Sociology 2259 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Androcentrism, General Strain Theory, Abu Ghraib
22 Nov 2017
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Chapter 2: explaining deviance the act (pg. Theory and practice are intimately intertwined in that theory is the central tool used in science to organize accumulated knowledge. Certain theories may be more useful than others in coming to an understanding of a given issue or aspect of deviance. If you are interested in the deviant acts themselves, some objectivist theories may benefit you greater. If you are interested in percptions and reactionsto particular acts, then subjectivist theories may be more benficial. Positivist sociological theories are fundamentally interested in explaining why people act in a particular way. Positivist sociologists seek cause and effect relationships in the form of statistical relationships: they look for those variables that are associated with a particular behaviour or outcome. Positivist explanations of deviance are inevitably coupled with efforts at social control: these can be efforts you may agree with (violent crimes) or disagree with (homosexuality)
