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Conformity and Deviance
Conformity and Deviance
if a social norm or rule prevents someone from doing certain things, it also allow that person to
do other activities. Thus, norms or rules are not merely prohibitive. They also shape individuals
by disciplining them to do more productive activities.
SOCIAL CONTROL
Every society has a system of social control or an attempt by society to regulate people’s thoughts
and behaviour. It encourages conformity to certain norms and discourages deviance or norm breaking.
Nonconformity of an individual would mean deviation from the acceptable social norms which is
known as social deviance. Social deviance refers to any behaviour that differs or diverges from
established social norms
Moral panics- are social currents that mobilize the majority of the people to condemn certain acts and
groups that are considered to be threats to social order
Sociology of deviance- is the study of social forces and processes involved in the formulation of such
evaluative standards, violation of those standards, and reactions to such violations
What is DEVIACE?
Sociologist generally defines deviance as violation of society’s or group’s norms or rules that call
for censure, condemnation, or punishment for the violators. These include rape, murder, sexual
perversions, drug abuse, abortion, and other behaviours that people do not consider as part of a
healthy and normal society.
ESSENTIALISM theory defines deviance as an inherent property of an individual or the act that
merits social control and regulation; that deviance is an objective aberration in the normal
development of individuals.
REDUCTIONISM happens when one explains a phenomenon or an event purely on a single
cause or in a single perspective to the exclusion of other explanation
ROBERT MERTON’s STRAIN THEORY- argued that the extent and type of deviance people
engage in depend on whether a society provides the means (such as schooling and job opportunities)
to achieve cultural goals through approved means. However, the strain between the cultural goal and
lack of opportunities to achieve these goals using approved means may result in deviance.