Certain social and physical characteristics of urban neighborhoods contribute to high crime rates. Several explanations may be grouped under the functionalist perspective in sociology, as they all share this perspectives central view on the importance of various aspects of society for social stability and other social needs. Deviance results from being labeled a deviant; nonlegal factors such as appearance, race, and social class affect how often labeling occurs. This article discusses what causes deviant behavior and how it differs from socially acceptable behavior. 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. Informal types of deviance are things that are considered socially unacceptable and inappropriate. In a capitalist society, Marx and Engels wrote, revolution is inevitable because of structural contradictions arising from the very nature of capitalism. In G. Barak (Ed. If instead we blame the system, we would focus our attention on the various social conditions (decrepit schools, cultural standards of female beauty, and the like) that account for these difficulties. 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. New York, NY: Springer. Gans, H. J. Chambliss, W. J. Genetics also has an effect on temperament and overall personality. As such, its causes lie not in the unemployed individuals but rather in our societys economic and social systems. (1996). A second function of deviance is that it strengthens social bonds among the people reacting to the deviant. 1.2 Sociological Perspectives on Social Problems, 1.3 Continuity and Change in Social Problems, 2.1 The Measurement and Extent of Poverty, 2.2 Who the Poor Are: Social Patterns of Poverty, 3.1 Racial and Ethnic Inequality: A Historical Prelude, 3.5 Dimensions of Racial and Ethnic Inequality, 3.6 Explaining Racial and Ethnic Inequality, 3.7 Reducing Racial and Ethnic Inequality, 4.4 Violence against Women: Rape and Sexual Assault, 5.2 Public Attitudes about Sexual Orientation, 5.3 Inequality Based on Sexual Orientation, 5.4 Improving the Lives of the LGBT Community, 6.3 Life Expectancy and the Graying of Society, 6.4 Biological and Psychological Aspects of Aging, 6.6 Reducing Ageism and Helping Older Americans, 7.5 Drug Policy and the War on Illegal Drugs, 7.6 Addressing the Drug Problem and Reducing Drug Use, 10.2 Sociological Perspectives on the Family, 10.3 Changes and Problems in American Families, 11.1 An Overview of Education in the United States, 11.2 Sociological Perspectives on Education, 11.3 Issues and Problems in Elementary and Secondary Education, 11.4 Issues and Problems in Higher Education, 12.2 Sociological Perspectives on Work and the Economy, 13.1 Sociological Perspectives on Health and Health Care, 13.2 Global Aspects of Health and Health Care, 13.3 Problems of Health in the United States, 13.4 Problems of Health Care in the United States, 14.2 Sociological Perspectives on Urbanization, 15.1 Sociological Perspectives on Population and the Environment, 15.4 Addressing Population Problems and Improving the Environment, 16.1 Sociological Perspectives on War and Terrorism, 16.4 Preventing War and Stopping Terrorism. For example, many studies support social control theory by finding that delinquent youths often have worse relationships with their parents than do nondelinquent youths. Social Ecology: Neighborhood and Community Characteristics Differential opportunity theory, developed by Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin (1960), tried to explain why the poor choose one or the other of Mertons adaptations. Research also suggests that certain personality traits may also play a role in deviant behavior. Hence, we use the following definition: A social problem exists when people subjectively perceive and have empirical evidence to show that social conditions combine at a local, societal, or global level to cause personal problems.2 In politically and socially unstable countries, virtually every crime that can be done to a human being is being done more so to women and children. Addictionfrom drinking to gambling to sexcan involve socially acceptable behavior or socially deviant behavior. Karl Marx and his collaborator Friedrich Engels were intense critics of capitalism. (2010). A Primer on crime and delinquency theory (3rd ed.). One problem centers on the chicken-and-egg question of causal order. The term medicalization first appeared in the sociology literature and focused on deviance, but it soon expanded to examine . Symbolic interactionism focuses on individuals, such as the people conversing here. Other factorsincluding sex and socioeconomic statusalso influence the informal and unwritten social rules and expectations that people are expected to conform to. If so, their unemployment would be their own personal trouble. If only a few people were unemployed, Mills wrote, we could reasonably explain their unemployment by saying they were lazy, lacked good work habits, and so forth. At this point in your study of social problems, which one of the three sociological theoretical perspectives sounds most appealing to you? Read our. This is certainly a controversial suggestion, but it is true that many social problems do serve important functions for our society. Pressured into crime: An overview of general strain theory. Finally, many studies support conflict theorys view that the roots of crimes by poor people lie in social inequality and economic deprivation (Barkan, 2009). Formal types of deviant behavior are those that violate codified laws, regulations, and other rules. Lets review these briefly. For example, many people are poor and unemployed, many are in poor health, and many have family problems, drink too much alcohol, or commit crime. Public issues, whose source lies in the social structure and culture of a society, refer to social problems affecting many individuals. 3160). Similarly, poverty is also a major social problem, but one function that poverty serves is that poor people do jobs that otherwise might not get done because other people would not want to do them (Gans, 1972). Disagreement between individuals or groups in a society can also lead to social problems. 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. It is perceived to be bad and it is often looked at as something in disapproval to society. If we follow the pluralist line, the main problem is that although societies contain many different cultures there is usually only one governmental and legal system . Sociological explanations attribute deviance to various aspects of the social environment. Drawing on Blumers work, symbolic interactionists feel that people do not merely learn the roles that society has set out for them; instead they construct these roles as they interact. Travis Hirschi wrote that delinquency results from weak bonds to conventional social institutions such as families and schools. These include at various times specific labels such as schizophrenia, depression, melancholia, bipolar illness, paranoia, hysteria, and more recently diagnoses like obsessive-compulsive disorder, autism, and ADHD. Table 7.2 Mertons Anomie Theory presents the logical adaptations of the poor to the strain they experience. The powerless is seen as the deviant. Door of moral value closes opens the door to delinquency. Social stability is necessary for a strong society, and adequate socialization and social integration are necessary for social stability. Causes of delinquency. In what important way do biological and psychological explanations differ from sociological explanations? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices. Societys social institutions perform important functions to help ensure social stability. 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. Mertons strain theory stimulated other explanations of deviance that built on his concept of strain. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences. His theory emphasized the importance of attachment to ones family in this regard. Deviant Self-Concept Deviant self-concept originates from the theory of symbolic interactionism. Many individuals experience one or more social problems personally. Although some of the greatest figures in historySocrates, Jesus, Joan of Arc, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr. to name just a fewwere considered the worst kind of deviants in their time, we now honor them for their commitment and sacrifice. Deviance is by definition a social problem. When we hear about these individuals, it is easy to think that their problems are theirs alone, and that they and other individuals with the same problems are entirely to blame for their difficulties. By analogy, sudden and rapid changes in society and its social institutions are troublesome according to the functionalist perspective. Alcohol is arguably one of the most harmful drugs in use, but its consumption by adults is accepted and encouraged in every stratum of society, including the highest classes. The invisible woman: Gender, crime, and justice. Franco Folini Homeless woman with dogs CC BY-SA 2.0. If we blame the victim, we would spend our limited dollars to address the personal failings of individuals who suffer from poverty, illiteracy, poor health, eating disorders, and other difficulties. Social mechanisms and the explanation of crime rates. The Routledge Handbook of Deviant Behavior. Dominant groups vary in each nation, but may include groups that share the . mile Durkheim wrote that deviance can lead to positive social change. The positive functions of poverty. The high US unemployment rate stemming from the severe economic downturn that began in 2008 provides a telling example of the point Mills was making. It would explore human trafficking through a lens that looks at groups that possess power and influence and use it to oppress and exploit vulnerable people. According to symbolic interactionists, social order is possible because people learn what various symbols (such as shaking hands) mean and apply these meanings to different kinds of situations. But when millions of people are out of work, unemployment is best understood as a public issue because, as Mills (Mills, 1959) put it, the very structure of opportunities has collapsed. Outline and critically analyse Labelling theory and Merton' strain theory. (1997). If so, unemployment is best understood as a public issue rather than a personal trouble. Todays functionalist perspective arises out of Durkheims work and that of other conservative intellectuals of the nineteenth century. In a surprising and still controversial twist, he also argued that deviance serves several important functions for society. Depending on the deviance it can be either negative or positive; it all has . Talking to a mental health professional can help you get the support, resources, and tools that you need to change your behavior. Simply put, the bourgeoisie is interested in maintaining its position at the top of society, while the proletariats interest lies in rising up from the bottom and overthrowing the bourgeoisie to create an egalitarian society. As a result, people often turn to deviant behavior (such as stealing or selling drugs) as a way to attain socially acceptable societal ideals (such as having wealth). We now turn to the major sociological explanations of crime and deviance. One of Robert Mertons adaptations in his strain theory is retreatism, in which poor people abandon societys goal of economic success and reject its means of employment to reach this goal. Barkan, S. E. (1996). As such, they have important implications for how to reduce these behaviors. Exploring the General Deviance Explanation This research is the first step in an investigation to determine whether domestic violence, as it most commonly occurs in community samples, and other forms of deviance are related in a manner consistent with a general deviance explanation of domestic violence. If this cultural standard did not exist, far fewer American women would suffer from eating disorders than do now. In the most recent direction of the study of deviance, _____. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. This gap, which Merton likened to Durkheims anomie because of the resulting lack of clarity over norms, leads to strain or frustration. Elizabeth Hartney, BSc, MSc, MA, PhD is a psychologist, professor, and Director of the Centre for Health Leadership and Research at Royal Roads University, Canada. Socially acceptable behavior, on the other hand, refers to the actions that are generally viewed as being appropriate to engage in when in the presence of other people. In this case, the conflict concerns gender inequality rather than the class inequality emphasized by Marx and Engels. U.S. Library of Congress public domain. Journal of Social Issues, 14, 519. Critical Criminology, 17, 247259. Wolfgang, M. E., & Ferracuti, F. (1967). The social determinants of alcohol abuse include risk factors like mental health disorders, trauma, association with deviant peers, and parents abusing alcohol. This is called the interaction perspective. This chapter uses the common term mental illness, and recognizes that some disorders can be very severe while some are much milder. For example, most Americans with eating disorders are women, not men. 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. Chesney-Lind, M., & Pasko, L. (2004). To help us understand a blaming-the-victim ideology, lets consider why poor children in urban areas often learn very little in their schools. Because symbolic interactionism emphasizes the perception of social problems, it is closely aligned with the social constructionist view discussed earlier. Deviance is seen by lots of people as a bad behaviour because it constitute a social problems. Durkheim, . The social-conflict approach links deviance to social inequality. 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. 22.1 What Have You Learned From This Book? Labeling theory also asks whether some people and behaviors are indeed more likely than others to acquire a deviant label. Pager, D. (2009). The _____ nature of social problems illustrates that social problems vary by time, place, and definition. Labeling theory assumes precisely the opposite: it says that labeling someone deviant increases the chances that the labeled person will continue to commit deviance. Welsh, B. C., & Farrington, D. P. The roots of street crime, from the perspective of conflict theory, thus lie in society at least as much as they lie in the individuals committing such crime. Second, we also learn our perceptions of a social problem from our interaction with other people, whose perceptions and beliefs influence our own perceptions and beliefs. To reduce armed robbery, it would advocate programs that reduce the opportunities for interaction among potential criminal offenders, for example, after-school programs that keep at-risk youths busy in conventional activities so that they have less time to spend with youths who might help them get into trouble. Deviance is the recognized violation of cultural norms (geocites. Improving Neighborhood Conditions Helps Reduce Crime Rates. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. 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. Albany, NY: Harrow and Heston. ), The explanation of crime: Context, mechanisms, and development (pp. Someone who is living in poverty may be living that way in result to social deviance. 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 peoples expense. Deviance allows for group majorities to unite around their worldview, often at the expense of those marked as deviant. Thus, deviance is determined and measured against established standards. As noted previously, many addictive behaviors are considered acceptable by mainstream society and are even encouraged. New York, NY: Random House. 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. Social structure and anomie. Deviance is Defined Within the Social Context: Emile Durkheim made a very strong and controversial claim in The Rules of Sociological Method . 2, pp. (2011). 3.It is expensive (a need to secure the services of policemen, lawyers, psychologist, etc.) Hirschi, T. (1969). Two decades later, that challenge still remains. For instances, being late for class is categorized as a deviant act; the same is true of wearing jeans to a formal wedding. ), Representing O. J.: Murder, criminal justice and mass culture (pp. Principles of criminology. The sociological discipline that deals with crime (behavior that violates laws) is criminology (also known as criminal justice ). Adolescent girls race/ethnic status, identities, and drive for thinness. These characteristics include poverty, dilapidation, population density, and population turnover. Without a strong society and effective socialization, they warned, social order breaks down, and violence and other signs of social disorder result. 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. To begin to answer this question, we need to look to the standard of beauty for women that emphasizes a slender body (Boyd, et. Another social problem is eating disorders. However, some critics say that not all deviance results from the influences of deviant peers. Social Problems and Deviance. Researchers Conrad and Schneider first introduced the term "medicalization" in their studies of deviance during the 1980s. Drug use, prostitution, and other victimless crimes may involve willing participants, but these participants often cause themselves and others much harm. Behavior that is perceived as socially deviant is highly stigmatized, which often causes as many or more problems for the person engaging in the behavior than the addiction itselfif there even is an addiction. 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. State the major arguments and assumptions of the various sociological explanations of deviance. It includes violations of informal social norms, such as etiquette, that are seen as mildly deviant, and violations of formally enacted rules, such as laws, that are severely punished. 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). Gang membership, drug selling, and violence in neighborhood context. While some individuals are undoubtedly unemployed because they are lazy or lack good work habits, a more structural explanation focusing on lack of opportunity is needed to explain why so many people were out of work. In yet another extension of Mertons theory, Robert Agnew (2007) reasoned that adolescents experience various kinds of strain in addition to the economic type addressed by Merton. This process mainly consisted of reading transcripts, generating initial codes, comparing and contrasting themes, and building theoretical models and thereafter developing a mixed methodology by entering qualitative information into a computer at the first opportunity. In our bodies, any sudden, rapid change is a sign of danger to our health. A summary of these explanations appears in Table 7.1 Theory Snapshot: Summary of Sociological Explanations of Deviance and Crime. Symbolic interactionism: Perspective and Method. As the term symbolic interactionism implies, their understanding of this encounter arises from what they do when they interact and from their use and interpretation of the various symbols included in their interaction. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. New York, NY: Vintage Books. In a more recent formulation, two sociologists, Steven F. Messner and Richard Rosenfeld (2007), expanded Mertons 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. Because it does exist, even if every girl and woman with an eating disorder were cured, others would take their places unless we could somehow change this standard. The following are illustrative examples. The social science significance of the O. J. Simpson case. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. (Chapter7,p182) Deviance and inequality has always been an issue in society. 2.It endangers social norms. To reinforce this symbols importance for understanding a bit of interaction, consider a situation where someone refuses to shake hands. 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. Is that because the bad relationships prompt the youths to be delinquent, as Hirschi thought? 2023 Dotdash Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Our eyes help us see, our ears help us hear, our heart circulates our blood, and so forth. If morality fails to direct toward normative way of life the way to delinquent behaviour becomes easy. Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. What Are Behavioral Disorders in Children? Many criminogenic (crime-causing) neighborhood characteristics have been identified, including high rates of poverty, population density, dilapidated housing, residential mobility, and single-parent households. On a societal level, deviant behaviors are often dealt with using deterrence and punishment. Having a drink or two after work is a socially acceptable form of alcohol use; getting drunk and then attempting to drive home is considered deviant behavior. 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. Definition. You start talking with someone who interests you, and in response to this persons question, you say you are between jobs. Justice Quarterly, 26, 644669. To explain armed robbery, symbolic interactionists focus on how armed robbers decide when and where to rob a victim and on how their interactions with other criminals reinforce their own criminal tendencies. Examples of deviant behavior include drug use, theft, murder, excessive alcohol use, and assault. Several chapters in this book emphasize the perspectives of feminist sociologists and other social scientists.