SOC 2106 Final: final exam review
20 Aug 2016
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Lecture 1: Defining Deviance and Social Problems
-norms: rules and expectations by which a society guides the behaviours of its members
-may be either prescription (don't) or proscriptive (do)
-there are two specific types of norms identified by William Graham Sumner
-mores (rights and wrongs)
-folkways (right and rude)
-as we internalize norms, we respond critically to our own behaviour through shame or guilt
-happens at a very young age; we see others get punished or rewarded for certain actions
and follow these examples
-social control; breaks down into two major categories: formal and informal
-formal: the state, family, religious institutions
-informal: friends, primary/secondary groups
- ethnocentrism: the practice of judge another culture by the standards of one’s own culture
-sociologists tend to discourage this practice
-instead they advocate cultural relativism which is involves the practice of judging a
culture by its own standards
-what is a social problem?
-aspects of life seen to warrant concern and intervention
-the identification of a social problem is the outcome of social processes including a moral
evaluation of people’s behaviour
-examples: crime, child abuse, poverty, substance abuse, racism, mental health, war,
climate change
Lecture 2: Social Deviance
-why are some acts considered deviant?
-violation of codes (religious, moral, law)
-misleading definitions of deviance
-absolute criteria (murder)
-psychological abnormality
-statistical rarity
-harm
-criminal status
Chapter 1: What Is Deviant Behaviour?
-multiple different definitions for deviance
-sociologists mostly agree on the fact that deviance is real in itself, and has properties that
distinguish it from non deviance
-deviance is defined by stressing the importance of power
-the powerful individuals in society are less likely to be labeled by others as deviant
-they are the ones that label others as deviance
-deviant behaviour should not be regarded as an entity that is completely distinguishable from
conforming behaviour
-should be viewed as an act on a continuum of total conformity on one side and total
rebellion on the other
-the study of deviance is divided into two opposing views; positivist (deviance is positively real)
and constructionist (deviance is a social construction)
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-the combination of both positivist and constructionist perspectives can give us a better picture
together than they can alone
-by emphasizing their own views, they reinforce the others’
-the positivist perspective consists of three assumptions about what deviant behaviour is:
absolutism, objectivism & determinism
-absolutism: deviance as absolutely real
-possesses qualities that distinguish is from conventionality
-deviant people re assumed to have certain characteristics that make them differ from
conventional others
-deviant behaviour is inherent in an individual; there are specific biological and physiological
characteristics that all criminals have
-today’s positivist sociologists acknowledge the role in social factors in shaping a deviant
individual
-since they consider deviance real, positivist sociologists tend to focus their study on deviant
behaviour and people rather than non deviants who label others as deviant
-objectivism: deviance as an observable object
-for positivist sociologists deviance is an observable object and it can be studied in the
same manner as physical phenomena
-they treat deviants as if they were objects however it is hard to control their personal biases
by forcing themselves not to pass moral judgement on deviant behaviour or share the
deviant person’s feelings
-determinism: deviance as determined behaviour
-deviance is determined or caused by forced beyond the individual’s control
-positivist sociologists acknowledge that humans have free will however this does not
undermine the principle of determinism
-an individuals’ choices/decisions are determined by some previous causes
-there is no inconsistency between freedom and causality
-will not attribute deviance to human choice but instead will look at factors that caused a
certain reaction as the source of deviance
-summary:
-deviance is absolutely real
-deviance is an observable object
-deviance is determined by forced beyond the individual’s control
-the positivist perspective is more relevant to the study of what society considers relatively
serious types of deviant behaviour/higher-consensus deviance (murder)
-serious deviant acts respond better to this perspective because:
-serious deviant behaviours can be more easily labeled as deviant
-since serious deviants generally are of a lower class, and positivist sociologists are not,
they are able to remain aloof from the criminals
-it becomes natural then for them to study deviants as if they were passive people ‘out there’
with specific causes for their deviance and no free will
-the constructionist perspective’s assumptions emerged to challenge the positivist
perspective on deviance; relativism, subjectivism and voluntarism
-relativism: deviance as a label
-deviant characteristics do not come from people’s behaviours but from their minds
-an act appears deviant only because people think it is
-the existence of deviance depends on the label and is socially constructed and defined as
such by society
-constructionist sociologists are more interested in how society labels things as deviants
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-scthey focus on the nature of labeling and its consequences
-constructionists emphasize that ‘deviance is in the eye of the beholder’ and apply the
relativity principle to deviant behaviour which compares the deviant act to a given norm
-subjectivism: deviance as a subjective experience
-deviant behaviour is a subjective, personal experience
-deviant people are conscious, have feelings and thoughts and are a reflective subject
-there is a world of difference between studying active human subjects and passive
inanimate objects
-they advocate the protection and expansion of human worth, dignity and freedom
-objective knowledge about human behaviour is inevitably superficial whenever it is used for
controlling people
-understanding deviant behaviour and individuals, a deeper understanding is required that
seeks to appreciate and empathize
-aim of this approach is to understand the deviant’s personal views
-constructionists say that as a result of their objectivism, positivists only collect superficial
facts about deviance which can be used to control and eliminate deviance but it fails to
understand what deviant people think (about themselves, others and the environment)
-deviant behaviour should not be controlled, cured or eliminated by society, rather is should
be understood (or tried to)
-voluntarism: deviance as a voluntary act
-constructionists challenge positivists who view human beings as predetermined robots, and
say that deviant behaviour is a voluntary act
-constructionists analyze how social control agencies define some people as deviant and
carry out the sanctions against them
-reveals the randomness of official actions, the bias in law and the unjustness of
controlling deviance
-control agents who are in positions of power exercise their free will by actively controlling
‘deviants’
-they analyze people who have been labeled as deviant and they are described as actively
seeking positive meanings in their deviant activities
-deviants often feel superior in comparison to their victims, and this insight constitutes a
descriptive theory
-summary:
-deviance is a label and is not real without it
-deviant behaviour is a subjective experience
-deviant behaviour is voluntary and self-willed
-the constructionist perspective is more relevant to less serious types of deviance/lower-
consensus deviance (those that do not harm others)
-prostitutes, drug addicts, etc
-three reasons explain the convenient fit between this perspective and deviance
-there is a lack of consensus in society as to whether the less serious forms of deviant
behaviour are actually deviant at all
-these types of deviants are not considered as dangerous and the activities they participate
in are ones that the sociologists might be able to enjoy too (makes them more empathetic
and allows them to use this experience for further understanding)
-since constructionists can relate to their less dangerous deviants more, they are more likely
to see them as active individuals with free will
-how does deviance differ from crime?
-crime always involves violating a law whereas deviance does not
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Document Summary
Norms: rules and expectations by which a society guides the behaviours of its members. May be either prescription (don"t) or proscriptive (do) There are two speci c types of norms identi ed by william graham sumner. As we internalize norms, we respond critically to our own behaviour through shame or guilt. Happens at a very young age; we see others get punished or rewarded for certain actions and follow these examples. Social control; breaks down into two major categories: formal and informal. Ethnocentrism: the practice of judge another culture by the standards of one"s own culture. Instead they advocate cultural relativism which is involves the practice of judging a culture by its own standards. Aspects of life seen to warrant concern and intervention. The identi cation of a social problem is the outcome of social processes including a moral evaluation of people"s behaviour. Examples: crime, child abuse, poverty, substance abuse, racism, mental health, war, climate change.
