SOCY 122 Lecture Notes - Lecture 27: Anomie, Social Constructionism, Ritualism In The Church Of England
15 Jun 2018
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WEEK 8
March 6, 2017
What is deviant behaviour?
- Deviance is a social designation
- A social process in which particular practices are designated as deviant
- Acts designated as deviant must be understood in their context
- An act in and of itself is not deviant – it is how the society interprets the act
- Deviant actions elicit moral condemnation within particular contexts during specific
historical periods
- Designating acts as deviant is a social process whereby groups express disapproval of
certain actions
- “ordinary deviance” vs. “extreme deviance”
o Ordinary deviance: what we all engage in everyday
▪ E.g. driving over the speed limit by bit
o Extreme deviance:
▪ Driving over t speed limit by a lot
- Objective element to deviant behaviour
o Actual actions and thoughts of individuals
▪ E.g. Flanagan and child pornography or Susan Rodriguez and assisted
suicide
o No action or thought is in and of itself deviant – they become defined as deviant
▪ The action by itself does not create deviance
▪ The action with an assessment is what makes it deviant
o Creates basis for groups to respond – basis for “subjective element”
- Subjective element of deviant behaviour:
o Response by others to people’s actions and thoughts
o Influential individuals or groups define actions as deviant
- What is seen as deviant is fluid overtime – it can change
Susan Rodriguez
- Diagnosed with ALS
- Wanted to be killed by a doctor
- She fought against the supreme court—they made it illegal
Structural or systems explanations:
- Durkheim’s study of suicide as a structural explanation of deviant behaviour
o Society precedes our existence – it is a facticity that confronts us
o Social norms internalized via socialization – what is normal and abnormal is
socially constructed and then learned
o Extent of socialization is critical
o Durkheim’s study of suicide is a macro explanation of deviant behaviour
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Document Summary
A social process in which particular practices are designated as deviant. Acts designated as deviant must be understood in their context. An act in and of itself is not deviant it is how the society interprets the act. Deviant actions elicit moral condemnation within particular contexts during specific historical periods. Designating acts as deviant is a social process whereby groups express disapproval of certain actions. Ordinary deviance vs. extreme deviance : ordinary deviance: what we all engage in everyday, e. g. driving over the speed limit by bit, extreme deviance, driving over t speed limit by a lot. Objective element to deviant behaviour: actual actions and thoughts of individuals, e. g. Subjective element of deviant behaviour: response by others to people"s actions and thoughts, influential individuals or groups define actions as deviant. What is seen as deviant is fluid overtime it can change. Wanted to be killed by a doctor. She fought against the supreme court they made it illegal.
