in American culture creates unattainable aspirations for many segments of the population, Merton (1964) and others argue that there exists an environmental state of ”strain” among the poor. The limited availability of legitimate opportunities for attaining material wealth forces the poor to adapt through deviance, either by achieving wealth through illegitimate means or by rejecting materialistic aspirations and withdrawing from society altogether.

According to this reasoning, deviance is a byproduct of poverty and a mechanism through which the poor may attain wealth, albeit illegitimately. Thus, ”strain” theories of deviance interpret behaviors such as illegal drug selling, prostitution, and armed robbery as innovative adaptations to blocked opportunities for legitimate economic or occupational success. Similarly, the theories interpret violent crimes in terms of the frustrations of poverty, as acts of aggression triggered by those frustrations (Blau and Blau 1982). Much of the current research in this tradition is examining the exact mechanisms by which poverty and economic inequality influence rates of deviant behavior.

Although once considered a leading theory of deviance, strain theory has come under criticism for its narrow focus on poverty as the primary cause of deviant behavior. Recent efforts have sought to revise and extend the basic principles of the theory by expanding and reformulating ideas about strain. Robert Agnew (1992) has made the most notable revisions to the theory. His reformulation emphasizes social psychological, rather than structural, sources of strain. Agnew also broadens the concept of strain, arguing that poverty may be a source of strain, but it is not the only source. Three sources of strain are important: failure to achieve positively valued goals, removal of positively valued stimuli, and confrontation with negative stimuli. The first type of strain, failure to achieve positively valued goals, may be the result of a failure to live up to one’s expectations or aspirations. Strain may also result if an individual feels that he or she is not being treated in a fair or just manner. The removal of a positively valued stimulus, such as the death of a family member or the loss of a boyfriend or girlfriend, can also result in strain. Finally, strain can also be produced by the presentation of negative stimuli, such as unpleasant school experiences. Thus, although this reformulation of strain theory retains the notion that deviance is often the result of strain, the concept of strain is broadened to include multiple sources of strain.

The second set of macro-level origin theories examine the role of culture in deviant behavior. Although not ignoring structural forces such as poverty in shaping deviance, this class of theories reasons that there may exist cultures within the larger culture that endorse or reinforce deviant values; deviant subcultures that produce higher rates of deviance among those segments of the population sharing subcultural values.

Subcultural explanations have their origin in two distinct sociological traditions. The first is writing on the properties of delinquent gangs that identifies a distinct lower-class culture of gang members that encourages aggression, thrill seeking, and antisocial behavior (e.g., Miller 1958). The second is writing on cultural conflict that recognizes that within complex societies there will occur contradictions between the conduct norms of different groups. Thorsten Sellin (1938) suggests that in heterogeneous societies several different subcultures may emerge, each with its own set of conduct norms. According to Sellin, the laws and norms applied to the entire society do not necessarily reflect cultural consensus but rather the values and beliefs of the dominant social groups.

Subcultural theories emerging from these two traditions argue that deviance is the product of a cohesive set of values and norms that favors deviant behavior and is endorsed by a segment of the general population. Perhaps most prominent among the theories is Marvin Wolfgang and Franco Ferracuti’s (1967) writing on subcultures of criminal violence. Wolfgang and Ferracuti reason that there may exist a distinct set of beliefs and expectations within the society; a subculture that promotes and encourages violent interactions. According to Wolfgang and Ferracuti, this violent subculture is pervasive among blacks in the United States and may explain extremely high rates of criminal homicide among young black males.

Although Wolfgang and Ferracuti offer little material specifying the subculture’s precise causes, or empirical evidence demonstrating the pervasiveness of subcultural beliefs, other writers have extended the theory by exploring the relationship between beliefs favoring violence and such factors as the structure of poverty in the United States (Curtis 1975; Messner 1983), the history of racial oppression of blacks (Silberman 1980), and ties to the rural South and a southern subculture of violence (Gastil 1971; Erlanger 1974). Even these writers, however, offer little empirical evidence of violent subcultures within U.S. society.

A third class of theories about the macro-level origins of deviance began with the work of sociologists at the University of Chicago in the 1920s. Unlike strain and subcultural theories, these stress the importance of the social integration of neighborhoods and communities—the degree to which neighborhoods are stable and are characterized by a homogenous set of beliefs and values—as a force influencing rates of deviant behavior. As levels of integration increase, rates of deviance decrease. Based in the early work of sociologists such as Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay, the theories point to the structure of social controls in neighborhoods, arguing that neighborhoods lacking in social controls are ”disorganized,” that is, areas in which there is a virtual vacuum of social norms. It is in this normative vacuum that deviance flourishes. Therefore, these theories view deviance as a property of areas or locations rather than specific groups of people.

Early writers in the ”disorganization” tradition identified industrialization and urbanization as the causes of disorganized communities and neighborhoods. Witnessing immense growth in eastern cities such as Chicago, these writers argued that industrial and urban expansion create zones of disorganization within cities. Property owners move from the residential pockets on the edge of business and industrial areas and allow buildings to deteriorate in anticipation of the expansion of business and industry. This process of natural succession and change in cities disrupts traditional mechanisms of social control in neighborhoods. As property owners leave transitional areas, more mobile and diverse groups enter. But the added mobility and diversity of these groups translate into fewer primary relationships—families and extended kinship and friendship networks. And as the number of primary relationships decline, so will informal social controls in neighborhoods. Hence, rates of deviance will rise.

Recent writing from this perspective focuses on the mechanisms by which specific places in urban areas become the spawning grounds for deviant acts (Bursik and Webb 1982; Bursik 1984; and others). For example, Rodney Stark (1987) argues that high levels of population density are associated with particularly low levels of supervision of children. With little supervision, children perform poorly in school and are much less likely to develop ”stakes in conformity”—that is, emotional and psychological investments in academic achievement and other conforming behaviors. Without such stakes, children and adolescents are much more likely to turn to deviant alternatives. Thus, according to Stark, rates of deviance will be high in densely populated areas because social controls in the form of parental supervision are either weak or entirely absent.

Similarly, Robert Crutchfield (1989) argues that the structure of work opportunities in areas may have the same effect. Areas characterized primarily by secondary-sector work opportunities— low pay, few career opportunities, and high employee turnover—may tend to attract and retain persons with few stakes in conventional behavior—a ”situation of company” in which deviance is likely to flourish.

Recent writing from the disorganization perspective has also taken the form of ethnographies; qualitative studies of urban areas and the deviance producing dynamics of communities. As Sullivan (1989, p. 9) states, ethnographies describe the community ”as a locus of interaction, intermediate between the individual and the larger society, where the many constraints and opportunities of the total society are narrowed to a subset within which local individuals choose.” At the heart of Sullivan’s argument is the idea that social networks in neighborhoods are important in understanding whether individuals are capable of finding meaningful opportunities for work. For example, youth were less likely to turn to crime in those neighborhoods where they could take advantage of family and neighborhood connections to blue collar jobs. Because of the greater employment opportunities in these neighborhoods, even youth who become involved in crime were less likely to persist in high-risk criminal behaviors.

Similarly, Jay MacLeod (1995) attempts to explain how the aspirations of youth living in urban areas have been ”leveled,” or reduced to the point where the youths have little hope for a better future. In an analysis of two urban gangs, MacLeod argues that the youths’ family and work experiences, along with their relationships with their peers, help explain why a predominantly white gang had lower aspirations and engaged in more delinquent and antisocial behavior than the other gang, predominantly comprised of African Americans. According to MacLeod, the parents of white youth were much less likely to discipline their children or to encourage them to achieve and do well in school. Also, white youth had more experience on the job market than the African American youth. This contributed to a more pessimistic outlook and a lowering of their future aspirations.

Finally, MacLeod argues that the white youths’ immersion in a subculture, which emphasized rejecting the authority of the school, reinforced their negative attitudes to a much greater extent than the African American peer group.

In sum, theories of the macro-level origins of deviance argue that many of the causes of deviance may be found in the characteristics of groups within society, or in the characteristics of geographic areas and communities. They offer explanations of group and areal differences in deviance—for example, why some cities have relatively higher rates of crime than other cities or why blacks have higher rates of serious interpersonal violence than other ethnic groups. These theories make no attempt to explain the behavior of individuals or the occurrence of individual deviant acts. Indeed, they reason that deviance is best understood as a property of an area, community, or group, regardless of the individuals living in the area or community, or the individuals comprising the group.

The theories’ implications for public policy focus on the characteristics of geographic areas and communities that lead to deviance. The impact of change on neighborhoods, for example, can be reduced if the boundaries of residential areas are preserved. By preserving such boundaries, communities are less likely to become transitional neighborhoods that foster deviance and crime. Also, by maintaining residential properties people become invested in their own community, which helps foster the mechanisms of informal social control that make deviance less likely. Strengthening schools and other stabilizing institutions in neighborhoods, such as churches and community centers, can also contribute to a reduction in deviance. Finally, establishing networks for jobs and job placement in disadvantaged areas may increase the opportunities of employment among youth. If they succeed in increasing employment, the networks should decrease the chances that youth will turn to careers in crime.

Micro-Level Origins of Deviance

Many explanations of deviance argue that its causes are rooted in the background or personal circumstances of the individual. Micro-level origin theories have developed over the past fifty years, identifying mechanisms by which ordinarily conforming individuals may become deviant. These theories assume the existence of a homogeneous, pervasive set of norms in society and proceed to explain why persons or entire groups of persons violate the norms. There exist two important traditions within this category of theories. The first tradition involves ”social learning theories”—explanations that focus on the mechanisms through which people learn the techniques and attitudes favorable to committing deviant acts. The second tradition involves ”social control theories”—explanations that emphasize factors in the social environment that regulate the behavior of individuals, thereby preventing the occurrence of deviant acts.

Edwin Sutherland’s (1947) theory of differential association laid the foundation for learning theories. At the heart of this theory is the assumption that deviant behavior, like all other behaviors, is learned. Further, this learning occurs within intimate personal groups—networks of family members and close friends. Thus, according to these theories individuals learn deviance from persons closest to them. Sutherland specified a process of differential association, reasoning that persons become deviant in association with deviant others. Persons learn from others the techniques of committing deviant acts and attitudes favorable to the commission of those acts. Further, Sutherland reasoned that persons vary in their degree of association with deviant others; persons regularly exposed to close friends and family members who held beliefs favoring deviance and who committed deviant acts would be much more likely than others to develop those same beliefs and commit deviant acts.

Sutherland’s ideas about learning processes have played a lasting role in micro-level deviance theories. Central to his perspective is the view that beliefs and values favoring deviance are a primary cause of deviant behavior. Robert Burgess and Ronald Akers (1966) and subsequently Akers (1985) extended Sutherland’s ideas, integrating them with principles of operant conditioning. Reasoning that learning processes may best be understood in terms of the concrete rewards and punishments given for behavior, Burgess and Akers argue that deviance is learned through associations with others and through a system of rewards and punishments, imposed by close friends and relatives, for participation in deviant acts. Subsequent empirical studies offer compelling support for elements of learning theory (Matsueda 1982; Akers et al. 1979; Matsueda and Heimer 1987).

Some examples may be useful at this point. According to the theory of differential association, juveniles develop beliefs favorable to the commission of delinquent acts and knowledge about the techniques of committing deviant acts from their closest friends, typically their peers. Thus, sufficient exposure to peers endorsing beliefs favoring deviance who also have knowledge about the commission of deviant acts will cause the otherwise conforming juvenile to commit deviant acts. Thus, if adolescent peer influences encourage smoking, drinking alcohol, and other forms of drug abuse— and exposure to these influences occurs frequently, over a long period of time, and involves relationships that are important to the conforming adolescent—then he or she is likely to develop beliefs and values favorable to committing these acts. Once those beliefs and values develop, he or she is likely to commit the acts.

The second class of micro-level origin theories, control theories, explores the causes of deviance from an altogether different perspective. Control theories take for granted the existence of a cohesive set of norms shared by most persons in the society and reason that most persons want to and will typically conform to these prevailing social norms. The emphasis in these theories, unlike learning theories, is on the factors that bond individuals to conforming lifestyles. The bonds act as social and psychological constraints on the individual, binding persons to normative conformity (Toby 1957; Hirschi 1969). People deviate from norms when these bonds to conventional lifestyles are weak, and hence, when they have little restraining influence over the individual. Among control theorists, Travis Hirschi (1969) has made the greatest contributions to our knowledge about bonding processes and deviant behavior. Writing on the causes of delinquency, he argued that four aspects of bonding are especially relevant to control theory: emotional attachments to conforming others, psychological commitments to conformity, involvements in conventional activities, and beliefs consistent with conformity to prevailing norms.

Among the most important of the bonding elements are emotional attachments individuals may have to conforming others and commitments to conformity—psychological investments or stakes people hold in a conforming lifestyle. Those having weak attachments—that is, people who are insensitive to the opinions of conforming others— and who have few stakes in conformity, in the form of commitments to occupation or career and education, are more likely than others to deviate (see, e.g., Paternoster et al. 1983; Thornberry and Christenson 1984; Liska and Reed 1985). In effect, these individuals are ”free” from the constraints that ordinarily bond people to normative conformity. Conversely, individuals concerned about the opinions of conforming others and who have heavy psychological investments in work or school will see the potential consequences of deviant acts—rejection by friends or loss of a job—as threatening or costly, and consequently will refrain from those acts.

A related concern is the role of sanctions in preventing deviant acts. Control theorists like Hirschi reason that most people are utilitarian in theirjudgments about deviant acts, and thus evaluate carefully the risks associated with each act. Control theories typically maintain that the threat of sanctions actually prevents deviant acts when the risks outweigh the gains. Much of the most recent writing on sanctions and their effects has stressed the importance of perceptual processes in decisions to commit deviant acts (Gibbs 1975, 1977; Tittle 1980; Paternoster et al. 1982, 1987; Piliavin et al. 1986; Matsueda, Piliavin, and Gartner 1988). At the heart of this perspective is the reasoning that individuals perceiving the threat of sanctions as high are much more likely to refrain from deviance than those perceiving the threat as low, regardless of the actual level of sanction threat.

Writing from the social control perspective attempts to build on and extend the basic assumptions and propositions of control theory. Michael Gottfredson, in conjunction with Hirschi, has developed a general theory of crime that identifies ”low self-control,” as opposed to diminished social control, as the primary cause of deviant behavior (Hirschi and Gottfredson 1987; Gottfredson and Hirschi 1990). Arguing that all people are inherently self-interested, pursuing enhancement of personal pleasure and avoiding pain, Gottfredson and Hirschi suggest that most crimes, and for that matter most deviant acts, are the result of choices to maximize pleasure, minimize pain, or both.

Crimes occur when opportunities to maximize personal pleasure are high and when the certainty of painful consequences is low. Further, people who pursue short-term gratification with little consideration for the long-term consequences of their actions are most prone to criminal behavior. In terms of classical control theory, these are individuals who have weak bonds to conformity or who disregard or ignore the potentially painful consequences of their actions. They are ”relatively unable or unwilling to delay gratification; they are indifferent to punishment and the interests of others” (Hirschi and Gottfredson 1987, pp. 959-960).

Building on traditional control theory, Charles Tittle (1995) reasons that it helps explain why individuals conform, but it also helps to explain why they engage in deviant behavior. Tittle (1995, p. 135) argues that ”the amount of control to which an individual is subject, relative to the amount of control he or she can exercise, determines the probability of deviance occurring as well as the type of deviance likely to occur.” Conformity results when individuals are subjected to and exert roughly equal amounts of control—there is ”control balance.” According to Tittle, however, individuals who are subjected to more control than they exert will be motivated to engage in deviance in order to escape being controlled by others.

Robert Sampson and John Laub (1993) have also expanded on the basic propositions of control theory. In their research, Sampson and Laub focus on stability and change in the antisocial behavior of individuals as they grow from juveniles to adults. Sampson and Laub argue that family, school, and peer relationships influence the likelihood of deviant behavior among juveniles. In particular, Sampson and Laub argue that the structure of the family (e.g., residential mobility, family size) affects family context or process (e.g., parental supervision, discipline), which, in turn, makes deviance among children more or less likely. Many adolescent delinquents grow up to become adult criminals because their juvenile delinquency makes the formation of adult social bonds to work and family less likely. Despite this continuity in antisocial behavior from adolescence to adulthood, however, Sampson and Laub argue that many juvenile delinquents do not commit deviant acts as adults because they develop adult social bonds, such as attachment to a spouse or commitment to a job.

In sum, micro-level origin theories look to those aspects of the individual’s social environment that influence her or his likelihood of deviance. Learning theories stress the importance of deviant peers and other significant individuals, and their impact on attitudes and behaviors favorable to the commission of deviant acts. These theories assume that the social environment acts as an agent of change, transforming otherwise conforming individuals into deviants through peer influences. People exposed to deviant others frequently and sufficiently, like persons exposed to a contagious disease who become ill, will become deviant themselves. Control theories avoid this ”contagion” model, viewing the social environment as a composite of controls and restraints cementing the individual to a conforming lifestyle. Deviance occurs when elements of the bond— aspects of social control—are weak or broken, thereby freeing the individual to violate social norms. Sanctions and the threat of sanctions are particularly important to control theories, a central part of the calculus that rational actors use in choosing to commit or refrain from committing deviant acts.

The policy implications of micro-level origin theories are obvious. If, as learning theories argue, deviance is learned through association with deviant peers, then the way to eliminate deviance is to assist youths in resisting deviant peer influences and helping them to develop attitudes that disapprove of deviant behavior. Control theories, on the other hand, suggest that deviance can be reduced with programs that help families develop stronger bonds between parents and children. Control theory also implies that programs that help youths develop stronger commitments to conventional lines of activity and to evaluate the costs and benefits of deviant acts will also result in a reduction of problematic behavior.

Micro-Level Reactions to Deviance

Unlike micro-level origin theories, micro-level reaction theories make no assumptions about the existence of a homogeneous, pervasive set of norms in society. These theories take an altogether different approach to explaining deviant behavior, viewing deviance as a matter of definition; a social status imposed by individuals or groups on others. Most argue that there exists no single pervasive set of norms in society and that deviant behavior may best be understood in terms of norms and their enforcement. These theories typically stress the importance of labeling processes—the mechanisms by which acts become defined or labeled as ”deviant—and the consequences of labeling for the person so labeled. Many of these theories are concerned with the development of deviant lifestyles or careers; long-term commitments to deviant action.

One of the most important writers in this tradition is Howard Becker (1963). Becker argues that deviance is not a property inherent in any particular form of behavior but rather a property conferred on those behaviors by audiences witnessing them. Becker (1963, p. 9) notes that ”. . . deviance is not a quality of the act the person commits, but rather a consequence of the application by others of rules and sanctions to an ‘offender.’ The deviant is one to whom that label has been successfully applied; deviant behavior is behavior that people so label.” Thus, Becker and others in this tradition orient the study of deviance on rules and sanctions, and the application of labels. Their primary concern is the social construction of deviance—that is, how some behaviors and classes of people come to be defined as ”deviant” by others observing and judging the behavior.

Building on the idea that deviance is a property conferred on behavior that is witnessed by a social audience, Becker (1963) also developed a simple typology of deviant behavior. The dimensions upon which the typology is based are whether or not the individual is perceived as deviant and whether or not the behavior violates any rule. Conforming behavior is behavior that does not violate any rules and is not perceived as deviant. Individuals in the opposite scenario, in which the person both violates rules and is perceived by others as deviant, Becker labeled pure deviants. Some individuals, according to Becker, may be perceived as deviant, even though they have not violated any rules. Becker identified these individuals as the falsely accused. Finally, the secret deviant is one who has violated the rules, but, nonetheless, is not perceived by others as being deviant.

Equally important is the work of Edwin Lemert (1951). Stressing the importance of labeling to subsequent deviant behavior, he argues that repetitive deviance may arise from social reactions to initial deviant acts. According to Lemert (1951, p. 287), deviance may often involve instances where ”a person begins to employ his deviant behavior. . . as a means of defense, attack or adjustment to the. . . problems created by the consequent social reactions to him.” Therefore, a cause of deviant careers is negative social labeling; instances where reactions to initial deviant acts are harsh and reinforce a ”deviant” self-definition. Such labeling forces the individual into a deviant social role, organizing his or her identity around a pattern of deviance that structures a way of life and perpetuates deviant behavior (Becker 1963; Schur 1971, 1985).

Perhaps the most significant developments in this tradition have contributed to knowledge about the causes of mental illness. Proponents of micro-level reaction theories argue that the label ”mental illness” can be so stigmatizing to those labeled, especially when mental-health professionals impose the label, that they experience difficulty returning to nondeviant social roles. As a result, the labeling process may actually exacerbate mental disorders. Former mental patients may find themselves victims of discrimination at work, in personal relationships, or in other social spheres (Scheff 1966). This discrimination, and the widespread belief that others devalue and discriminate against mental patients, may lead to self-devaluation and fear of social rejection by others (Link 1982, 1987). In some instances, this devaluation and fear may be associated with demoralization of the patient, loss of employment and personal income, and the persistence of mental disorders following treatment (Link 1987).

Hence, micro-level reaction theories reason that deviant behavior is rooted in the process by which persons define and label the behavior of others as deviant. The theories offer explanations of individual differences in deviance, stressing the importance of audience reactions to initial deviant acts. However, these theories make no attempt to explain the origins of the initial acts (Scheff 1966). Rather, they are concerned primarily with the development and persistence of deviant careers.

Micro-level reaction theories have very different implications for public policy than macro- and micro-level origins theories. Micro-level reaction theories argue that unwarranted labeling can lead to deviant careers. In effect, the reaction to deviance can cause deviant behavior to escalate. Thus, in order to reduce deviance, agencies of social control must adopt policies of nonintervention. Rather than being formally sanctioned and labeled as deviant, nonintervention policies must encourage diversion and deinstitutionalization. Formal sanctioning must be highly selective, focusing only on the most serious and threatening deviant acts.

Macro-Level Reactions to Deviance

The final class of theories looks to the structure of economic and political power in society as a cause of deviant behavior. Macro-level reaction theories—either Marxist or other conflict theories— view deviance as a status imposed by dominant social classes to control and regulate populations that threaten political and economic hegemony. Like micro-level reaction theories, these theories view deviance as a social construction and accord greatest importance to the mechanisms by which society defines and controls entire classes of behavior and people as deviant in order to mediate the threat. However, these theories reason that the institutional control of deviants has integral ties to economic and political order in society.

Marxist theories stress the importance of the economic structure of society and begin with the assumption that the dominant norms in capitalist societies reflect the interests of the powerful economic class; the owners of business. But contemporary Marxist writers (Quinney 1970, 1974, 1980; Spitzer 1975; Young 1983) also argue that modern capitalist societies are characterized by large ”problem populations”—people who have become displaced from the workforce and alienated from the society. Generally, the problem populations include racial and ethnic minorities, the chronically unemployed, and the extremely impoverished. They are a burden to the society and particularly to the capitalist class because they create a form of social expense that must be carefully controlled if the economic order is to be preserved.

Marxist theories reason that economic elites use institutions such as the legal, mental-health, and welfare systems to control and manage society’s problem populations. In effect, these institutions define and process society’s problem populations as deviant in order to ensure effective management and control. In societies or communities characterized by rigid economic stratification, elites are likely to impose formal social control in order to preserve the prevailing economic order.

Conflict theories stress the importance of the political structure of society and focus on the degree of threat to the hegemony of political elites, arguing that elites employ formal social controls to regulate threats to political and social order (Turk 1976; Chambliss 1978; Chambliss and Mankoff 1976). According to these theories, threat varies in relation to the size of the problem population, with large problem populations substantially more threatening to political elites than small populations. Thus, elites in societies and communities in which those problem populations are large and perceived as especially threatening are more likely to process members of the problem populations as deviants than in areas where such problems are small.

Much of the writing in this tradition has addressed the differential processing of people defined as deviant. Typically, this writing has taken two forms. The first involves revisionist histories linking the development of prisons, mental asylums, and other institutions of social control to structural changes in U.S. and European societies. These histories demonstrate that those institutions often target the poor and chronically unemployed independent of their involvement in crime and other deviant acts, and thereby protect and serve the interests of dominant economic and political groups (Scull 1978; Rafter 1985).

A second and more extensive literature includes empirical studies of racial and ethnic disparities in criminal punishments. Among the most important of these studies is Martha Myers and Suzette Talarico’s (1987) analysis of the social and structural contexts that foster racial and ethnic disparities in the sentencing of criminal offenders. Myers and Talarico’s research, and other studies examining the linkages between community social structure and differential processing (Myers 1987, 1990; Peterson and Hagan 1984; Bridges, Crutchfield, and Simpson 1987; Bridges and Crutchfield 1988), demonstrate the vulnerability of minorities to differential processing during historical periods and in areas in which they are perceived by whites as serious threats to political and social order. In effect, minorities accused of crimes during these periods and in these geographic areas are perceived as threats to white hegemony, and therefore become legitimate targets for social control.

In addition to studying the connections between community social structure and the differential processing of racial and ethnic minorities, researchers have also begun to examine how court officials’ perceptions of offenders can influence disparities in punishments. Bridges and Steen (1998), for example, show how court officials’ perceptions of white and minority youths differ, and how these different perceptions contribute to different recommendations for sentencing. Probation officers often attribute the offenses of minority youths to internal characteristics of the youths (i.e., aspects of their personality), while attributing the offenses of white youths to external characteristics (i.e., aspects of their environments). As a result of these differential attributions, minority youths are perceived as more threatening, more at risk for re-offending than whites and more likely to receive severe recommendations for sentences.

Thus, macro-level reaction theories view deviance as a by-product of inequality in modern society, a social status imposed by powerful groups on those who are less powerful. Unlike micro-level reaction theories, these theories focus on the forms of inequality in society and how entire groups within the society are managed and controlled as deviants by apparatuses of the state. Like those theories, however, macro-level reaction theories make little or no attempt to explain the origins of deviant acts, claiming instead that the status of ”deviant” is, in large part, a social construction designed primarily to protect the interests of the most powerful social groups. The primary concern of these theories is explicating the linkages between inequality in society and inequality in the labeling and processing of deviants.

Since macro-level reaction theories view deviance as a status imposed by powerful groups on those with less power, the most immediate policy implication of these theories is that imbalances in power and inequality must be reduced in order to reduce levels of deviance and levels of inequality in the sanctioning of deviance. More effective monitoring of government agencies that are used to control problem populations, such as the criminal justice system, can also help to reduce the disproportionate processing of less powerful groups, such as racial minorities, as deviant.

New Theoretical Directions

A recurring issue in the study of deviance is the contradictory nature of many deviance theories. The theories often begin with significantly different assumptions about the nature of human behavior and end with significantly different conclusions about the causes of deviant acts. Some scholars maintain that the oppositional nature of these theories—the theories are developed and based on systematic rejection of other theories (Hirschi 1989)—tends toward clarity and internal consistency in reasoning about the causes of deviance. However, other scholars argue that this oppositional nature is intellectually divisive—acceptance of one theory precludes acceptance of another—and ”has made the field seem fragmented, if not in disarray” (Liska, Krohn, and Messner 1989, p. 1).

A related and equally troublesome problem is the contradictory nature of much of the scientific evidence supporting deviance theories. For each theory, there exists a literature of studies that supports and a literature that refutes major arguments of the theory. And although nearly every theory of deviance may receive empirical confirmation at some level, virtually no theory of deviance is sufficiently comprehensive to withstand empirical falsification at some other level. The difficult task for sociologists is discerning whether and under what circumstances negative findings should be treated as negating a particular theory (Walker and Cohen 1985).

In recent years, these two problems have renewed sociologists’ interest in deviance theory and, at the same time, suggested new directions for the development of theory. The oppositonal nature of theories has spawned interest in theoretical integration. Many scholars are dissatisfied with classical theories, arguing that their predictive power is exceedingly low (see Elliott 1985; Liska, Krohn, and Messner 1989). Limited to a few key explanatory variables, any one theory can explain only a limited range and amount of deviant behavior. And because most scholars reason that the causes of deviance are multiple and quite complex, most also contend that it may be ”necessary to combine different theories to capture the entire range of causal variables” (Liska, Krohn, and Messner 1989, p. 4).

Because it combines the elements of different theories, the new theory will have greater explanatory power than theories from which it was derived. However, meaningful integration of deviance theories will require much more than the simple combination of variables. Scholars must first reconcile the oppositional aspects of theories, including many of their underlying assumptions about society, the motivations of human behavior, and the causes of deviant acts. For example, learning theories focus heavily on the motivations for deviance, stressing the importance of beliefs and values that ”turn” the individual to deviant acts. In contrast, control theories accord little importance to such motivations, examining instead those aspects of the social environment that constrain people from committing deviant acts. Reconciling such differences is never an easy task, and in some instances may be impossible (Hirschi 1979).

The problem of contradictory evidence suggests a related but different direction for deviance theory. Theories may vary significantly in the conditions—termed scope conditions—under which they apply (Walker and Cohen 1985; Tittle 1975; Tittle and Curran 1988). Under some scope conditions, theories may find extensive empirical support, and under others virtually none. For instance, macro-level origin theories concerned with the frustrating effects of poverty on deviance may have greater applicability to people living in densely populated urban areas than those living in rural areas. The frustration of urban poverty may be much more extreme than in rural areas, even though the actual levels of poverty may be the same. As a result, the frustrations of urban poverty may be more likely to cause deviant adaptations in the form of violent crime, drug abuse, and vice than those of rural poverty. In this instance, ”urbanness” may constitute a condition that activates strain theories linking poverty to deviance. Obviously, the same theories simply may not apply in rural areas or under other conditions.

Effective development of deviance theory will require much greater attention to the specification of such scope conditions. Rather than combining causal variables from different theories as integrationists would recommend, this approach to theory development encourages scholars to explore more fully the strengths and limitations of their own theories. This approach will require more complete elaboration of extant theory, explicitly specifying those circumstances under which each theory may be meaningfully tested and thus falsified. The result will be a greater specification of each theory’s contribution to explanations of deviant behavior.

These two directions have clear and very different implications for the development of deviance theory. Theoretical integration offers overarching models of deviant behavior that cut across classical theories, combining different levels of explanation and causal focuses. If fundamental differences between theories can be reconciled, integration is promising. The specification of scope conditions offers greater clarification of existing theories, identifying those conditions under which each theory most effectively applies. Although this direction promises no general theories of deviance, it offers the hope of more meaningful and useful explanations of deviant behavior.

References:

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• Bridges, George S., and Sara Steen 1998 ‘‘Racial Disparities in Official Assessments of Juvenile Offenders: Attributional Stereotypes as Mediating Mechanisms.’’ American Sociological Review 63:554–570.
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• Chambliss, William 1978 On the Take. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
• Chambliss, William, and Milton Mankoff 1976 Whose Law, What Order? New York: Wiley.
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• Elliott, Delbert 1985 ‘‘The Assumption That Theories can be Combined with Increased Explanatory Power: Theoretical Integrations.’’ In Robert F. Meier, ed., Theoretical Methods in Criminology. Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage.
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• Gibbs, Jack P. 1975 Crime, Punishment and Deterrence. New York: Elsevier.
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• Gottfredson, Michael R., and Travis Hirschi 1990 A General Theory of Crime. Palo Alto, Calif.: Stanford University Press.
• Hirschi, Travis 1969 Causes of Delinquency. Berkeley: University of California Press.
• Hirschi, Travis 1979 ‘‘Separate and Unequal is Better.’’ Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 16:34–37.
• Hirschi, Travis 1989 ‘‘Exploring Alternatives to Integrated Theory.’’ In Steven F. Messner, Marvin D. Krohn, and Allen E. Liska, eds., Theoretical Integration in the Study of Deviance and Crime: Problems and Prospects. Albany, N.Y.: SUNY Press.
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• Lemert, Edwin 1951 Social Pathology. New York: Mc- Graw-Hill.
• Link, Bruce 1982 ‘‘Mental Patient Status, Work and Income: An Examination of the Effects of a Psychiatric Label.’’ American Sociological Review 47:202–215.
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• Liska, Allen E., Marvin D. Kroh, and Steven S. Messner 1989 ‘‘Strategies and Requisites for Theoretical Integration in the Study of Deviance and Crime.’’ In Steven S. Messner, Marvin D. Krohn, and Allen E. Liska, eds., Theoretical Integration in the Study of Deviance and Crime: Problems and Prospects. Albany, N.Y.: SUNY Press.
• MacLeod, Jay 1995 Ain’t No Makin’ It. Boulder, Colo.: Westview.
• Matsueda, Ross L. 1982 ‘‘Testing Control Theory and Differential Association: A Causal Modeling Approach.’’ American Sociological Review 47:36–58.
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• Matsueda, Ross L., Irving Piliavin, and Rosemary Gartner 1988 ‘‘Ethical Assumptions Versus Empirical Research.’’ American Sociological Review 53:305–307.
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• Merton, Robert K. 1964 Social Theory and Social Structure. New York: Free Press.
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• Myers, Martha 1987 ‘‘Economic Inequality and Discrimination in Sentencing.’’ Social Forces 65:746–766.
• Myers, Martha 1990 ‘‘Economic Threat and Racial Disparities in Incarceration: The Case of Postbellum Georgia.’’ Criminology 28:627–656.
• Myers, Martha, and Suzette Talarico 1987 Social Contexts of Criminal Sentencing. New York: Springer-Verlag.
• Paternoster, Raymond L., Linda Saltzman, Gordon P. Waldo, and Theodore Chiricos 1982 ‘‘Perceived Risk and Deterrence: Methodological Artifacts in Deterrence Research.’’ Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 73:1,243–1,255.
• Paternoster, Raymond L. 1983 ‘‘Perceived Risk and Social Control.’’ Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 74:457–480.
• Peterson, Ruth D., and John Hagan 1984 ‘‘Changing Conceptions of Race: Toward an Account of Anomalous Findings of Sentencing Research.’’ American Sociological Review 49:56–70.
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• Quinney, Richard 1980 Class, State and Crime. New York: Longman.
• Rafter, Nicole Hahn 1985 Partial Justice: Women in State Prisons, 1800–1935. Boston: Northeastern University Press.
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• Schur, Edwin 1985 Labeling Women Deviant: Gender, Stigma and Social Control. New York: Harper and Row.
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• Silberman, Charles 1980 Criminal Justice, Criminal Violence. New York: Vintage.
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94 Deviance Research Topics & Essay Examples

📝 deviance research papers examples, 🏆 best deviance essay titles, 🎓 simple research topics about deviance, ❓ deviance research questions.

• Gender Influence on Deviant Acts Psychology essay sample: The relation between gender and deviant behavior provides that the person's gender can be a factor contributing to their involvement in "anti-social activities."
• Deviant Behavior Through the Social Norms' Concept Psychology essay sample: In the paper, deviant behavior is perceived as actions that do not comply with norms or standards officially or actually established in a particular society.
• Deviant Behaviors and Its Types and Examples Psychology essay sample: Society will seek to either understand that behavior or avoid the behavior. It is important to note either way: a person will always get negative views from society.
• Deviant Behavior: Workplace Bullying Psychology essay sample: This paper aims to explore workplace bullying in terms of conflict and labeling theories to better understand its causes and nature.
• Destructive Behaviour Prevention Psychology essay sample: This essay seeks to briefly describe how to avoid destructive behaviours that affect human health in the short term or long-term.
• Deviance and Crime in Colleges and Universities Psychology essay sample: The study will be examining the causes of this behavior and the possible impact on learners and other stakeholders.
• The Deviant Behavior of Freshmen in College Psychology essay sample: Deviant behavior among freshmen is a serious problem which has to be handled. This behavior often leads to disease, pregnancy and fights that results in expulsion.
• Becker’s Labeling Theory: Advantages and Disadvantages Psychology essay sample: This paper will examine and criticize Becker's labeling ideas in detail to demonstrate their advantages and disadvantages.
• Drug Peddling: The Form of Social Deviance Psychology essay sample: This paper will highlight drug peddling as a form of social deviance and apply the strain theory to elucidate the formation of this behavior.
• Positive Behavior Support Psychology essay sample: The paper states that deviant behavior is quite a big problem for teachers and students. This approach aims to develop a strategy for teachers.
• Social Deviation Influence on Teenage Alcoholism Psychology essay sample: This paper will analyze the influence of social deviation on the development of adolescent alcoholism and consider this problem from a theoretical point of view.
• Deviant Behavior, Crimes, and Justice: Perceptions and Reflections Psychology essay sample: The paper describes deviance as any conduct, trait, or belief that breaches social norms in a particular society or group.
• Deviant Behavior Related to Stress and Strain Psychology essay sample: With the knowledge of new alternatives to self-destructing actions, people could adopt new behavior patterns and activate feelings of excitement and joy.
• The Phenomenon of the Deviation Psychology essay sample: Deviation is a social phenomenon that is characterized by actions or behaviors that contradict or violate the norms of society.
• What Role Does Deviance Play in Everyday Life? Psychology essay sample: Deviance is interpreted as a social issue since such conduct abuses the regulating assumptions of a defined group.
• Conformity, Nonconformist Deviance and Learning Perspective Psychology essay sample: The three universal human nature methodologies are conformity, nonconformist deviance, and the learning perspective.
• Gun Violence as Social Deviation Psychology essay sample: Gun violence, especially in the form of mass shootings, is promoted by a sense of hopelessness and hostility towards peers that seem to be more successful.
• The Collective Behavior Deviations Psychology essay sample: The following paper provides an analysis of the collective behavior that deviates from society's normative conduct.
• Can Deviation Lead to Progress? Psychology essay sample: In societies with settled norms, deviants are traditionally stigmatized and marginalized, however, their behavior plays a crucial role in historical development.
• Disruptive Behavior in Primary School Psychology essay sample: This disorder includes manifestations of destructive, aggressive, oppositional, and antisocial behavior. DBD is associated in the long term with impaired communication with peers.
• Deviant Behavior and the Commitment of Crime Psychology essay sample: Though deviance is considered to be something dangerous and is in some ways connected with committing crimes, deviant behavior is not the same thing as a crime.
• The Concepts of Deviance and Crime Psychology essay sample: Deviations are defined as a divergence from socially accepted standards and norms. Crime is an act that must be criticized and punished by society.
• The Positive Role of Social Deviance Psychology essay sample: The paper states that social deviance plays a positive role in society as it opens channels of discussion, inclusivity, freedom, and truth.
• The Problem of Deviant Behavior: Case Description and Diagnoses Psychology essay sample: The specialists can observe the problem of deviant behavior in the described case, which requires professional approaches to develop specific forms of its implementation.
• Deviance: Construction, Definition, Benefits, and Influence
• Adult Deviance and Conduct Disorder
• Theories and Perspectives on Crime and Deviance
• Deviance Beyond the Conventional Norm
• Individual and Social Influences That Lead to Deviations From the Dominant Group Norms
• Deviance and Its Consequences
• The Relationship Between Depression, Abusive Supervision, and Organizational Deviance
• Deviance: Abuse and Tertiary Victimization
• Biological and Social Deviance
• Deviance and Dissent: A Sociological Approach to Terrorism
• Crime, Deviance and Jail Systems
• Biological Explanations and Social Constructionist Theories of Deviance
• Deviant Beliefs and Cognitive Deviance
• Religion Deviance and Social Control
• Bullying: Criminal Deviance and Social Control
• Celibacy and Sexual Deviance by Priest
• The Theory of Atavism for the Study of Criminal Deviance
• Changing Definition and Perceptions of Sexual Deviance
• Child Abuse and Social Deviance
• Basic Sociological Theories of Crime and Deviance
• Controlling Deviance With the Death Penalty
• Core Self-Evaluations and Workplace Deviance
• Deviance and the Correctional System
• Corporate Deviance and Corporate Social Responsibility
• Covert and Overt Stigmatizations Related to Social Deviance
• Deviance and Its Effect on Society
• Creating Sustainable Work Environments by Developing Cultures That Diminish Deviance
• Crime and Deviance Criminological Concepts
• Deviance: Anomie and the Promotion of Order in the State
• Criminal Justice, Discrimination, and Political Deviance
• The Contribution of Label Theory to the Understanding of Crime and Deviance
• Cyber Deviance Among Adolescents
• Delinquency and Deviance Traits in Children
• Deviance Among Adolescents and Their Social Environment
• Deviance and Crime From a Sociological Theoretical Perspective
• Mental Illness as a Form of Deviance
• Deviance and Social Stigma
• Different Interpretations of Deviance for Different Contexts
• Deviance: Mental Illness and Homelessness
• Deviance, Psychiatry and Cultural Relativism
• What Are the Possible Causes of Deviance Behavior?
• Can Deviance Be Positive?
• What Is “Labeling Theory” for the Study of Crime and Deviance?
• Are There Any Roles for Social Conformity and Deviance in Poverty?
• What Are the Types of Deviant Behavior?
• How Does Deviance and Social Control Affect Youth?
• What Is a Social Deviance?
• What Are the Strengths of Psychological Approaches to the Study of Deviance?
• Can a Leader’s Style Change the Situation of Organizational Deviance?
• What Are Examples of Deviance in the Workplace?
• How Does Gender Affect Crime and Deviance?
• What Sociological Theories Explain the Ethnic Aspect of Deviance?
• How Useful Are Marxist Explanations of Crime and Deviance?
• What Is the Relationship Between Deviation and Labeling?
• What Is Cyber Deviance?
• How to Explain Subcultural Crime and Deviance in Society?
• Is Deviance a Rebellion Against the Group Norms of the Dominant Culture?
• What Sociological Classes Describe Deviance?
• How Does Durkheim’s Theory Explain Social Deviations?
• What Are the Types of Deviance in Terms of Acceptance or Rejection of Social Goals?
• What Is Primary and Secondary Deviation?
• Does Deviance Always Lead to Criminal Activity?
• Can Increased Control Over Minor Forms of Deviance Lead to a Reduction in Serious Crime?
• What Factors Prevent a Person From Deviant Behavior?
• Does the Close Connection of the Individual With Society Keep Him From Deviance?
• Are Genetic Causes Responsible for Social Deviance?
• What Are the Mental Explanations for Criminal Offending and Deviance?
• How Does America’s Social Structure Cause Deviance?
• What Is the Impact of Formal Deviation on Society?
• How Can Crime and Deviance Be Seen as Functional for Society?

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Deviance in Sociology: 25 Examples & Definition

Sanam Vaghefi (PhD Candidate)

Sanam Vaghefi (BSc, MA) is a Sociologist, educator and PhD Candidate. She has several years of experience at the University of Victoria as a teaching assistant and instructor. Her research on sociology of migration and mental health has won essay awards from the Canadian Sociological Association and the IRCC. Currently, she is am focused on supporting students online under her academic coaching and tutoring business Lingua Academic Coaching OU.

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Deviance is a sociological concept referring to behaviors that break social norms and laws.

Examples of deviance include theft, vandalism, lying, breaking social taboos , and disobeying the law.

Studying deviance allows us to understand the boundaries differentiating acceptable, criminal, and deviant behaviors. Understanding deviance is also important for the study of other relevant sociological concepts, such as social control which is used to prevent deviance.

Deviance Definition

Deviance is a concept used to describe divergences from a society’s norms, values, rules, and expectations.

Here is one clear scholarly definition:

“ Deviant behavior refers to conduct that departs significantly from the norms set for people in their social statuses ’’ (Merton, 1966, p. 805).

Each culture and society has norms and expectations about how people from certain social groups and statuses should behave.

Therefore, behaviors deviating from culturally appropriate patterns lead to deviance. Similarly, deviants are individuals who violate the social agreements over norms and values (Herman, 1995).

The relation between crime and deviance is important to understand. While crime refers to divergence from formal rules and laws, deviance also includes deviating from informal norms and values (Deflem, 2015).

Therefore, many criminal acts such as theft and fraud are also deviant behaviors. However, all deviant behaviors are not necessarily illegal or criminal acts. For example, lateness at work, or rudeness are not crimes but they are considered deviant behaviors.

25 Deviance Examples

• Verbal Abuse: Being verbally abusive through cursing, insulting, or other types of verbal aggression is a deviance breaking informal rules around communication. Depending on the context, such as insulting someone in a public platform, verbal abuse can also be considered a crime.
• Self-harm: Self-harming behaviors range from purposefully injuring oneself to ending one’s life through suicide. Since the social norms expect individuals to avoid pain and injury, self-harm is considered deviant behavior.
• Stealing and theft: Obtaining one’s property, information or services illegally and without their consent is referred to as stealing. All forms of stealing, including theft, robbery, and identity theft, break both social norms and laws. Therefore, stealing and theft are both deviant behaviors and criminal acts.
• Lateness: In Western societies, it is socially expected that individuals will arrive at their appointments, work or classes on time. While occasional delays are often tolerated, being constantly late to work without any valid excuse is a deviant behavior.
• Public Nudity: Despite varying clothing styles across different cultures, social norms and rules assert that individuals are supposed to be clothed in the public spheres. Therefore, public nudity is a deviant behavior and often punishable as a criminal offense.
• Paraphilia: Paraphilia is a concept consisting of all sexual deviances such as voyeurism, sadism or masochism. While some sexual paraphilias only break informal social norms, some others, such as those including minors or nonconsenting adults, are crimes.
• Gangs: Gangs refer to groups of people with a leadership structure that try to control neighborhoods or communities through violence. Violence committed by gangs are both deviant and criminal. In Canada, 20% of homicides in 2020 were related to gang violence and organized crime (Government of Canada, 2021).
• Vandalism: Damaging public or private properties intentionally are commonly referred to as vandalism. It is both a deviance and criminal act due to the social norms and rules around property ownership and protection.
• Favoritism:   Favoritism refers to deliberately favoring an individual in a workplace, school, or political organization. Although it is not always considered a criminal act, favoritism is a deviant behavior since it threatens the social values and consensus around equal and fair treatment.
• Breaking taboos: All societies have taboos, which are unspoken rules that refer to things that people find immodest. A simple example is the taboo of talking about religion or politics at the dinner table.
• Hunger strikes: Many imprisoned people who are completely disempowered will engage in hunger strikes to get attention. This will force the authorities to take action so the person in their care doesn’t die.
• Nepotism: Nepotism refers to the act of employing someone not on merit but because they are a family member. It is frowned upon in most societies.
• Rudeness: The simple act of being rude is seen as deviance, particularly in settings like schools, where you may be reprimanded by your teacher.
• Refusing a gift: Refusing a gift is a taboo that comes across as offensive and therefore is seen as deviant – i.e. breaking social norms.
• Lying: Lying is a deviant behavior that we are taught not to do as children, and yet is a behavior that people do on a weekly or even daily basis.
• Littering: Littering is considered deviant because society has agreed that it is harmful to the environment, and this is something society increasingly cares about.
• Disrespect: Disrespecting your parents or teachers is clearly seen as deviant in schools. But when you’re in the workplace, disrespect for coworkers or your boss may end up seeing you fired. Similarly, disrespecting a judge might be ruled as contempt of court.
• Protesting: Protesting is necessarily deviant because it involves taking a stance against power structures in society in order to effect change. In many western democracies, it is tolerated as freedom of speech .
• Tax avoidance: Avoiding your taxes demonstrates lack of social responsibility and is therefore seen as an act of deviance.
• Skipping school: Truancy is a serious deviant behavior for school children which can lead you to getting detention, suspension, or expulsion from school.
• Laughing at others’ misfortune: This is a taboo in most cultures as it is seen as rude and offensive to the people who have suffered the misfortune.
• Discrimination : While historically, discriminatory actions have been within the bounds of social norms, societies increasingly see this as an unacceptable deviance from new societal expectations.
• Having dangerous ideas: Dangerous ideas during the reformation – such as belief in individual liberty or non-religious philosophy – could land you in prison, but today are lauded as massive milestones in human development.
• Talking out of turn: Talking out of turn at school or in a workplace meeting is considered offensive because it undermines social order.
• Speeding in your car: Driving faster than the law allows is one of the main ways regular people come in contact with police forces, who offer small infringement fines.
• Cheating on exams: Cheating on an exam undermines the concept of meritocracy and therefore is seen as unacceptable.

Types of Deviance

Go Deeper: Types of Deviance

1. Primary Deviance

Primary deviance is a term used within the labeling theory of deviance. It is behavior that is seen as unacceptable by society. However, unlike secondary deviance, the person who has engaged in deviant behavior has not yet been labeled as a deviant by society.

For example, a child who lies to their parent once in a while isn’t likely to be typecast by their parent as a liar. Here, the deviance is primary because it’s not applies as a label: “you are a liar”. Rather, it’s: “you lied”.

2. Secondary Deviance

Secondary deviance represents the internalization of a belief that you are a deviant. At this stage, a person has accepted their deviant label as a central identity feature (aka a master status ).

This commonly happens in schools when a child internalizes the idea that they’re a ‘bad’ student.

According to labeling theory, this student who starts to believe that they are the bad student will lean into the identity and start engaging in deviant behaviors because it is what is expected of them.

3. Formal Deviance

Formal deviance refers to deviant behavior that is encoded in laws. If you engage in formal deviance, you are breaking either the rules of an institution or the laws of a sovereign region.

For example, a person who engages in formal deviance in a school setting might have broken the class rules and, therefore, be subject to a sanction such as detention or extra homework.

Similarly, in adulthood, driving too fast will lead to a speeding ticket; while more serious infractions may see you in front of a court or even in prison.

4. Informal Deviance

Informal deviance refers to breaking social norms without breaking codified laws or rules.

It occurs when you engage in taboos, behave in culturally insensitive ways, or do something that infringes on other types of norms.

It can be as simple as choosing not to go to college despite the expectations of your parents and grandparents. Or, it could be being rude to a waiter or speaking out of turn at school.

All of these acts of deviance will not land you in formal trouble, but may end up making you an outcast in your community.

5. Subcultural Deviance

Subcultural deviance refers to deviant behavior that people within a subcultural group do not believe to be deviant.

This comes about because subcultures have different norms and beliefs to the norms of the mainstream or dominant culture .

An example of subcultural deviance is tattooing your face. Within hipster subcultural circles, it is seen as cool and a form of self-expression. Within dominant culture, it can be seen as an affront and you’re looked upon with suspicion.

6. Situational Deviance

Situational deviance refers to a deviant behavior that is only deviant within a specific situation or context.

For example, swearing is often only deviant in certain situations. If you swear around a campfire with your high school friends, no one will bat an eyelid. But swearing at dinner with your girlfriend’s family will likely lead to some pearl-clutching!

To avoid situational deviance, you will need situational awareness and cultural competence to know what is and is not appropriate in various different situations.

Theories of Deviance in Sociology

See our main article: Cultural Deviance Theory .

1. Labelling Theory of Deviance

The labelling theory of deviance argues that deviance can be a result of the labeling of people as deviants.

Take, for example, a child in a classroom who misbehaves. His teacher has two options: to label the behavior as deviant (“Johnny, we don’t do that and I know you’re better than that”) or label the child as deviant (“Johnny, you’re a naughty little boy”).

According to labelling theory, the act of telling Johnny that he’s naughty means that Johnny internalizes a self-belief that he is deviant. When this becomes a part of his identity, he plays up his deviance to act the part.

This, in turn, leads the boy down a path of misbehaving, breaking the rules, fighting against authority, and eventually becoming a law-breaking adult.

2. Conflict Theory of Deviance

The conflict theory of deviance argues that people engage in deviant behavior due to social systems that oppress them.

If systems of power such as capitalism oppress a social group, then that group has an increased likelihood that they will engage in deviant behaviors because they:

• want to demonstrate their discontent with the current power structure
• want to undermine the current power structure
• don’t respect the people who oppress them
• get no benefit from the current system so they have no affection toward it
• are impoverished and need to engage in deviant behavior to meet their needs

As an example of conflict theory , we see rebel groups in some countries forming to take up arms against their government if the government is too oppressive. Similarly, many people will join violent protests if they are not content with the government.

3. Structuralist Theory of Deviance

In sociology, functionalism sees society as creating norms and rules of behavior to ensure there is a safe and functioning social system.

To them, they see deviance as a safety valve where people will engage in minor deviant behaviors to let off steam so they won’t engage in worse behaviors in the future.

Deviant behavior might also be a positive thing if it causes society to re-evaluate its norms, such as when people engage in nonviolent protest that causes changes in laws.

Generally, structural functionalism embraces law, order, and strong social hierarchies, and deviance is expected but can be controlled through the setting of clear and unambiguous norms.

See more functionalism examples

Case Studies of Deviant Behavior

1. absenteeism.

Being absent from work, school, or other obligations regularly without a valid excuse is referred to as absenteeism.

In the context of work, absenteeism is categorized as deviant employee behavior (Everton et al., 2007).

Absenteeism is considered harmful to work and educational organizations. It is often seen as a sign of a lack of consistency and responsibility of the absentee, which does not match with the social expectations.

Despite being seen as an implication of poor work ethics, employee absenteeism is often a result of perceived unsupportiveness and infairness of organizational managers (Everton et al., 2007).

2. Favoritism

Favoritism occurs when an authority figure deliberately favors an individual in a workplace, school, or other organization.

For example, overly tolerating lateness and absenteeism of an employee without any valid excuses would be a case of favoritism towards that employee (Anasiz & Püsküllüoglu, 2018).

Favoritism in workplaces and schools is considered a political deviance as it leads individuals to be treated unfairly (Anasiz & Püsküllüoglu, 2018).

Therefore, it conflicts with the social values and widespread expectations around organizational justice.

Divergences from a society’s norms, values, rules and regulations are referred to as deviance.

Deviant behavior is an act that is in conflict with social expectations about an individual’s status. Deviant people are those who commit deviant acts and behaviors.

Deviant behaviors include relatively common acts such as favoritism, absenteeism, or lateness to more serious acts such as vandalism, gang violence, or theft.

While a majority of criminal acts are also considered deviant behavior, these two concepts do not always overlap. For example, behaviors such as lateness or absenteeism are merely deviant acts and not crime.

Anasiz, B. T., & Püsküllüoglu, E. I. (2018). Phenomenological Analysis of Teachers’ Organizational Deviance Experiences in a Rural Primary School in Turkey. Journal of Education and Training Studies , 6 (1), 70-79.

Deflem, M. (2015). Deviance and social control. In E. Goode (Ed.), The handbook of deviance (pp. 30–44). New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Dickson-Gomez, J., Pacella, M., Broaddus, M. R., Quinn, K., Galletly, C., & Rivas, J. (2017). Convention versus deviance: moral agency in adolescent gang members’ decision making. Substance use & misuse , 52 (5), 562-573.

Everton, W. J., Jolton, J. A., & Mastrangelo, P. M. (2007). Be nice and fair or else: understanding reasons for employees’ deviant behaviors. Journal of management Development , 26 (2), 117-131.

Government of Canada. (2021, December 2). Summit on Gun and Gang Violence . Public Safety Canada / Sécurité publique Canada. Retrieved November 6, 2022, from https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/cntrng-crm/gn-crm-frrms/index-en.aspx

Herman, N. J. (1995). Deviance: A symbolic interactionist approach . Rowman & Littlefield.

Klonsky, E. D., Oltmanns, T. F., & Turkheimer, E. (2003). Deliberate self-harm in a nonclinical population: Prevalence and psychological correlates. American journal of Psychiatry , 160 (8), 1501-1508.

Merton, R. K., & Nisbet, R. A. (Eds.). (1966). Contemporary social problems . New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

NHTSA. (2017, October). 2016 Data: Impaired Driving . CrashStats – NHTSA. Retrieved November 7, 2022, from https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812450

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Deviance - Free Essay Samples And Topic Ideas

Deviance refers to behaviors or actions that violate societal norms or expectations. Essays on deviance could explore sociological, psychological, or cultural factors contributing to deviant behavior, the role of social control in managing or responding to deviance, or the implications of labeling theory in understanding deviance. They might also delve into case studies of specific forms of deviance, like criminal behavior or social protest, discussing their causes, consequences, and societal reactions. A vast selection of complimentary essay illustrations pertaining to Deviance you can find at Papersowl. You can use our samples for inspiration to write your own essay, research paper, or just to explore a new topic for yourself.

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There is a difference between a serial killer and a murderer. What exactly defines a serial killer? According to The National Museum of Crime and Punishment, “A serial killer is conventionally defined as a person who murders three or more people in a period of over a month, with ‘cooling down’ time between murders. For a serial killer, the murders must be separate events, which are most often driven by a psychological thrill or pleasure.” Psychologists have tried to figure […]

Crime and Deviant Behavior: Birds of a Feather Flock Together

Determining causes of crime and deviant behavior is a key goal for law enforcement officers in order for them to effectively implement public policy and better protect civilians. One contemporary theory that seeks to understand the causes of crime and deviance, and conceptualized by Ronald Akers and Robert Burgess, is the social learning theory of crime. According to this theory, crime is a result of learned social behavior. It incorporates Edwin H. Sutherland’s theory of differential association. Sutherland proposed nine […]

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One of the most influential theories of all time is Merton’s Strain Theory, which was engender in 1938. Robert K. Merton developed the structural strain theory as an extension of the functionalist perspective on deviant. Robert Merton argued that society might be set up in a way that inspirits an inordinate amount of deviance. Merton believed that when societal norms, or convivially accepted goals place pressure on the individual to conform they coerce the individual to either work within the […]

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Dynamics of Deviance: Beyond Conventional Norms and Labels

Deviance, that enigmatic force woven into the intricate fabric of human societies, beckons us to explore its complexities beyond conventional lenses. Far from a monolithic concept, deviance defies simplistic categorizations, demanding a nuanced examination of its multifaceted nature and the myriad ways it intersects with cultural norms, individual agency, and societal reactions. To unravel the enigma of deviance, one must first navigate the intricate terrain of symbolic interactionism, a sociological perspective that posits deviance as a byproduct of dynamic social […]

Dancing Shadows: Dynamics of Human Deviance in Societal Fabric

Embarking on a journey through the intricate web of societal dynamics, deviance emerges as an elusive specter, intricately weaving its threads through the diverse fabric of human interactions. Far from a stagnant concept, deviance is a dynamic force, a dance on the edges of accepted norms that challenges the very essence of customary behavior. This multifaceted phenomenon transcends the constraints of time, culture, and geography, mirroring the ever-shifting sands of human morality and the enigmatic structure of social order. At […]

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In the vast expanse of the digital realm, a curious phenomenon unfolds—a fusion of deviance and technology, shaping what we now recognize as cyber deviance. This intriguing intersection transcends conventional boundaries, giving rise to a landscape where the complexities of human behavior intertwine with the boundless possibilities of digital innovation. Within this digital ecosystem, cyberbullying emerges as a poignant example of deviance manifested through technology. Through the cloak of anonymity afforded by the internet, individuals unleash a torrent of malicious […]

Deviance into Mental Health and Antisocial Dynamics

The enigmatic interplay between deviance and mental health unveils a complex realm of human behavior, particularly evident in the intricate dynamics of antisocial tendencies. Such behaviors, veering from societal norms with blatant disregard for others' rights, are rooted in a mosaic of psychological undercurrents that defy simplistic explanations. One avenue of exploration delves into the labyrinth of personality theories. Within this realm lies the intricate tapestry of traits such as impulsivity, empathy deficits, and thrill-seeking proclivities, all interwoven into the […]

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Deviance in Sociology: Definition, Theories & Examples

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Deviance in sociology refers to actions or behaviors that violate widely-accepted cultural norms within a society. Since deviance is defined relative to sociocultural standards, what is considered deviant differs across societies and time periods, and is largely determined by those in power. Sociologists study how and why certain behaviors are defined and reacted to as deviant, as well as how labeling of deviance impacts individuals and groups.

Key Takeaways

• Deviant behavior is any behavior that does not conform to societal norms.There are many different types of deviant behavior, including impoliteness, violence, and substance abuse. These behaviors may or may not be criminal.
• While some forms of deviant behavior may be considered harmful or dangerous, others may simply be seen as odd or unusual.
• In some cases, it can be seen as a positive thing. For example, many cultures encourage their members to challenge the status quo and push boundaries in order to create change.
• Durkheim suggested that modern industrial societies were consequently characterized by moral confusion or ‘anomie’. This means that some members of society were more likely to challenge and reject shared values and norms of behavior and this ‘normlessness’ often resulted in crime and deviance.
• Anomie theory has since been further developed by other theorists, such as Robert Merton, who used it to explain deviance in his strain theory.
• The main tenets of modern anomie theories are that: (i) People conform to societal norms in order to gain rewards or avoid punishment; (ii) When there is a discrepancy between the goals people want to achieve and the means available to them to achieve those goals, anomie results, motivating deviance.

What is Deviant Behavior?

Deviance is a behavior, trait, or belief that departs from a social norm and generates a negative reaction in a particular group. In other words, it is behavior that does not conform to the norms of a particular culture or society.

It includes those behaviors that attract negative responses and social controls. It also involves crimes committed in society.

What is considered acceptable or rude varies depending on the culture you are in. For example, eating with your left hand in Arab nations is considered rude.

Some behaviors are acceptable for certain age groups and some activities are illegal for some age groups.

For example, some people who engage in deviant behavior do so in order to challenge existing social norms and bring about change.

Additionally, deviance can also be a way for people to express themselves and their individuality.

Any behavior that breaks the law or goes against societal norms can be considered deviant. One example of deviant behavior is drug use. Using illegal drugs is considered deviant behavior in most social groups.

Committing acts of violence, such as assault or murder, is also considered deviant behavior.

Other examples of deviant behavior include but are not limited to: theft, vandalism, graffiti, public intoxication, loitering, and littering.

Truancy can be considered to be a form of deviance. Truancy is a behavior where a student regularly avoids school without the knowledge of their parents or teachers.

Because deviance is socially constructed (not naturally occurring but created by the society in which it is found), there are no actions which in themselves are inherently abnormal or universally condemned by all societies at all times. Deviance is thus situational and contextual.

For example, while stealing is considered deviant behavior in most societies, it is not considered deviant in some indigenous cultures where “stealing” is seen as a way to redistribute resources.

Similarly, while arranged marriages are the norm in many cultures, they would be considered deviant in Western cultures where individuals have the freedom to choose their own partners.

Ultimately, what is considered deviant behavior varies from culture to culture, and even from one social group to another. While deviance in society often has negative connotations, deviance in culture is not necessarily bad.

Types of Deviant Behavior

Formal deviant behavior.

Formal deviant behavior is defined as behavior that violates formally enacted laws. This type of deviant behavior is often criminal in nature, and can result in punishments such as fines, imprisonment, or even death.

Examples of formal deviant behavior include but are not limited to: murder, robbery, assault, rape, and child molestation (Griffiths et al., 2012).

Informal Deviant Behavior

Informal deviant behavior is defined as behavior that violates informal social norms. This type of deviant behavior is often seen as more minor than formal deviance, and typically does not result in legal punishment.

Instead, people who engage in informal deviant behavior may be ridiculed or ostracized by their peers.

Examples of informal deviant behavior include but are not limited to: littering, jaywalking, public intoxication, and loitering (Griffiths et al., 2012).

Although informal deviant behavior is often seen as less serious than its formal counterpart, it can have serious consequences. Showing up late to work, for example, is an act of informal deviance that can result in dismissal from one”s job.

Subcultural Deviant Behavior

Subcultural deviant behavior is defined as behavior that violates the norms of a particular subculture. A subculture is a social group within a larger culture that has its own distinct values, beliefs, and behaviors.

Examples of subcultural deviant behavior include but are not limited to: gang violence, drug use, and prostitution.

While subcultural deviant behavior is often seen as criminal or harmful, it can also be a way for people to express their identity and solidarity with others in their group.

For example, many gangs use violence as a way to establish their turf and protect their members, as well as to create a shared sense of identity as “strong” and ready to take action (Copes & Williams, 2007).

Serial Deviant Behavior

Serial deviant behavior is defined as a pattern of repeated deviant behavior. For example, being convicted of multiple crimes.

For example, a teenager who shoplifts every time they enter a department store for the excitement is committing serial deviant behavior.

Those who habitually show informally deviant behavior can also be considered to exhibit serial deviant behavior.

For instance, someone who belches loudly and stands unnecessarily close to others may develop an image characterized by this unacceptable behavior, resulting in social punishment (Chercourt, 2014).

Situational Deviance

Situational deviance is defined as behavior that is considered deviant in a particular situation but not in others.

For example, public nudity is considered deviant in most public places, but is expected on nude beaches. Similarly, using profanity is only considered deviant when it occurs in settings where cursing is not allowed or frowned upon, such as at work or school (Chercourt, 2014).

Even within these settings, the attitudes of those around the person committing the deviant act influence how deviant the behavior is considered to be.

While some forms of situational deviance may be seen as harmless or even humorous, others can have serious consequences.

For example, while being inebriated in many situations may be interpreted as entertaining or humorous by others, driving under the influence of alcohol can result in accidents, injuries, and even death.

Sociological Explanations Of Deviance

Social strain typology (robert k. merton).

The social strain typology is a theory of deviance that was developed by sociologist Robert K. Merton. The theory suggests that there are four types of deviant behavior: subcultural, serial, situational, and cultural.

Merton”s theory is based on the idea that there is a tension between goals and means in society. Goals are the things that people want to achieve, such as wealth or success. Means are the ways in which people go about achieving these goals, such as working hard or getting an education.

When people cannot achieve their goals through legitimate means, they may turn to deviant behavior in order to get what they want. For example, someone who wants to be wealthy but cannot legitimately earn enough money may turn to theft or robbery.

The social strain typology is a helpful way of understanding why people engage in deviant behavior. It also helps to explain why some forms of deviance are more common than others.

For example, subcultural deviance is more likely to occur in poor neighborhoods where legitimate means of achieving goals are limited. Serial deviance is more likely to occur in individuals who have a history of engaging in deviant behavior.

And situational deviance is more likely to occur when people find themselves in situations where they are tempted to break the rules.

Structural Functionalism

Structural functionalism is a sociological theory that views society as a system of interconnected parts that work together to promote stability and order.

The theory is based on the idea that societies are organized in a way that allows them to meet the needs of their members.

Durkheim suggested that modern industrial societies were consequently characterized by moral confusion or ‘ anomie ’ – some members of society were more likely to challenge and reject shared values and norms of behavior and this ‘normlessness’ often resulted in crime and deviance.

The functionalist perspective argues that deviant behavior serves a positive function for society by providing a safety valve for people who cannot cope with the demands of everyday life.

For example, people who engage in minor deviant behaviors, like rudeness or angry outbursts, may be less likely to commit more serious crimes, such as murder or rape (Parsons, 1985).

The functionalist perspective also argues that deviant behavior can lead to social change. For example, people who challenge the status quo and push boundaries may help to bring about positive changes, such as increased equality or improved working conditions.

Gandhi, for example,  is often credited with helping to end British rule in India through his deviant behavior of leading peaceful protests and civil disobedience.

The public punishment of criminals also reinforces social conformity by reminding members of society about what counts as acceptable and unacceptable behavior. In other words, it functions to socially control society by reinforcing the rules.

Conflict Theory

Conflict theory is a sociological theory that views society as a system of power relationships that are in conflict with one another. The theory is based on the idea that social order is maintained through coercion and force, rather than consent or agreement.

Conflict theorists argue that deviant behavior is a result of social inequality. They believe that people who have less power in society are more likely to engage in deviant behavior as a way of challenging the existing order.

For example, people who are poor or members of minority groups may turn to crime as a way to get the resources they need to survive (Bartos & Wehr, 2002).

This theory originates from the work of Karl Marx , who argued that social conflict is a necessary part of economic change. Marx believed that capitalism would eventually lead to a revolution in which the working class would overthrow the ruling class and establish a more egalitarian society.

While conflict theory has its origins in Marxism, it has been adapted and expanded by other sociologists, such as Max Weber and Randall Collins.

Conflict theory is now used to explain a wide variety of social phenomena, including crime, violence, and discrimination (Bartos & Wehr, 2002).

Labeling Theory

Labeling theory is a sociological theory that views deviance as a result of the way society labels people. The theory is based on the idea that people who are labeled as deviant are more likely to engage in deviant behavior.

Lemert was one of the first to define the concept of primary and secondary deviance (1951). Primary deviance is deviant acts that occur without labels put on the person commiting the act.

For example, a teenager who drinks alcohol socially at a party and is caught, but only gently reprimanded by their parents, has committed primary deviance.

Secondary deviance , meanwhile, is a result of the labels that are put onn someone for committing deviant acts.

A person moves from primary deviance (the thing that gets him/her labeled in the first place) to secondary deviance (a deviant identity or career).

The importance of the distinction between primary and secondary deviance is that everyone commits primary deviance acts from time to time, with few social consequences.

Labeling theory argues that the act of labeling someone as deviant causes them to be seen as different from others. This difference can lead to discrimination and social exclusion, which can in turn lead to further deviant behavior.

For example, someone who is labeled as a criminal may have difficulty finding a job or housing. As a result, they may turn to crime in order to make ends meet.

Or, someone who is labeled as mentally ill may be excluded from social activities and have difficulty making friends. This isolation can lead to further mental health problems (Becker, 2018).

Labeling theory has been used to explain a wide variety of deviant behaviors, including crime, mental illness, and drug use. The theory has been criticized for its lack of empirical evidence, but it remains an influential perspective in sociology.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some of the main causes of deviant behavior.

Some of the main theoretical perspectives that sociologists use to explain deviance include functionalism, conflict theory, and labeling theory.

Sociologists have found that deviant behavior is often a result of social inequality.

For example, people who are poor or members of minority groups may turn to crime as a way to get the resources they need to survive.

Additionally, people who are labeled as deviant by society may be more likely to engage in deviant behavior due to discrimination and social exclusion.

What is the difference between deviant and criminal behavior?

Deviance is behavior that violates social norms and arouses negative social reactions. Crime is behavior that is considered so serious that it violates formal laws prohibiting such behavior.

Not all deviant behavior is criminal. For example, social norms around clothing styles for hairstyles may vary from place to place. So, someone who wears unconventional clothes or has an unconventional haircut may be considered deviant in one community but not in another.

Similarly, people who break minor laws, such as jaywalking or littering, may be considered deviant but not criminal.

Similarly, not all criminal behavior is deviant. For example, breaking a law against selling alcohol on a Sunday does not involve committing an act of deviance in a society where selling and consuming alcohol is acceptable.

Is deviant behavior a form of non-conformity?

Deviance is a concept that describes non-conformity to social norms, values and civic expectations. Hence, it is a form of non-conformity.

Nonetheless, not all non-conformity is deviant.

Social norms vary from place to place, so what is considered deviant in one society may not be considered deviant in another. Additionally, social norms change over time, so something that was once considered deviant may become acceptable (and vice versa).

For example, tattoos and piercings were once considered deviant but are now widely accepted. Nonetheless, in a place where they remain uncommon, they may be non-conformist.

Bartos, O. J., & Wehr, P. (2002). Using conflict theory . Cambridge University Press.

Becker, H. S. (2018). Labeling theory reconsidered 1. In Deviance and social control (pp. 41-66). Routledge.

Chercourt, M. (2014). Encyclopedia of Social Deviance. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 54 (2), 83.

Cohen, A. K. (1955). Delinquent Boys: The Culture of the Gang. New York: Free Press.

Cohen, A. K. (2016) Kriminelle Subkulturen. In: Klimke, D. & Legnaro, A. (Hrsg.) Kriminologische Grundlagentexte. Springer VS: Wiesbaden. S. 269-280 .

Cohen, A. K. (1957) Kriminelle Subkulturen. In: Heintz, P. & König, R. (Hrsg.) Soziologie der Jugendkriminalität. Studien zur Sozialwissenschaft. Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag. S. 103-117.

Cohen, Albert K. and Short, J. (1968). Research in Delinquent Subcultures. In: Journal of Social Issues , S.20–37.

Copes, H., & Williams, J. P. (2007). Techniques of affirmation: Deviant behavior, moral commitment, and subcultural identity. Deviant behavior, 28 (3), 247-272.

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Lemert, E. (1951). Primary and secondary deviation. Crime. Critical concepts in sociology, 3, 603-607.

Lemert, E. M. (1967). Human deviance, social problems, and social control . Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice-Hall.

Marx, K., & Engels, F. (1967). The communist manifesto . 1848. Trans. Samuel Moore. London: Penguin, 15.

Merton, R.K. (1938). Social structure and anomie. American Sociological Review 3 , 672–682.

Merton, R.K. (1949). Social structure and anomie: revisions and extensions. In: Anshen, R.N. (Ed.), The Family: Its Functions and Destiny . Harper, New York, pp. 226–257.

Merton, R.K. (1957). Social structure and anomie. In: Merton, R.K. (Ed.), Social Theory and Social Structure . The Free Press, New York, pp. 185–214.

Merton, R.K. (1957). Continuities in the theory of social structure and anomie. In:

Merton, R.K. (Ed.), Social Theory and Social Structure . The Free Press, New York, pp. 215–248.

Parsons, T. (1985). Talcott Parsons on institutions and social evolution: selected writings . University of Chicago Press.

Pfuhl, E. H., & Henry, S. (1986). The deviance process . Transaction Publishers.

Wellford, C. (1975). Labelling theory and criminology: An assessment.  Social Problems, 22 (3), 332-345.

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Deviance In Sociology - Free Essay Examples and Topic Ideas

Deviance refers to any behavior, trait, or belief that violates social norms, values, or expectations. It is often seen as an abnormal or unacceptable form of behavior that goes against the norms and standards of a particular society. Deviance is a complex social phenomenon that is shaped by a range of factors, including cultural, historical, and economic factors. Sociologists study the nature of deviance to better understand its causes, effects, and social implications. They also explore how societies develop and enforce norms and standards, and how they respond to deviant behavior.

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• Sociology and Deviance
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Analysis of three main sociological perspectives on deviance.

Vroom! Vroom! Vroom! My car speeds up as I rush back to work from taking a lunch break. Mistakenly, I speed past a hidden police officer on the highway who flicks on his lights as I pass him. Long story short, the police officer gives...

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Deviance and Poor Behaviour of the Players in Sports

Sports deviance is known as actions and behaviours that deter from the normal, which are perceived as being negative. This could be many things such as violence in sport, doping and drug use within a sporting environment, match-fixing, and foul play by sports players in...

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Transvestism as Deviance and the Condemning Behaviour

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The Positive Functions of Crime and Deviance on the Society

The life of a human is governed by the social norms and rules created within society. According to Anthony Giddens there’s another side to the story and that is, the norms and rules that gets broken Giddens 1989. Crime is a behaviour which breaks laws...

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The Contribution of Classical Criminology to Our Understanding of Crime and Deviance

This essay will provide a discussion on the contributions of classical criminology to help in giving an understanding on the different crimes in society. It will give a brief description on what the classical school of criminology is and the founders of the classical school...

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Addiction to Diabolical Acts In 'Clockwork Orange' 

It is not possible to purify something that is naturally evil. In Anthony Burgess’s “A Clockwork Orange”, a young man by the name of Alex DeLarge, who is addicted to sex, drugs, violence, and Beethoven, spends his nights abusing drugs, berating random pedestrians, and raping...

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1. Analysis Of Three Main Sociological Perspectives On Deviance

2. Deviance and Poor Behaviour of the Players in Sports

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5. The Contribution of Classical Criminology to Our Understanding of Crime and Deviance

6. Addiction to Diabolical Acts In ‘Clockwork Orange’ 

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7.2 Explaining Deviance

Learning objective.

• State the major arguments and assumptions of the various sociological explanations of deviance.

If we want to reduce violent crime and other serious deviance, we must first understand why it occurs. Many sociological theories of deviance exist, and together they offer a more complete understanding of deviance than any one theory offers by itself. Together they help answer the questions posed earlier: why rates of deviance differ within social categories and across locations, why some behaviors are more likely than others to be considered deviant, and why some kinds of people are more likely than others to be considered deviant and to be punished for deviant behavior. As a whole, sociological explanations highlight the importance of the social environment and of social interaction for deviance and the commision of crime. As such, they have important implications for how to reduce these behaviors. Consistent with this book’s public sociology theme, a discussion of several such crime-reduction strategies concludes this chapter.

We now turn to the major sociological explanations of crime and deviance. A summary of these explanations appears in Table 7.1 “Theory Snapshot: Summary of Sociological Explanations of Deviance and Crime” .

Table 7.1 Theory Snapshot: Summary of Sociological Explanations of Deviance and Crime

Functionalist Explanations

Several explanations may be grouped under the functionalist perspective in sociology, as they all share this perspective’s central view on the importance of various aspects of society for social stability and other social needs.

Émile Durkheim: The Functions of Deviance

As noted earlier, Émile Durkheim said deviance is normal, but he did not stop there. In a surprising and still controversial twist, he also argued that deviance serves several important functions for society.

First, Durkheim said, deviance clarifies social norms and increases conformity. This happens because the discovery and punishment of deviance reminds people of the norms and reinforces the consequences of violating them. If your class were taking an exam and a student was caught cheating, the rest of the class would be instantly reminded of the rules about cheating and the punishment for it, and as a result they would be less likely to cheat.

A second function of deviance is that it strengthens social bonds among the people reacting to the deviant. An example comes from the classic story The Ox-Bow Incident (Clark, 1940), in which three innocent men are accused of cattle rustling and are eventually lynched. The mob that does the lynching is very united in its frenzy against the men, and, at least at that moment, the bonds among the individuals in the mob are extremely strong.

A final function of deviance, said Durkheim, is that it can help lead to positive social change. Although some of the greatest figures in history—Socrates, Jesus, Joan of Arc, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr. to name just a few—were considered the worst kind of deviants in their time, we now honor them for their commitment and sacrifice.

Émile Durkheim wrote that deviance can lead to positive social change. Many Southerners had strong negative feelings about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights movement, but history now honors him for his commitment and sacrifice.

U.S. Library of Congress – public domain.

Sociologist Herbert Gans (1996) pointed to an additional function of deviance: deviance creates jobs for the segments of society—police, prison guards, criminology professors, and so forth—whose main focus is to deal with deviants in some manner. If deviance and crime did not exist, hundreds of thousands of law-abiding people in the United States would be out of work!

Although deviance can have all of these functions, many forms of it can certainly be quite harmful, as the story of the mugged voter that began this chapter reminds us. Violent crime and property crime in the United States victimize millions of people and households each year, while crime by corporations has effects that are even more harmful, as we discuss later. Drug use, prostitution, and other “victimless” crimes may involve willing participants, but these participants often cause themselves and others much harm. Although deviance according to Durkheim is inevitable and normal and serves important functions, that certainly does not mean the United States and other nations should be happy to have high rates of serious deviance. The sociological theories we discuss point to certain aspects of the social environment, broadly defined, that contribute to deviance and crime and that should be the focus of efforts to reduce these behaviors.

Social Ecology: Neighborhood and Community Characteristics

An important sociological approach, begun in the late 1800s and early 1900s by sociologists at the University of Chicago, stresses that certain social and physical characteristics of urban neighborhoods raise the odds that people growing up and living in these neighborhoods will commit deviance and crime. This line of thought is now called the social ecology approach (Mears, Wang, Hay, & Bales, 2008). Many criminogenic (crime-causing) neighborhood characteristics have been identified, including high rates of poverty, population density, dilapidated housing, residential mobility, and single-parent households. All of these problems are thought to contribute to social disorganization , or weakened social bonds and social institutions, that make it difficult to socialize children properly and to monitor suspicious behavior (Mears, Wang, Hay, & Bales, 2008; Sampson, 2006).

Sociology Making a Difference

Improving Neighborhood Conditions Helps Reduce Crime Rates

One of the sociological theories of crime discussed in the text is the social ecology approach. To review, this approach attributes high rates of deviance and crime to the neighborhood’s social and physical characteristics, including poverty, high population density, dilapidated housing, and high population turnover. These problems create social disorganization that weakens the neighborhood’s social institutions and impairs effective child socialization.

Much empirical evidence supports social ecology’s view about negative neighborhood conditions and crime rates and suggests that efforts to improve these conditions will lower crime rates. Some of the most persuasive evidence comes from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (directed by sociologist Robert J. Sampson), in which more than 6,000 children, ranging in age from birth to 18, and their parents and other caretakers were studied over a 7-year period. The social and physical characteristics of the dozens of neighborhoods in which the subjects lived were measured to permit assessment of these characteristics’ effects on the probability of delinquency. A number of studies using data from this project confirm the general assumptions of the social ecology approach. In particular, delinquency is higher in neighborhoods with lower levels of “collective efficacy,” that is, in neighborhoods with lower levels of community supervision of adolescent behavior.

The many studies from the Chicago project and data in several other cities show that neighborhood conditions greatly affect the extent of delinquency in urban neighborhoods. This body of research in turn suggests that strategies and programs that improve the social and physical conditions of urban neighborhoods may well help decrease the high rates of crime and delinquency that are so often found there. (Bellair & McNulty, 2009; Sampson, 2006)

Strain Theory

Failure to achieve the American dream lies at the heart of Robert Merton’s (1938) famous strain theory (also called anomie theory). Recall from Chapter 1 “Sociology and the Sociological Perspective” that Durkheim attributed high rates of suicide to anomie, or normlessness, that occurs in times when social norms are unclear or weak. Adapting this concept, Merton wanted to explain why poor people have higher deviance rates than the nonpoor. He reasoned that the United States values economic success above all else and also has norms that specify the approved means, working, for achieving economic success. Because the poor often cannot achieve the American dream of success through the conventional means of working, they experience a gap between the goal of economic success and the means of working. This gap, which Merton likened to Durkheim’s anomie because of the resulting lack of clarity over norms, leads to strain or frustration. To reduce their frustration, some poor people resort to several adaptations, including deviance, depending on whether they accept or reject the goal of economic success and the means of working. Table 7.2 “Merton’s Anomie Theory” presents the logical adaptations of the poor to the strain they experience. Let’s review these briefly.

Table 7.2 Merton’s Anomie Theory

Despite their strain, most poor people continue to accept the goal of economic success and continue to believe they should work to make money. In other words, they continue to be good, law-abiding citizens. They conform to society’s norms and values, and, not surprisingly, Merton calls their adaptation conformity .

Faced with strain, some poor people continue to value economic success but come up with new means of achieving it. They rob people or banks, commit fraud, or use other illegal means of acquiring money or property. Merton calls this adaptation innovation .

Other poor people continue to work at a job without much hope of greatly improving their lot in life. They go to work day after day as a habit. Merton calls this third adaptation ritualism . This adaptation does not involve deviant behavior but is a logical response to the strain poor people experience.

One of Robert Merton’s adaptations in his strain theory is retreatism, in which poor people abandon society’s goal of economic success and reject its means of employment to reach this goal. Many of today’s homeless people might be considered retreatists under Merton’s typology.

Franco Folini – Homeless woman with dogs – CC BY-SA 2.0.

In Merton’s fourth adaptation, retreatism , some poor people withdraw from society by becoming hobos or vagrants or by becoming addicted to alcohol, heroin, or other drugs. Their response to the strain they feel is to reject both the goal of economic success and the means of working.

Merton’s fifth and final adaptation is rebellion . Here poor people not only reject the goal of success and the means of working but work actively to bring about a new society with a new value system. These people are the radicals and revolutionaries of their time. Because Merton developed his strain theory in the aftermath of the Great Depression, in which the labor and socialist movements had been quite active, it is not surprising that he thought of rebellion as a logical adaptation of the poor to their lack of economic success.

Although Merton’s theory has been popular over the years, it has some limitations. Perhaps most important, it overlooks deviance such as fraud by the middle and upper classes and also fails to explain murder, rape, and other crimes that usually are not done for economic reasons. It also does not explain why some poor people choose one adaptation over another.

Merton’s strain theory stimulated other explanations of deviance that built on his concept of strain. Differential opportunity theory , developed by Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin (1960), tried to explain why the poor choose one or the other of Merton’s adaptations. Whereas Merton stressed that the poor have differential access to legitimate means (working), Cloward and Ohlin stressed that they have differential access to illegitimate means . For example, some live in neighborhoods where organized crime is dominant and will get involved in such crime; others live in neighborhoods rampant with drug use and will start using drugs themselves.

In a more recent formulation, two sociologists, Steven F. Messner and Richard Rosenfeld (2007), expanded Merton’s view by arguing that in the United States crime arises from several of our most important values, including an overemphasis on economic success, individualism, and competition. These values produce crime by making many Americans, rich or poor, feel they never have enough money and by prompting them to help themselves even at other people’s expense. Crime in the United States, then, arises ironically from the country’s most basic values.

In yet another extension of Merton’s theory, Robert Agnew (2007) reasoned that adolescents experience various kinds of strain in addition to the economic type addressed by Merton. A romantic relationship may end, a family member may die, or students may be taunted or bullied at school. Repeated strain-inducing incidents such as these produce anger, frustration, and other negative emotions, and these emotions in turn prompt delinquency and drug use.

Deviant Subcultures

Some sociologists stress that poverty and other community conditions give rise to certain subcultures through which adolescents acquire values that promote deviant behavior. One of the first to make this point was Albert K. Cohen (1955), whose status frustration theory says that lower-class boys do poorly in school because schools emphasize middle-class values. School failure reduces their status and self-esteem, which the boys try to counter by joining juvenile gangs. In these groups, a different value system prevails, and boys can regain status and self-esteem by engaging in delinquency. Cohen had nothing to say about girls, as he assumed they cared little about how well they did in school, placing more importance on marriage and family instead, and hence would remain nondelinquent even if they did not do well. Scholars later criticized his disregard for girls and assumptions about them.

Another sociologist, Walter Miller (1958), said poor boys become delinquent because they live amid a lower-class subculture that includes several focal concerns , or values, that help lead to delinquency. These focal concerns include a taste for trouble, toughness, cleverness, and excitement. If boys grow up in a subculture with these values, they are more likely to break the law. Their deviance is a result of their socialization. Critics said Miller exaggerated the differences between the value systems in poor inner-city neighborhoods and wealthier, middle-class communities (Akers & Sellers, 2008).

A very popular subcultural explanation is the so-called subculture of violence thesis, first advanced by Marvin Wolfgang and Franco Ferracuti (1967). In some inner-city areas, they said, a subculture of violence promotes a violent response to insults and other problems, which people in middle-class areas would probably ignore. The subculture of violence, they continued, arises partly from the need of lower-class males to “prove” their masculinity in view of their economic failure. Quantitative research to test their theory has failed to show that the urban poor are more likely than other groups to approve of violence (Cao, Adams, & Jensen, 1997). On the other hand, recent ethnographic (qualitative) research suggests that large segments of the urban poor do adopt a “code” of toughness and violence to promote respect (Anderson, 1999). As this conflicting evidence illustrates, the subculture of violence view remains controversial and merits further scrutiny.

Social Control Theory

Travis Hirschi (1969) argued that human nature is basically selfish and thus wondered why people do not commit deviance. His answer, which is now called social control theory (also known as social bonding theory ), was that their bonds to conventional social institutions such as the family and the school keep them from violating social norms. Hirschi’s basic perspective reflects Durkheim’s view that strong social norms reduce deviance such as suicide.

Hirschi outlined four types of bonds to conventional social institutions: attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief.

• Attachment refers to how much we feel loyal to these institutions and care about the opinions of people in them, such as our parents and teachers. The more attached we are to our families and schools, the less likely we are to be deviant.
• Commitment refers to how much we value our participation in conventional activities such as getting a good education. The more committed we are to these activities and the more time and energy we have invested in them, the less deviant we will be.
• Involvement refers to the amount of time we spend in conventional activities. The more time we spend, the less opportunity we have to be deviant.
• Belief refers to our acceptance of society’s norms. The more we believe in these norms, the less we deviate.

Travis Hirschi’s social control theory stresses the importance of bonds to social institutions for preventing deviance. His theory emphasized the importance of attachment to one’s family in this regard.

More Good Foundation – Mormon Family Dinner – CC BY-NC 2.0.

Hirschi’s theory has been very popular. Many studies find that youths with weaker bonds to their parents and schools are more likely to be deviant. But the theory has its critics (Akers & Sellers, 2008). One problem centers on the chicken-and-egg question of causal order. For example, many studies support social control theory by finding that delinquent youths often have worse relationships with their parents than do nondelinquent youths. Is that because the bad relationships prompt the youths to be delinquent, as Hirschi thought? Or is it because the youths’ delinquency worsens their relationship with their parents? Despite these questions, Hirschi’s social control theory continues to influence our understanding of deviance. To the extent it is correct, it suggests several strategies for preventing crime, including programs designed to improve parenting and relations between parents and children (Welsh & Farrington, 2007).

Conflict and Feminist Explanations

Explanations of crime rooted in the conflict perspective reflect its general view that society is a struggle between the “haves” at the top of society with social, economic, and political power and the “have-nots” at the bottom. Accordingly, they assume that those with power pass laws and otherwise use the legal system to secure their position at the top of society and to keep the powerless on the bottom (Bohm & Vogel, 2011). The poor and minorities are more likely because of their poverty and race to be arrested, convicted, and imprisoned. These explanations also blame street crime by the poor on the economic deprivation and inequality in which they live rather than on any moral failings of the poor.

Some conflict explanations also say that capitalism helps create street crime by the poor. An early proponent of this view was Dutch criminologist Willem Bonger (1916), who said that capitalism as an economic system involves competition for profit. This competition leads to an emphasis in a capitalist society’s culture on egoism , or self-seeking behavior, and greed . Because profit becomes so important, people in a capitalist society are more likely than those in noncapitalist ones to break the law for profit and other gains, even if their behavior hurts others.

Not surprisingly, conflict explanations have sparked much controversy (Akers & Sellers, 2008). Many scholars dismiss them for painting an overly critical picture of the United States and ignoring the excesses of noncapitalistic nations, while others say the theories overstate the degree of inequality in the legal system. In assessing the debate over conflict explanations, a fair conclusion is that their view on discrimination by the legal system applies more to victimless crime (discussed in a later section) than to conventional crime, where it is difficult to argue that laws against such things as murder and robbery reflect the needs of the powerful. However, much evidence supports the conflict assertion that the poor and minorities face disadvantages in the legal system (Reiman & Leighton, 2010). Simply put, the poor cannot afford good attorneys, private investigators, and the other advantages that money brings in court. As just one example, if someone much poorer than O. J. Simpson, the former football player and media celebrity, had been arrested, as he was in 1994, for viciously murdering two people, the defendant would almost certainly have been found guilty. Simpson was able to afford a defense costing hundreds of thousands of dollars and won a jury acquittal in his criminal trial (Barkan, 1996). Also in accordance with conflict theory’s views, corporate executives, among the most powerful members of society, often break the law without fear of imprisonment, as we shall see in our discussion of white-collar crime later in this chapter. Finally, many studies support conflict theory’s view that the roots of crimes by poor people lie in social inequality and economic deprivation (Barkan, 2009).

Feminist Perspectives

Feminist perspectives on crime and criminal justice also fall into the broad rubric of conflict explanations and have burgeoned in the last two decades. Much of this work concerns rape and sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and other crimes against women that were largely neglected until feminists began writing about them in the 1970s (Griffin, 1971). Their views have since influenced public and official attitudes about rape and domestic violence, which used to be thought as something that girls and women brought on themselves. The feminist approach instead places the blame for these crimes squarely on society’s inequality against women and antiquated views about relations between the sexes (Renzetti, 2011).

Another focus of feminist work is gender and legal processing. Are women better or worse off than men when it comes to the chances of being arrested and punished? After many studies in the last two decades, the best answer is that we are not sure (Belknap, 2007). Women are treated a little more harshly than men for minor crimes and a little less harshly for serious crimes, but the gender effect in general is weak.

A third focus concerns the gender difference in serious crime, as women and girls are much less likely than men and boys to engage in violence and to commit serious property crimes such as burglary and motor vehicle theft. Most sociologists attribute this difference to gender socialization. Simply put, socialization into the male gender role, or masculinity, leads to values such as competitiveness and behavioral patterns such as spending more time away from home that all promote deviance. Conversely, despite whatever disadvantages it may have, socialization into the female gender role, or femininity, promotes values such as gentleness and behavior patterns such as spending more time at home that help limit deviance (Chesney-Lind & Pasko, 2004). Noting that males commit so much crime, Kathleen Daly and Meda Chesney-Lind (1988, p. 527) wrote,

A large price is paid for structures of male domination and for the very qualities that drive men to be successful, to control others, and to wield uncompromising power.…Gender differences in crime suggest that crime may not be so normal after all. Such differences challenge us to see that in the lives of women, men have a great deal more to learn.

Gender socialization helps explain why females commit less serious crime than males. Boys are raised to be competitive and aggressive, while girls are raised to be more gentle and nurturing.

Philippe Put – Fight – CC BY 2.0.

Two decades later, that challenge still remains.

Symbolic Interactionist Explanations

Because symbolic interactionism focuses on the means people gain from their social interaction, symbolic interactionist explanations attribute deviance to various aspects of the social interaction and social processes that normal individuals experience. These explanations help us understand why some people are more likely than others living in the same kinds of social environments. Several such explanations exist.

Differential Association Theory

One popular set of explanations, often called learning theories , emphasizes that deviance is learned from interacting with other people who believe it is OK to commit deviance and who often commit deviance themselves. Deviance, then, arises from normal socialization processes. The most influential such explanation is Edwin H. Sutherland’s (1947) differential association theory , which says that criminal behavior is learned by interacting with close friends and family members. These individuals teach us not only how to commit various crimes but also the values, motives, and rationalizations that we need to adopt in order to justify breaking the law. The earlier in our life that we associate with deviant individuals and the more often we do so, the more likely we become deviant ourselves. In this way, a normal social process, socialization, can lead normal people to commit deviance.

Sutherland’s theory of differential association was one of the most influential sociological theories ever. Over the years much research has documented the importance of adolescents’ peer relationships for their entrance into the world of drugs and delinquency (Akers & Sellers, 2008). However, some critics say that not all deviance results from the influences of deviant peers. Still, differential association theory and the larger category of learning theories it represents remain a valuable approach to understanding deviance and crime.

Labeling Theory

If we arrest and imprison someone, we hope they will be “scared straight,” or deterred from committing a crime again. Labeling theory assumes precisely the opposite: it says that labeling someone deviant increases the chances that the labeled person will continue to commit deviance. According to labeling theory, this happens because the labeled person ends up with a deviant self-image that leads to even more deviance. Deviance is the result of being labeled (Bohm & Vogel, 2011).

This effect is reinforced by how society treats someone who has been labeled. Research shows that job applicants with a criminal record are much less likely than those without a record to be hired (Pager, 2009). Suppose you had a criminal record and had seen the error of your ways but were rejected by several potential employers. Do you think you might be just a little frustrated? If your unemployment continues, might you think about committing a crime again? Meanwhile, you want to meet some law-abiding friends, so you go to a singles bar. You start talking with someone who interests you, and in response to this person’s question, you say you are between jobs. When your companion asks about your last job, you reply that you were in prison for armed robbery. How do you think your companion will react after hearing this? As this scenario suggests, being labeled deviant can make it difficult to avoid a continued life of deviance.

Labeling theory also asks whether some people and behaviors are indeed more likely than others to acquire a deviant label. In particular, it asserts that nonlegal factors such as appearance, race, and social class affect how often official labeling occurs.

Labeling theory assumes that someone who is labeled deviant will be more likely to commit deviance as a result. One problem that ex-prisoners face after being released back into society is that potential employers do not want to hire them. This fact makes it more likely that they will commit new offenses.

Victor – Handcuffs – CC BY 2.0.

William Chambliss’s (1973) classic analysis of the “Saints” and the “Roughnecks” is an excellent example of this argument. The Saints were eight male high-school students from middle-class backgrounds who were very delinquent, while the Roughnecks were six male students in the same high school who were also very delinquent but who came from poor, working-class families. Although the Saints’ behavior was arguably more harmful than the Roughnecks’, their actions were considered harmless pranks, and they were never arrested. After graduating from high school, they went on to college and graduate and professional school and ended up in respectable careers. In contrast, the Roughnecks were widely viewed as troublemakers and often got into trouble for their behavior. As adults they either ended up in low-paying jobs or went to prison.

Labeling theory’s views on the effects of being labeled and on the importance of nonlegal factors for official labeling remain controversial. Nonetheless, the theory has greatly influenced the study of deviance and crime in the last few decades and promises to do so for many years to come.

Key Takeaways

• Both biological and psychological explanations assume that deviance stems from problems arising inside the individual.
• Sociological explanations attribute deviance to various aspects of the social environment.
• Several functionalist explanations exist. Durkheim highlighted the functions that deviance serves for society. Merton’s strain theory assumed that deviance among the poor results from their inability to achieve the economic success so valued in American society. Other explanations highlight the role played by the social and physical characteristics of urban neighborhoods, of deviant subcultures, and of weak bonds to social institutions.
• Conflict explanations assume that the wealthy and powerful use the legal system to protect their own interests and to keep the poor and racial minorities subservient. Feminist perspectives highlight the importance of gender inequality for crimes against women and of male socialization for the gender difference in criminality.
• Interactionist explanations highlight the importance of social interaction in the commitment of deviance and in reactions to deviance. Labeling theory assumes that the labeling process helps ensure that someone will continue to commit deviance, and it also assumes that some people are more likely than others to be labeled deviant because of their appearance, race, social class, and other characteristics.

For Your Review

• In what important way do biological and psychological explanations differ from sociological explanations?
• What are any two functions of deviance according to Durkheim?
• What are any two criminogenic social or physical characteristics of urban neighborhoods?
• What are any two assumptions of feminist perspectives on deviance and crime?
• According to labeling theory, what happens when someone is labeled as a deviant?

Agnew, R. (2007). Pressured into crime: An overview of general strain theory . Los Angeles, CA: Roxbury.

Akers, R. L., & Sellers, C. S. (2008). Criminological theories: Introduction, evaluation, and application . New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Anderson, E. (1999). Code of the street: Decency, violence, and the moral life of the inner city . New York, NY: W. W. Norton.

Barkan, S. E. (1996). The social science significance of the O. J. Simpson case. In G. Barak (Ed.), Representing O. J.: Murder, criminal justice and mass culture (pp. 36–42). Albany, NY: Harrow and Heston.

Barkan, S. E. (2009). The value of quantitative analysis for a critical understanding of crime and society. Critical Criminology, 17 , 247–259.

Belknap, J. (2007). The invisible woman: Gender, crime, and justice. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Bellair, P. E., & McNulty, T. L. (2009). Gang membership, drug selling, and violence in neighborhood context. Justice Quarterly, 26 , 644–669.

Bohm, R. M., & Vogel, B. (2011). A Primer on crime and delinquency theory (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Bonger, W. (1916). Criminality and economic conditions (H. P. Horton, Trans.). Boston, MA: Little, Brown.

Cao, L., Adams, A., & Jensen, V. J. (1997). A test of the black subculture of violence thesis: A research note. Criminology, 35, 367–379.

Chambliss, W. J. (1973). The saints and the roughnecks. Society, 11, 24–31.

Chesney-Lind, M., & Pasko, L. (2004). The female offender: Girls, women, and crime . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Clark, W. V. T. (1940). The ox-bow incident . New York, NY: Random House.

Cloward, R. A., & Ohlin, L. E. (1960). Delinquency and opportunity: A theory of delinquent gangs . New York, NY: Free Press.

Cohen, A. K. (1955). Delinquent boys: The culture of the gang . New York, NY: Free Press.

Daly, K., & Chesney-Lind, M. (1988). Feminism and criminology. Justice Quarterly, 5, 497–538.

Gans, H. J. (1996). The war against the poor: The underclass and antipoverty policy . New York, NY: Basic Books.

Griffin, S. (1971, September). Rape: The all-American crime. Ramparts, 10 , 26–35.

Hirschi, T. (1969). Causes of delinquency . Berkeley: University of California Press.

Mears, D. P., Wang, X., Hay, C., & Bales, W. D. (2008). Social ecology and recidivism: Implications for prisoner reentry. Criminology, 46, 301–340.

Merton, R. K. (1938). Social structure and anomie. American Sociological Review, 3, 672–682.

Messner, S. F., & Rosenfeld, R. (2007). Crime and the American dream . Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Miller, W. B. (1958). Lower class culture as a generating milieu of gang delinquency. Journal of Social Issues, 14 , 5–19.

Pager, D. (2009). Marked: Race, crime, and finding work in an era of mass incarceration . Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Reiman, J., & Leighton, P. (2010). The rich get richer and the poor get prison: Ideology, class, and criminal justice (9th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Renzetti, C. (2011). Feminist criminology . Manuscript submitted for publication.

Sampson, R. J. (2006). How does community context matter? Social mechanisms and the explanation of crime rates. In P.-O. H. Wikström & R. J. Sampson (Eds.), The explanation of crime: Context, mechanisms, and development (pp. 31–60). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

Sutherland, E. H. (1947). Principles of criminology . Philadelphia, PA: J. P. Lippincott.

Welsh, B. C., & Farrington, D. P. (Eds.). (2007). Preventing crime: What works for children, offenders, victims and places . New York, NY: Springer.

Wolfgang, M. E., & Ferracuti, F. (1967). The subculture of violence . London, England: Social Science Paperbacks.

Sociology Copyright © 2016 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Home — Essay Samples — Sociology — Deviance — Deviance and deviant behaviour in society

Deviance and Deviant Behaviour in Society

• Categories: Deviance Human Behavior Society

About this sample

Words: 552 |

Published: Dec 12, 2018

Words: 552 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

Works Cited

• Becker, H. S. (1963). Outsiders: Studies in the Sociology of Deviance. Free Press.
• Clinard, M. B., & Meier, R. F. (2011). Sociology of Deviant Behavior. Wadsworth.
• Downes, D., & Rock, P. (2016). Understanding Deviance: A Guide to the Sociology of Crime and Rule-Breaking. Oxford University Press.
• Goode, E., & Ben-Yehuda, N. (2009). Moral Panics: The Social Construction of Deviance. Wiley-Blackwell.
• Hagan, F. E. (2017). Introduction to Criminology: Theories, Methods, and Criminal Behavior. SAGE Publications.
• Merton, R. K. (1968). Social Theory and Social Structure. Free Press.
• Schur, E. M. (1971). Labeling Deviant Behavior : Its Societal and Individual Consequences. Harper & Row.
• Taylor, I., Walton, P., & Young, J. (2017). The New Criminology: For a Social Theory of Deviance. Routledge.
• Vold, G. B., Bernard, T. J., & Snipes, J. B. (2016). Theoretical Criminology. Oxford University Press.
• Walters, G. D. (2015). Deviance and Social Control: A Sociological Perspective. Routledge.

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Crime and Deviance Essay

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Introduction

Sociological perspective.

Deviance is an act perceived to be against one cultural belief and the act cannot be tolerated. Deviance acts are different from one community to another and also can vary depending on generational time.

For example, the homosexuality is allowed in American society, but in Africa the act is seen as satanic and can make the victims to be stoned to death. In some decades ago, divorce was seen to be against the rule of the church society, but with modernization, divorced has grown to be accepted as part of marriage life (Lukes 28).

Crime is an act that is against the norm of a society and the registered law of the entire country. If a person breaks a certain section of a country law, there is a correction sanction to that person. A person is usually taken to the court of law where the offence is listened to, by the judge and the person is either proven guilty or innocent.

A criminal can be put in jail for some time or for life, sentenced to death and even pay some money as a penalty (Lukes 28). A country law which is constitution is mostly formed by the parliament of that country.

Introduction . Sociologists have tried to understand crime and deviance in different ways. Most of the ancient sociologists have come up with different sociological perspectives that try to explain crime and deviance.

Emile Durkheim came up with rule of sociological methods that explained crime as part of society norms. Durkheim believed crime to be higher in modernized and industrialized society as compared to less modernized. In industrialized society, division of labor is the norm of life and each person is exposed to different work experiences (Moyer 54).

Division of labor exists in two ways, one is mechanical solidarity whereby the members of the society are similar and the organic solidarity in which society members creates a relationship among themselves through the division of labor. As in the division of labor, society people have different influences and situational experiences that distinguish one person from the other.

The personal differences make some people to be criminals and other to be good. No society lacks deviance or crime however perfect it could be. Every community has norms and traditions that put the members together and if the norms are broken, there is state of anomie and lawlessness.

Advantages of the perspective . Durkheim argued that besides division of labor helping to make production rise and improve the human capital it also possessed a moral character that created a sense of solidarity in humans. He explained with a married couple arguing that sexual desire would only exist after the material life has disappeared if the division of labor was to be reduced between the marriage partners.

Durkheim suggested that division of labor has more of social and moral order therefore married couple is bided by their common things they do. Durkheim saw that crime was beneficial to the society in some instances. Crime builds future morality by showing what law is to be followed.

For example a committed crime will lead to establishment of an order that will be followed by the people to avoid repetition of the same crime. Crime corrections or rewards were put not to punish a criminal and make the person stop the crime, but the punishment was to strengthen the entire law to help control crime. Durkheim saw that punishment and crime go together and cannot be separated (Marsh 98).

Drawbacks of the perspective . Crime is has negative impacts and dangerous to the people and the community at large if is at high levels. If crime is not controlled and increases more and more each day, the society can be unable to prevent the criminals. On the other hand, if the crime rate is too low, the society maybe abnormal.

According to Durkheim the breaking of the society way of living or the norms is what brings in the social change which is very important in community development. Otherwise the social change should be controlled or moderate to avoid social problem. In any case the deviance which motivate the social change should be regulated so that to prevent the loss of criminal identity which it is important in the future (Marsh 95).

Durkheim failed to explain how for example division of labor would be used to control crime in the society. Also not all crimes would be beneficial to the society because if a crime resulted to killing or a big damage then the society will drag behind on development.

Lukes, Steven. The rules of the sociological method . New York: Free press, 2007.

Marsh, Ian., Melville, Gaynor. Theories of crime . Canada: Routledge, 2006

Moyer, Imogene. Criminological theories: traditional and non traditional voices . London: sage publishers, 2001.

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Sociology Essay Topics for Students

This article is here to help with that by giving you a range of sociology essay topics that can get you started. Whether you’re interested in exploring social inequality, human behavior, or the impact of culture, there’s something here that will make writing process a little easier.

And if you’re still having trouble after checking out these topics, DoMyEssay is ready to help with any type of essay writing you need, so you don’t have to stress about it.

Writing a sociology essay can feel overwhelming, especially when you're trying to dig into complex social issues like poverty, gender, or social movements (you know, things that actually shape our everyday lives). A good sociology essay takes these big topics and breaks them down, helping to make sense of the world around us. 

How to Choose a Sociology Essay Topic?

Choosing a sociology essay topic doesn’t have to be complicated. The trick is to pick something that genuinely interests you and is manageable within the scope of your assignment. Here’s a simple guide to help you find the right sociology essay ideas.

• Go with What Interests You : Think about what catches your attention when it comes to society. Maybe you’re curious about how social media shapes the way we interact, or perhaps issues like poverty and inequality stand out to you. Choosing a sociology topic you’re actually interested in makes writing the essay a lot more enjoyable.
• Narrow It Down : Once you have a general area, try to focus on something more specific. For example, if gender issues are your thing, instead of covering gender inequality as a whole, you could look into the sociology topic of the gender pay gap in a particular industry or how media portrays gender roles. 
• Keep It Manageable : Make sure your sociology topic isn’t too broad or too narrow. A topic like “social inequality” could leave you with too much ground to cover. On the flip side, something too narrow, like “the effects of social media on one small town,” might not give you enough to work with. Aim for something in between, like “the impact of social media on teenage self-esteem,” which is specific but still offers plenty to explore. 
• Check Out Some Ideas : If you’re stuck, looking through some sociology essay ideas can help. You might find a topic that sparks your interest, like “how urbanization affects community ties” or “the role of education in social mobility.” 
• Make It Relevant : Lastly, pick a sociology topic that’s relevant to what’s happening today. Writing about something current, like the social impact of remote work, makes your essay more engaging and relatable.

Sociology Essay Topics about Poverty

• What challenges do people in rural areas face when trying to get healthcare while living in poverty?
• Essay on how living in a high-poverty neighborhood affects crime rates in cities.
• What role do government programs play in helping single mothers who are struggling with poverty?
• How does growing up in a poor family impact a child’s chances of doing well in school?
• Why do people in low-income communities often have trouble finding healthy food?
• What’s the connection between being homeless and living in poverty in big cities?
• How do students in inner-city schools get affected by a lack of resources due to poverty?
• How does the stigma of being poor affect people’s lives and opportunities?
• How do nonprofits help reduce poverty in developing countries?
• Relationship between poverty and substance abuse in struggling communities.
• How does income inequality affect healthcare and health outcomes?
• How do social support networks help people living in poverty in modern society?
• Essay on how cultural capital impacts a person’s chances of moving out of poverty
• Can universal basic income help reduce income inequality and poverty?
• How does income inequality influence child development from a sociological view?

Sociology Essay Topics about Human Behavior

• How do social media platforms influence human social behavior in contemporary society?
• Essay on what drives people to conform to group behavior, even when they disagree.
• How do cultural norms influence our behavior in different social settings?
• Why do people tend to follow the crowd in public situations?
• How does peer pressure impact decision-making among teenagers?
• What role does upbringing play in shaping a person’s behavior later in life?
• How do societal expectations affect the way we express emotions?
• What factors lead to aggressive behavior in stressful situations?
• How does living in a crowded city influence human behavior and mental health?
• What motivates acts of kindness in strangers?
• How do people’s behaviors change when they are in a position of authority?
• How does cultural diversity impact interpersonal relationships in modern society?
• How does mass media contribute to shaping public opinion and social behavior?
• Essay on how cultural values guide social behavior within different societies
• How do interpersonal relationships among college students reflect broader social behavior?

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Sociology Essay Topics about Gender Issues

• How do gender roles in childhood influence career choices later in life?
• Essay on challenges women face in male-dominated industries.
• How is masculinity portrayed in the media, and what impact does this have?
• What are the effects of the gender pay gap on family dynamics?
• How do gender stereotypes affect children’s self-esteem in school?
• What role does gender play in political representation around the world?
• How are non-binary and transgender individuals navigating traditional gender norms?
• What is the impact of feminism on modern gender roles?
• How do cultural differences shape views on gender equality?
• Challenges men face in expressing emotions due to societal expectations.
• How does gender affect access to healthcare services?
• How do contemporary movements challenge traditional gender norms from a sociological perspective?
• In what ways do traditional gender roles affect interpersonal relationships?
• How do cultural practices influence gender disparities in educational institutions?
• Essay on how media portrayal reinforces gender disparities in modern society

Sociology Topics about Social Movements

• How did the civil rights movement in the United States influence racial equality today?
• Essay on the key factors that lead to the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement.
• How has social media transformed the way social movements gain momentum?
• Essay on the role women play in global environmental movements.
• How did the #MeToo movement change societal views on sexual harassment?
• What strategies have been most effective in the LGBTQ+ rights movement?
• How does the anti-globalization movement challenge corporate power?
• Essay on the long-term impacts of the labor movement on workers' rights.
• How did the Occupy Wall Street movement influence economic policy debates?
• What role do youth play in climate change activism?
• How have indigenous movements shaped policy changes regarding land rights?
• Factors that contribute to the success or failure of social movements.
• How does community dynamics influence the success of social movements?
• What role do social institutions play in supporting or opposing social movements?
• How do social movements address issues of environmental justice in different communities?

Sociology Essay Topics about Law and Order

• How does racial profiling by law enforcement impact community trust in urban areas?
• What are the social consequences of mandatory minimum sentencing laws?
• How does the criminal justice system handle cases involving mental illness?
• What role do private prisons play in the mass incarceration crisis in the United States?
• How effective are restorative justice programs in reducing recidivism rates?
• How does the “War on Drugs” policy influence incarceration rates among minority populations?
• What are the social implications of police militarization in American cities?
• How do socioeconomic factors influence the likelihood of receiving the death penalty?
• What impact does the school-to-prison pipeline have on marginalized youth?
• How does public perception of law enforcement vary between different social classes?
• What role do community policing strategies play in reducing crime in low-income neighborhoods?
• How does immigration law enforcement affect family structures in immigrant communities?
• What are the social effects of plea bargaining in the criminal justice system?
• How do anti-terrorism laws impact civil liberties in democratic societies?
• Long-term societal effects of criminal records on employment opportunities.

Sociology Essay Questions about Peace and War

• How do communities rebuild relationships between former enemies after a civil war?
• What specific challenges do women face when they participate in peace negotiations?
• How does hosting a large number of refugees affect a small town's economy and social structure?
• What social programs help former child soldiers adjust to life after conflict, and how effective are they?
• How do movies and TV shows about war influence public attitudes toward real-life military actions?
• What happens to local traditions and cultures when international peacekeepers are stationed in a region?
• How do veterans from different wars and conflicts experience returning to civilian life in their home countries?
• How does living under the threat of drone strikes change daily life for civilians in conflict zones?
• In what ways do modern military leaders use the concept of a “just war” to justify their strategies?
• What role do schools and education systems play in healing divisions in post-conflict societies?
• How do governments use media to create support for wars, and how does this affect national identity?
• How do small countries without nuclear weapons respond to the nuclear policies of larger powers?
• What challenges do societies face in remembering and commemorating wars while trying to build peace?
• How do grassroots peace movements successfully pressure governments to end military conflicts?
• Day-to-day effects of economic sanctions on families living in countries under these sanctions.

Sociology Essay Topics about Religion

• How do Christian teachings influence views on climate change among different denominations?
• What challenges do Muslim women face when balancing religious practices with Western workplace norms?
• How does the Hindu caste system affect social mobility in modern India?
• What role does religion play in the mental health of LGBTQ+ individuals within conservative communities?
• How do Jewish traditions around Sabbath observance affect work-life balance for families?
• How do interfaith couples navigate raising children with multiple religious backgrounds?
• What impact does Buddhism have on attitudes toward environmental conservation in Southeast Asia?
• How do religious rituals help immigrants maintain their cultural identity in a new country?
• What role does the Catholic Church play in shaping attitudes toward social justice in Latin America?
• How have Evangelical Christian movements influenced political elections in the United States?
• How does the practice of Ramadan shape social interactions in Muslim-majority countries?
• For this sociology topic, research the social implications of the rise of “nones” (people with no religious affiliation) in Western societies.
• How do religious organizations support refugees and migrants in times of crisis?
• How does the popularity of yoga in the West intersect with its religious roots in Hinduism?
• How do religious beliefs influence end-of-life decisions and practices in different cultures?

Sociology Topics about Education

• How does the pressure to get good grades affect high school students' mental health?
• How do kids from different economic backgrounds experience school differently?
• What happens to student opportunities when schools in cities get more funding than those in rural areas?
• How does having students from various cultures in a classroom change the way teachers teach?
• How do standardized tests shape what school is like for students from different backgrounds?
• How are schools handling the challenges and benefits of using more technology in the classroom?
• What changes when schools start including LGBTQ+ topics in their lessons?
• How does attending preschool or early childhood programs set kids up for success later in school?
• What role do after-school activities play in helping students make friends and do better in class?
• How do school choice options, like charter schools, change the way public schools operate?
• How do teachers' expectations affect how well students do, especially in schools that lack resources?
• What difference does it make when parents are really involved in their kids' education?
• How do the ways colleges pick students either level the playing field or keep social inequalities going?
• How is homeschooling changing the way we think about traditional schooling and socializing with peers?
• For this sociology topic, write about the results that come from teaching kids in more than one language, both academically and culturally.

Sociology Essay Topics about Unemployment

• What changes occur in mental health when someone is unemployed for a long time?
• How do high unemployment rates shape the social fabric of small towns?
• What role do unemployment benefits play in people's decisions about when to return to work?
• What obstacles do recent college graduates encounter when trying to find a job in a competitive market?
• How do family dynamics shift when a primary earner loses their job?
• How does having a lower education level relate to the chances of being unemployed?
• How are communities adjusting to job losses caused by automation and new technology?
• What are the different challenges faced by people in urban versus rural areas when looking for work?
• How does being unemployed affect someone's ability to move up the social ladder?
• What connection exists between unemployment and rising crime rates in struggling neighborhoods?
• How do different countries tackle unemployment, and what can we learn from their approaches?
• What specific hurdles do older workers face when trying to get back into the job market?
• How does being unemployed as a young person shape future career paths and opportunities?
• For this sociology topic, dive into the unique challenges minority communities face when dealing with unemployment.
• How does losing a job change the way people see themselves and their roles in society?

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Sociology Essay Topics about Family and Relationships

• How do parenting styles vary across different cultures, and what are the outcomes for children?
• What unique challenges do blended families face when trying to build strong bonds?
• How has the increase in single-parent households changed family life in recent years?
• What role does extended family play in raising children in different cultural settings?
• How do couples manage relationship difficulties when one partner has a demanding job?
• What are the social experiences of people who choose to remain child-free in a family-focused society?
• How do divorce rates in various countries reflect cultural attitudes toward marriage and commitment?
• How has technology, like texting and social media, reshaped communication within families?
• What are the different experiences of family life for same-sex couples compared to heterosexual couples?
• How do long-distance relationships challenge the way families stay connected?
• How do cultural expectations define the roles of husbands and wives in marriage and parenting?
• What challenges do immigrant families encounter when trying to keep their cultural identity while adapting to a new country?
• How does a family's economic situation shape its structure and daily life?
• For this sociology topic, explore what role grandparents take on in modern families, especially when it comes to helping with childcare.
• How does growing up in a multi-generational household shape a person’s view of family and relationships?

Sociology Essay Topics about Social Inequality

• How do children in wealthy and low-income neighborhoods experience different levels of access to education?
• Essay on the challenges communities face when housing segregation limits access to resources and opportunities.
• How do income differences shape the healthcare that people receive?
• In what ways does gender play a role in the wage differences seen across various industries?
• How do racial inequalities show up in everyday experiences within the criminal justice system?
• Essay on the obstacles people from minority backgrounds encounter when trying to advance in their careers.
• How does being a first-generation college student change the experience of accessing higher education?
• Essay on the social changes that occur in urban areas where the wealth gap is growing.
• How do people with disabilities navigate workplace challenges related to social inequality?
• Essay on the barriers marginalized communities face when trying to access healthcare.
• How do different countries tackle social inequality through government policies and social programs?
• How does social class shape the way people deal with and perceive climate change?
• Essay on the day-to-day challenges faced by low-income communities living in food deserts.
• How does unequal access to technology create challenges in education, especially for students in low-income areas?
• How does growing up in an unequal society shape a person’s mental health and chances for upward mobility?

Sociology Essay Questions about Culture

• How do cultural traditions shape the way families celebrate major life events?
• In what ways do immigrant communities maintain their cultural identity in a new country?
• How does popular culture influence the values and beliefs of younger generations?
• Essay on the role of the language in preserving cultural heritage.
• How do cultural differences impact communication styles in multicultural workplaces?
• Essay on the challenges of cultural assimilation for second-generation immigrants.
• How does globalization affect the preservation of local cultures?
• How do cultural norms around gender roles differ across societies, and how are they changing?
• Essay on the impact of the media on shaping cultural stereotypes.
• How do festivals and rituals contribute to a sense of community within a culture?
• In what ways do food traditions reflect cultural identity and history?
• How do cultural attitudes towards mental health differ around the world?
• How do art and music serve as expressions of cultural identity?
• Essay on the challenges indigenous cultures face in preserving their traditions in the modern world.
• How does consumer culture shape the way people express their social status and identity?

Sociology Essay Topics about Feminism

• How has the #MeToo movement changed the conversation around sexual harassment in workplaces?
• Essay on the challenges women encounter in male-dominated industries and how they are navigating these environments.
• How do the goals and strategies of different waves of feminism compare?
• How does intersectionality shape the focus and approach of modern feminist movements?
• In what ways has feminism influenced changes in reproductive rights legislation?
• How do media portrayals of women shape societal views on gender expectations?
• Essay on the obstacles feminist movements face in conservative societies.
• How does feminism tackle issues related to body image and beauty standards?
• How are men contributing to feminist causes, and how is this evolving?
• How do feminist theories explain the persistence of the gender pay gap across various fields?
• How has social media transformed the spread and impact of feminist ideas?
• Essay on specific challenges women of color face within the broader feminist movement.
• How has feminism led to changes in family dynamics and the sharing of parenting responsibilities?
• How do feminist movements differ globally, and how do they address local issues?
• How does feminism intersect with LGBTQ+ rights in the broader struggle for equality?

Sociology today is focused on understanding the complexities of social issues like inequality, gender roles, and the impact of technology on our lives. These trends highlight the importance of exploring how society shapes our everyday experiences. 

If you’re working on a sociology essay and finding it tough to get started or need some extra help, DoMyEssay is here to assist with any type of essay you need. We make the process easier, so you can focus on what matters.

Cushion, S., & Glicken, M. (2010). Social Work in the 21st Century: An Introduction to Social Welfare, Social Issues, and the Profession (Illustrated ed.). SAGE Publications.

Deviance, Crime, and Social Control

Introduction.

The social presentation of a defined society views the concept of order as adhering to the set rules. The terming of the crime interprets it as a shift of the social order that can lead to lawlessness. Social norm identifies an organized presentation that defines how people are supposed to conduct themselves, which upon violation is considered a violation subject to report to the authorities. Deviance crime incorporates major identifications encompassing a violation with clarified social norms and increased conformity. Defining its generative ideas takes a look at the ideas of the connection created in the social concept to a collaborative reaction against the crime. Social control interprets the structured approach as an attempt to control crime. Social control is often viewed as a collective responsibility facilitated by representatives within the community who are defined with the recognition of the social norms and possible reaction to an act of defiance.

The theoretical interpretation views the general functionality of society in social organization, control, and strain. This can be evaluated in the ability of the specific facts of the society that initiate the needed campaign against the deviants. Since the crimes are performed within the society’s scope, the community members question their relevance in breaching the deviance concept (Inderbitzin et al. 12). Interpretation of the theoretical perspective views social control as an administrative regime that designated the roles of classification of behaviors within the demographical stipulations and mandated with disciplining the deviants within the identifications of the law. Since ancient civilizations, society has designated the role of making decisions regarding deviants on their guilt and deciding on the level of punishment to be accorded (Anleu 1). This risk management policy makes the deviants refrain from criminal behavior based on the severity of the punishment. This relinquished crime from the generated social concept of collective responsibility. Although most of the roles have been designated to a structured system, the courts the society have been allowed some control over the management of deviant policies and how to handle the assessment and discipline. Some of the cases are minor and are complex to the justice system. This essay demonstrates the relationship between deviance, crime, and the accorded social control. A research topic has been selected and settled on, which will act as a guide in the arguments that have been considered following the ideas of the topic.

Research Topic

The initial concept of Marijuana use in the United States has always been considered a crime until 2012 when some states legalized its use. There were profound issues following the actions as it was considered to possess medical value. Some states allowed the use of marijuana on the concept of medical purposes only. The division of the idea of administration was that some states decriminalize the general use. Recreational use had not been termed, and Washington initiated the process, allowing members of its state the use of marijuana without being considered as violating any law against drugs and substance use.

The legalization has remained controversial as a larger portion of the population believes the action was hasty and works to appeal the decision. Organizations such as Citizens Against Legalization of Marijuana (CALM) believe the original consideration of the drug as illegal should remain, considering its impact on generations that use it. This builds the concept of regard for the use of the drug as criminal and deviant. The actions against the legalization are the social control concepts that work against the established system to work and examine the facets of the society and prevent the use. The significance of the research topic will be demonstrated in the structuring of the thesis as it tries to identify facets within the community scope and the controversy that has been generated on the use of marijuana. The purpose will be achieved by contemplating the political and social divide that has resulted from the legalization of marijuana.

Thesis Organization

It is easy to classify extreme crimes, such as murder, based on the concept of social norms. The use of marijuana is, however, referenced as controversial due to the divided scope of the government systems and social control. This can be further interpreted based on the organization of the societies. Parents are the major structure used to identify social control due to their moral background and the need to protect their children. Social control may seek intervention from the local governments to limit the use of marijuana in the community concept. They are limited to the identification that the federal consideration of the drug as legal and may not limit its use. Therefore, the thesis statement encompasses the society identifications and cultures that limit social control’s efficiency and defined scope.

The concept of the legalization of marijuana can be considered to redefine the social construct and the identification of the people of the United States. Before the legalization, the drug was considered harmful to the health of the user. Since then, there have been reports of chronic usage since the passing of the marijuana medical law. The law was then restructured to include recreational usage (Moss et al. 680). The definition and argumentation of the ideas of deviance, crime, and social control follow the generated idea of the resulting risk preference and deviant behavior. The legalization for this case is considered authentic, but the after-effects consider the indulgence of risky and deviant behaviors as a result. Can the use then be classified as deviant? What will be the social control’s scope in disciplining those caught violating the social norm following the use? These questions will guide the argument in handling the controversy as the individual user can make their case for being under the influence. The state recognizes such statements and can be allowed to conceptualize a case where a defendant can argue their level of intoxication. In this case, the point is assessing the cultural structuring of the system, such as the government undermining the roles of social control in handling deviants.

The social control concept has stayed the same, only the need and utilization of the drugs. In the cases of over-intoxication, a user will perform deviant activities and commit crimes in the cases of extremity. The presentation of the case is the settlement of the influence of a substance considered legal. The system officiates the use as the culture has been determined to be focused on societal well-being (Kaplan et al. 44). Under the identification, social control should structure serious measures and discipline those who commit crimes and result of deviant behavior as a result of the intoxication. The social integration control should revise their modifications to identify loss of control over the administration of the social norms. The mentioned changing structure of society references relativity to the idea that the use of such drugs is against social normality. The accorded individuality has been determined to be the majority of factors limiting social control’s role. The punishment and discipline process should be instilled the same way and argued that the actions are independent of the utilization and use of the drug.

Evidence Review

The review of the evidence is based on the scope of recognizing the damage done to the social presentation. Deviant behaviors and crime cannot be evaluated and disciplined effectively as such legalization is associated with a defined scope that erodes the basis of the argument. The specific example is considered a case where teenagers used the drug and were involved in multiple counts of crime and deviant behaviors in Copenhagen in 2017. During the prosecution, the defendant argued that the crimes were a result of the influence of the drug. The argument was later developed into stipulations based on Becker’s model to demonstrate individualized use (Jarvinen and Ravn 137). the settlement of the ideas from the evidence is the subcultural association between the users and the social presentation later assigned to the rehabilitation. The assessment termed deviance as a result of social interaction and socialization.

In conclusion, the essay has defined the undertakings under the argument of the generated controversy of the social control of crimes and deviant behavior due to the legalization of marijuana. The arguments are generated following the normal social presentation and the restructuring needed to refine the issues to conform to the refusal of the state to control the use of drugs. The need for control has been demonstrated due to the resulting actions of the users and how they make social control invalid. Society is changing rapidly; hence, social control should be updated to consider individual crimes and behavior as the user’s actions and not related to intoxication.

Works Cited

Anleu, S. R.  Deviance, crime, and social control . Ed. Routledge. 4th. Chicago: Tyler Francis Group, 2019. <www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003116974-19/deviance-crime-social-control-sharyn-roach-anleu>.

Inderbitzin, M., Bates, K. and Gainey, R.  Deviance and Social Control . California: Sage, 2020. Book. <us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/deviance-and-social-control/book259228>.

Jarvinen, M. and Ravn, S. “Cannabis careers revisited: Applying Howard S. Becker’s theory to present-day cannabis use.”  Social Science and Medicine  100 2014: 133–140. Article.

Kaplan, H., Martin, S., Johnson, R. J., and Robbins, C. A. “Escalation of Marijuana Use: Application of A General Theory of Deviant Behaviour.”  Journal of Health and Social Behaviour  27.1 1986: 44–61. Article.

Moss, S. L., Santaella-Tenorio, J., Mauro, P. M., Keyes, K. M., and Martins, S. S. “Changes over time in marijuana use, deviant behavior and preference for risky behavior among U. S. adolescents from 2002-2014: Testing the moderating effect of gender and age.”  Addiction  114.4 2019: 674–686. Article.

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