SOCI 2445 Lecture : Sociology of Deviance Ch.1.docx
19 Apr 2013
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Document Summary
There is a great deal of debate among the public about what is considered deviant. (prostitutes, conservatives, liberals, know it all students, divorcees etc. ) much debate among sociologists as well as to what they consider deviant behaviour. It is the label of deviant itself that makes the person a deviant to society, not the act they committed. Makes 3 assumptions about what deviance is: absolutism, objectivism, and determinism. Deviance is absolutely or intrinsically real, it possess some qualities that distinguish it from conventionality. Deviant people possess qualities that makes them different from others. Biological trait that made them deviant, thus they were born criminals and would always be criminals. Emphasis was then placed on psychological traits, thus deviants possessed certain psychological traits that non-deviants did not. Important role of social factors in determining a person s status as a criminal. Deviants as objects that can be studied like natural sciences.
