1. Deviance and Social Control
(Ch. 7)
John Bradford, Ph.D.

2. Deviance
• Deviance is the ‘flip side
of conformity’:
Deviance/Conformity
• Deviance = any act that
violates the norms of a
particular group of people
at a particular point in
time (pg. 173)

3. Deviance
1. Norms vary across societies: what is considered to be
deviant changes from place to place.
– Example: chewing gum in Singapore
– It is impossible to find any specific act that is regarded a
deviant in every culture.
2. Norms change over time
– Example: public attitudes about slavery, women’s right to
vote, homosexuality, etc.
3. Norms vary *within* a particular society: different
subgroups have different norms
– Example: ‘drinking until you pass out’ may be a norm in
some groups.

4. Sociological Theories of Deviance
• Durkheim was interested in suicide
rates. His study, Suicide (1897) was
one of the first sociological studies
to use statistical analysis.
• He argued that as societies become
larger and more complex, there was
less and less agreement and
commonality among people about
their norms and values.

5. Sociological Theories of Deviance
• Egoism = occurs when people are
not well integrated into society.
– Examples: unmarried people less
integrated than married people;
Protestants were less integrated than
Catholics;
– The less integrated into society you
were, the more likely you were to
commit suicide

6. Sociological Theories of Deviance
• Anomie = a state wherein society
fails to exercise adequate regulation
of the goals and desires of individual
members; normlessness; lack of
social constraint.
• Lack of moral regulation makes
suicide more likely

7. Sociological Theories of Deviance
• Robert K. Merton argued that
anomie is built into the structure
of modern society.
• Anomie occurs when the norms
of a society do not match its
social structure.

8. Sociological Theories of Deviance
1. All societies have commonly
accepted goals for their members.
2. Each society establishes what it
considers to be legitimate ways, or
means, to reach these valued
goals.
• In modern society, there is a
disjunction (‘gap’) between goals
and legitimate means.

9. Responses to Anomie
Mode of adaptation Cultural goals Institutionalized means
Conformity Accept Accept
Innovation Accept Reject
Ritualism Reject Accept
Retreatism Reject Reject
Rebellion Reject, substitute new Reject, substitute new
goals means

10. Legitimate vs. Illegitimate Means
• Richard A. Cloward and Lloyd E. Ohlin (two
students of Merton) argue that just as
legitimate means to success are unequally
distributed in society, so are illegitimate
means.
– Example: if you are poor or illiterate you probably
will not become a computer hacker or bank
robber.

11. Learning to be deviant
• Deviance is often a learned
social behavior.
• Becker found that becoming a
marijuana smoker involved 3
separate processes:
1. Learning to smoke
2. Learning to perceive the effects
3. Learning to enjoy the effects

12. Labeling Theory
• This slide is taken from a previous lecture on the
‘power of the situation’: the point is that we
have to observe behavior before we can label
people according to various personality types.
CAUSE =
Relevant Labeling of
Perceived
Behavior Personality
situation
Sociological view of human behavior

13. Labeling Theory
• However, once you are labeled, both your behavior
and other people’s perception of your behavior will
change! You will begin to conform to the label, and
the perception of others will also conform to the label.
CAUSE =
Behavior Labeling of
Perceived
Personality
situation
Affects of label on:
1. how you act and
2. how others perceive your actions

14. Labeling Theory
• Labeling Theory focuses not on the one who
commits the deviant act but on the response
of the audience.
• Primary deviance = first time deviant act is
committed; can be for all sorts of reasons.
• Secondary deviance = the deviant behavior
that arises because of, or in response to,
society’s reaction to their deviance.

15. Stigma
• Stigma = negative social labels
• Types of stigmas (Goffman):
1. Abominations of the body
2. Blemishes of individual character: labels of mental
disorder, dishonesty, alcoholism, bankruptcy, etc.
3. Tribal stigmas: being discredited for membership in
a particular racial, religious, or ethnic group
• Discredited Identity vs. Discreditable Identity

16. Prison Population

17. Prison Population