SOC 104 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Sociological Perspectives, Impulsivity, Conflict Theories
Document Summary
* all societies have norms that govern acceptable behaviour and mechanisms of social control - systematic practices developed by social groups to encourage conformity and to discourage deviance. Becker: 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 successfully been applied. Deviant behaviour is the behaviour or persons so labelled. Norms of evasion: whenever the mores or laws forbid something that many people strongly wish to do so, norms of evasion are likely to appear. These are the patterns of behaviour people break away the mores without openly challenging them. * deviance is both a threat and protection to social stability. * deviance threatens order and predictability leading to cultural disorganization, confusion in common values of the society, mores lose their compelling power, individuals feel insecure and confused.
