Core Concepts & Relativity
Any behavior, belief, or condition that violates a society’s formal or informal social norms.
Deviance
Who created the theory that views society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability.
Emile Durkheim
Travis Hirschi argued that people commit deviant acts when these connections to mainstream society are weak or broken.
Social bonds
Howard S. Becker famously stated that deviance is not a quality of the act a person commits, but rather a consequence of the application of these by others.
Labelling
Mother Teresa’s selflessness and dedication to helping others without expecting anything in return is an example of this category of positive deviance.
Altruism
Because what is considered deviant changes depending on historical era or geographical location, sociology describes deviance as this type of concept.
Relative
How many key roles or functions of deviance does Functionalism identify?
Four
This bond refers to a person's emotional ties and sensitivity to the opinions of others, such as parents, teachers, and friends.
Attachment
When an individual accepts a negative label applied to them and begins to act in accordance with it, it can lead to this outcome.
Self-fulfilling prophecy
Stanley Cohen developed his theory of moral panics after studying conflicts between these two youth subcultures in 1960s England.
Mods and Rockers
Historical shifts in laws surrounding this substance—from strictly illegal to widely decriminalized or legalized over time—demonstrate how deviance changes over time.
When society punishes a deviant act, it reminds everyone of what is right and wrong, serving this function of deviance.
Clarifying society's moral boundaries
A student who devotes time to extracurricular activities, sports, or homework has less idle time to engage in deviance, illustrating this bond.
Involvement
In the documentary In My Blood It Runs, 10-year-old Dujuan experiences negative labelling in this social institution, which affects his self-perception and behavior.
Education
Cohen used this term to describe a group or person constructed by the media as a threat to societal values and interest.
Folk Devil
Social reactions used to enforce social norms which can be formal or informal.
Sanctions
When a community unites in outrage against a severe act of deviance, it serves this Durkheimian role by bringing non-deviant members closer together.
Unification of others in society
In The Breakfast Club, Brian risks losing his future academic trajectory and college entry if he strays into deviance, demonstrating this bond based on invested time and effort.
Commitment
Once an individual is publicly labelled as "deviant" or a "criminal," this label often overrides all of their other social identities.
Master status
Steve Jobs introducing the smartphone or Galileo proposing heliocentrism represent these two distinct types of positive deviance.
Charisma and Innovation
Unwritten rules of behavior that guide how members of a group or society should act.
Social Norms
Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat on a bus is an example of deviance fulfilling this function to challenge outdated laws.
Promoting social change
Bender in The Breakfast Club frequently violates rules because he lacks respect for school authority and institutional regulations, showing a collapse in this social bond.
Belief in social values
When an individual is given a deviant label, they may either internalize it—leading to a self-fulfilling prophecy or stigmatisation
Responses to labelling
When media coverage of deviance leads to heightened public anxiety, which leads to harsher policing, which in turn leads to more arrests and even more media coverage, it creates this cyclical phenomenon.
Deviancy Amplification