SOC224 : 2 Chapter 2--Deviance from the Objective Perspective.docx
13 Oct 2014
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A certain level of deviance is functional because. Increases social solidarity: tests society"s boundaries, reduces social tensions, through scapegoating , by letting off steam i. In these ways deviance can be seen as functional it helps to maintain the orderly, balanced, running of society. 1. (but functional for whom?: beyond certain levels, however, it can become dysfunctional, sociologists, durkheim though, could diagnose imbalances in society. Rapid social change leads to a sense of normlessness. Merton"s concept of strain = a gap between the goals and the means: strain happens when goals are either: Too lofty or undefined (e. g. happiness or the american. Achievable, but the person lacks the means. Deviance is rationalized by techniques of neutralization (5types: 1. Denial of responsibility eichmaan"s just following orders defense (cid:0) I never did anything, great or small, without obtaining in advance express instructions from adolf hitler or any of my superiors : 2.
