SOC212H1 Lecture Notes - Labeling Theory, Rationality, Individualism
Document Summary
It matters when ideas take place and how it translates today. Deviance found in the eye of the beholder : statistical definition, common conditions determine what is normal or deviant, e. g. Most teens drink and commit crime, so non-drinking, non-criminal teens are deviant. Statistical minority represents deviance: absolutist definition, deviance results from a value judgment based on absolute standards, absolute moral order - normal is good, and there is something obviously bad in each deviant act. Religions proscriptions against homosexuality: relativist definition, deviance is a social product, whether people react to and label as deviant becomes deviant, e. g. Madd drunk driving: normative definition, deviant label depends on what group thinks should or shouldn"t occur, can change from situation to situation, and over time, values are plural - not absolute. Parables and myths describe and explain deviance and its consequences: moral lessons, e. g.
