SOCY 275 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Parachuting

• School: Queen's University
• Department: Social Sci, Edu and Soc Work - Sociology
• Course: SOCY 275
• Professor: Stephen Baron

Document Summary

Deviance is usually behavior that is socially disapproved, subject to sanction etc. There are many definitions however, there are no right or wrong definitions. Approaches of deviance: statistical approach: look at behavior and see how many people do it (majority or minority). If only a minority do it then it is probably wrong or deviant. i. e. only a few people commit murder). Issues: some behaviors that only a minority do is not considered deviant. i. e. sky diving. Moreover, some behavior that the majority does is considered deviant. i. e. speeding. Statistical approach is missing an evaluation of behavior (judgement of behavior): absolutist approach: social scientists decide what"s deviant and what is not. Functionalist approach: society is like a body, sometimes parts of the body stop working. In society, the parts that stop working are the deviant ones. It does not matter if every-day individuals think it is deviant, it is the social scientists who decide.