01:920:101 Lecture 18: Sociology of Conformity, Deviance and Crimes
3 May 2018
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Sociology of Conformity, Deviance, and Crime (4/2) –
Chapter 6
• Basic Concepts
o Norms: rules of conduct that specify appropriate behavior in a
given range of social situations
o Mores: norms that are widely adhered to and have great moral
or social significance
o Folkways: norms that guide casual or everyday interactions
• Norms and Deviance
o Social norms
o Deviations provoke societal response
o Range: from chewing gum in the wrong place to capital murder
& beyond
• What is deviant behavior?
o Deviance: modes of action that do not conform to the norms or
values held by most members of a group or society
o Deviant subculture: subculture whose members hold values that
differ substantially from those of the majority
• Deviance and Crime
o It is important to consider issues of power:
▪ WHOSE rules or norms are being broken?
o Not all deviance is crime and not all crime is deviance
o Deviance is in the eye of the beholder
o Deviance: nudity and bizarre clothing
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2
o Crime: exceeding the speed limit and underage drinking
o Ex: 1-5 miles above the speed limit – almost everyone has done
this – deviant act becomes mainstream, but this is a crime
• What is deviant behavior?
o Sanction (formal or informal): mode of reward or punishment
that reinforces socially expected forms of behavior
o Laws: rules of behavior established by a political authority &
backed by state power
o Crime: any actions that go against laws established by political
authority
• Functions of Deviance and Punishment:
o Clarify cultural rights or wrongs
o Sanction the guilty and warn potential offenders
o Reinforce the unity of the collectivity
• Why do people commit deviant acts?
• Three Views of Deviance:
o Biological: born w/ some set of inclination toward deviant
activity
o Psychological: personality is like that
▪ Locate deviance in the person
o Sociological: how deviant act impacts society
▪ Locate deviance in the act
• Sociological Perspectives:
o Functionalist (Durkheim and Merton)
▪ Durkheim:
• Deviance and crime are normal and necessary
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