1.Summary
Deviance is an act that transcends cultural norms. Norms are social expectations of human behavior. Deviance is divided into two types. First type is formal deviance to violate the law enacted as a crime. Examples of official deviance include robbery, rape, and homicide assault. The second type is an informal deviance, an unusual behavior that is not enacted by law but is generally not understood. Examples of unofficial deviances are those that make it loud in public place or largely trims.
Deviance depends on cultural differences. Because culture has relativity, the deviance from each society are also relative. For example, it is not in other societies that deviance from this society
The sociological interest in deviance lies in the understanding of deviance, the ways in which deviance is defined, the attempts to explain deviance, and the establishment of numerous theories.
There are many theories about deviance. The first one is social 'Strain typology'. This was proposed by a sociologist Robert Merton, who suggested two motivations for achieving cultural goals and a belief in achieving goals as a criterion about deviance. Accordingly, behavior is divided into five categories: suitability, innovation, consciousness, retreat, and revolt. Merton's typology is widely accepted by the public because people can deviance in pursuit of social values and goals.
Next, there is 'Structural functionalism'. This theory claims that the structure is functionally moving. So deviance also tell us that the structure helps to return to function. Deviance is a function of the structure because it is the standard for action. Here devaluation is considered to be a natural phenomenon that occurs as society changes.
In conflict theory, on the other hand, deviance is caused by power imbalance and inequality. For example, white-collar crime is less prosecuted than crime of the lower class.
Finally, there is stigma theory. People give their thoughts to objects and stigmatize what they are. The stigma follows them, restraining them, and causing them to deviance.
Crime statistics are a good example of how you can analyze crime as a formal departure. Through imprisonment rates and population, you can find information about prisons in each country. It also shows that the degree of crime varies according to race, sex, and environment. These facts can be used as data to find ways to prevent deviance.
There are both formal and informal social controls to prevent deviance. There are official institutions like prisons and informal ones like home education.
Studies on deviance that are currently underway include video games, tattoos, and sexual violence in colleges.
2.What was interested?
The part about the relativity of deviance was interesting. I think the difference of judgments about deviance is the biggest difference of culture. It is likely that the unforgivable in this society is forgiven by other societies, which clearly shows the difference between cultures. It will be similar in the deviance which is strong, but the difference in the small part makes a distance to other society people.
3.Discussion point
In the end, the criteria for deviance is the laws and cultural standards set by each society. This criterion is very fluid and determined by the dominant ideology of society at that time. So, can deviance judged by these standards be said to be abnormal and bad? Rather, I would like to talk about whether or not society defines deviance as bad.
Deviance is an act that transcends cultural norms. Norms are social expectations of human behavior. Deviance is divided into two types. First type is formal deviance to violate the law enacted as a crime. Examples of official deviance include robbery, rape, and homicide assault. The second type is an informal deviance, an unusual behavior that is not enacted by law but is generally not understood. Examples of unofficial deviances are those that make it loud in public place or largely trims.
Deviance depends on cultural differences. Because culture has relativity, the deviance from each society are also relative. For example, it is not in other societies that deviance from this society
The sociological interest in deviance lies in the understanding of deviance, the ways in which deviance is defined, the attempts to explain deviance, and the establishment of numerous theories.
There are many theories about deviance. The first one is social 'Strain typology'. This was proposed by a sociologist Robert Merton, who suggested two motivations for achieving cultural goals and a belief in achieving goals as a criterion about deviance. Accordingly, behavior is divided into five categories: suitability, innovation, consciousness, retreat, and revolt. Merton's typology is widely accepted by the public because people can deviance in pursuit of social values and goals.
Next, there is 'Structural functionalism'. This theory claims that the structure is functionally moving. So deviance also tell us that the structure helps to return to function. Deviance is a function of the structure because it is the standard for action. Here devaluation is considered to be a natural phenomenon that occurs as society changes.
In conflict theory, on the other hand, deviance is caused by power imbalance and inequality. For example, white-collar crime is less prosecuted than crime of the lower class.
Finally, there is stigma theory. People give their thoughts to objects and stigmatize what they are. The stigma follows them, restraining them, and causing them to deviance.
Crime statistics are a good example of how you can analyze crime as a formal departure. Through imprisonment rates and population, you can find information about prisons in each country. It also shows that the degree of crime varies according to race, sex, and environment. These facts can be used as data to find ways to prevent deviance.
There are both formal and informal social controls to prevent deviance. There are official institutions like prisons and informal ones like home education.
Studies on deviance that are currently underway include video games, tattoos, and sexual violence in colleges.
2.What was interested?
The part about the relativity of deviance was interesting. I think the difference of judgments about deviance is the biggest difference of culture. It is likely that the unforgivable in this society is forgiven by other societies, which clearly shows the difference between cultures. It will be similar in the deviance which is strong, but the difference in the small part makes a distance to other society people.
3.Discussion point
In the end, the criteria for deviance is the laws and cultural standards set by each society. This criterion is very fluid and determined by the dominant ideology of society at that time. So, can deviance judged by these standards be said to be abnormal and bad? Rather, I would like to talk about whether or not society defines deviance as bad.
As Michel Foucault saids it, historically, each society has a different structure. If we expand this idea a bit further, we can see that the cultural norms of each society are also different from generation to generation. When we look at the past, we can see that the cultural norms of each society have changed, and thus deviances are set according to the norms of the society. However, I think that it is not right to deny the rule about the departure of present society. If we see relative deviation from current society, we have to admit all deviations and abandon our social cultural norms.
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