PSYCHOLOGY OF DEVIANCE AND VIOLENCE

Deviance- It is the reorganized violation of cultural norms

Deviance- It describes actions or behavior that violate social norms including formally enacted rule (e.g.
crime), as well as informal violations of social norms (e.g. rejecting folkway and mores)
Distress- Behavior, ideas or emotions usually causes distress before they can be labeled abnormal
Dysfunction- Abnormal behavior tends to be dysfunctional; that is, it interferes with daily functioning.
Danger- The ultimate in psychological dysfunctioningg is behavior that becomes dangerous to oneself or
to others.
Crime- A legal category; a violation of the law.

The Illusive Nature of Abnormality

Effort to define psychologgical abnormality typically raise as many questions as they answer. The major
difficulty is that the concenpt depends on the norms and values of the society in question. Ultimately, a
society selects the general criteria for defining abnormality and then uses those criteria to judge particular
cases.
Deviant behavior can be viewed as a pathological phenomenon as in the case of mental illness or
psychological disorder.
Deviant behavior involves social audience that considers the behavior of some people as going beyond the
expectations of approved behavior.
Deviance is thus the result of a judgment by member of society that an individual is departing from social
norm.
Some deviant behavior are organize. Examples: Smuggling, pick pocket, carnapping, and many more.
Some psychologist view deviant behavior as a form of aggression against other or against society because
of frustration.
Merton explains deviance as the result of anomie in contemporary modern industrialized society.
Anomie is a condition in which a society provides little morale guidance to individuals. It is the breakdown
of social bonds between an individual and the community.
Example. If under unruly scenerious resulting in fragmentation of social identity and rejection of self-
regulatory values.

Deviant
1. The CONFORMIST are those who accept both the culturally approved goals.
2. The RITUALIST are those who give up the cultural goals but followed the prescribed norms, even if
they get only a pittance in return, like the bureaucratic robot or the religious fanatic.
3. The RETREATIST are those who abandoned both cultural goals and the prescribed means to achieve
them and try to set up a new norms. Assumption of Constructionist
Objectivism Determinism
Relativism- Deviance is a label defined as such at a given time or
Deviance. Determine behavior. A place. Hence, labelers or impact can be subject of study.
Deviance- Observative object. Hence,
objective research method can be used. product of cousation. Hence, cousal Subjectivism- Subjective method can be used
explanatory theory can be developed
Voluntarism- Deviance is a voluntary act. It is an expression or of
free will. Hence, non-cousal descriptive theory can be developed
 MODULE 1
SESSION 3: THE ENTREPRENEUR AND HIS JOURNEY
What Is This Session About?
Welcome to the third session of Module 1. This session will allow us to put ourselves in the shoes of the
entrepreneur and begin to understand what the entrepreneur begins his journey, and that is identifying
opportunities to exploit and turn into an entrepreneurial venture.
This will be done by discussing your personal strengths, abilities and talents that you can build on to identify
business opportunities. We will also be using metaphors and brain-writing as techniques to “think outside
the box”.
Towards the end of this session, we will learn how to evaluate the opportunities that we have identified on
the basis of criteria considered to be important by successful entrepreneurs.
What Will You Learn?
At the end of this session, we will have identified abilities useful for opportunity identification. We will
also have learned creativity techniques to come up with original ideas as well as learned basic criteria to
evaluate business opportunities.
What Do You Already Know?
Let’s begin this session, by looking at and reflecting on the quote below:
“Paying attention to simple little that most men neglect makes a few men rich” – Henry Ford
Let’s Reflect:
Why do you think that identifying and evaluating business opportunities is the basis and starting point for
entrepreneurship?
Let’s Study:
Opportunity has been acknowledged as the key component of entrepreneurship. This partially explains the
growing interest in opportunity identification, which resulted into well thought out definitions, processes
and evaluations of opportunities (Alsos & Rasmussen, 2007; Fiet, 1996; Gartner et al., 2003; Shane &
Venkatara- man, 2000).
The growing interest in entrepreneurial opportunity has lead to the emergence of several definitions of the
concept, which are to a high degree similar. Scholars defined it as situations in which new goods, services,
raw materials, markets, and organizing methods can be introduced through the formation of new means,
ends, or means-ends relationships (cf., Alsos & Rasmussen, 2007; Casson, 1982; Eckhardt & Shane, 2003).
Opportunities vary largely in complexity and characteristics and so do the processes through which they
are identified (Alsos & Ras- mussen, 2007).
Other researchers like Smith, Matthews and Schenkel (2006) were more specific by identifying two types
of opportunities that istacit and codified, they defined a codified opportunity as a situation that is well-
documented, articulated or communicated, in which a person can create a new means-ends framework for
recombining resources. As pointed out by other researches, this recombination can include new goods,
services, raw materials, markets and organizing methods. For example, a codified opportunity may be
illustrated by a franchise in which the opportunity is clearly documented. By comparison, a tacit opportunity
is a situation that is difficult to codify, articulate or communicate, in which a person can create a new means-
ends framework for recombining resources.
In broad terms, an opportunity may be the chance to meet a market need (or interest or want) through a
creative combination of resourcesto deliver superior value (Casson, 1982; Kirzner, 1973; Schumpeter,
1934). Hansen (2006) points out that what most literature in entrepreneurship calls “opportunity
recognition” appears to include three distinct processes: (1) sensing or perceiving market needs and/or
underemployed resources, (2) recognizing or discovering a “fit” between particular market needs and
specified resources, and (3) creating a new “fit” between heretofore separate needs and resources in the
form of a business concept (De Koning, 1999; Hills,1995).
The identification of opportunities that initiate entrepreneurial ventures is the key to the engine that starts
new businesses; opportunity recognition is the progenitor of both personal and societal wealth
(Venkataraman, 1997). Venkataraman (1997) and Gaglio and Katz (2001) argue that understanding the
opportunity identification process is one of the primary questions within the province of entrepreneurship.
This awareness of the importance of opportunity to entrepreneurship has spurred numerous investigations
of one's ability to identify opportunities.
It is important to emphasize during the training that opportunity Identification is a continuous process
throughout the entrepreneurial process.

Personal Evaluation
Smith, Matthews and Schenkel (2006) and Shane (2003) realized in their work that if different types of
opportunities are identified, it is necessary to bring the entrepreneur back into the picture to understand the
relationship between the type of opportunity and the entrepreneurial process. Other researcher like Baum,
Locke, and Smith (2001) and Rauch and Frese (2000) have pointed out that personality remains an
important general predictor of entrepreneurial behavior, once specific mediating factors are considered.
This can be achieved by people evaluating themselves thus knowing what they are good at that is their
strength and for them to think around these strengths (personal abilities) and also what they love doing,
likes, interests and hobbies.
Personal Goals
Brunstein and Gollwitzer (1996), in their research pointed out the importance of self- defining goals as they
do motivate some people. That is why it is important for any entrepreneur to set goals that may act as
motivators in the opportunity identification process and their businesses. It is important to differentiate
between wishes and goals. Wishes are imagined future states. In contrast to wishes, goals are objects or
aims of actions (Locke & Latham, 2002). So, goals indicate the steps to take to make the wishes come true.
A goal is something that we want to achieve. It is also a specific, measurable occurrence, object, or
accomplishment that one would like to achieve, or obtain in the future. One where you develop concrete
action plans to take you to where and what you want in the future. A goal statement is an investment in
yourself; it clearly identifies what you want, how you will get it, and when you will get it. The goal should
be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time bound).
One of the secrets to achieving your goals is knowing how to ask for help from people who have those
skills you don’t possess. In return, you offer them the skills you have, which will often turn out to be just
what they need to achieve their goals. Complementary skills serve everyone involved. Goals motivate you
to turn your vision of the future into reality.
Creativity
Creativity is a key to the development of both new and existing businesses, especially for those who want
to grow to- wards a profitable business. Creativity is typically used to refer to the act of producing new
ideas, approaches or actions, while innovation is the process of both generating and applying such creative
ideas in some specific context. Definitions of creativity are typically descriptive of activity that results in:

 producing or bringing about something partly or wholly new;

 investing an existing object with new properties or characteristics; imagining newpossibilities that
were not conceived of before and;
 seeing or performing something in a manner different from what was thought possible or normal
previously.
Including creativity skills in venture development team allowing for creativity to emerge in both the early
and later stages of the development process would likely contribute to more effective opportunity
recognition and successful launches of new ventures.
The thing is, there are numerous ways to connect the dots, but the way the dots were arranged compelled
us to connect them in a certain way. However, if you look at it from another angle, you figure it can be
connected in many other different ways. Remember the movie Big Hero Six - when Hero was stuck in
trying to look for an idea for the competition he was joining? He only got out of his mental block when his
big brother carried him upside down and he saw his robot from a different angle. Creativity allows us to
look at things from a different perspective. In the same way using creativity in identifying opportunities
compels us to look at things from a different angle. Keep this in mind! Always look at things from several
angles and you never know that a negative situation may turn out to be an opportunity.
Brainwriting
Another technique that entrepreneurs use is brainwriting. It is a method where a person writes whatever
comes to mind. At times, metaphors can also be in the process. When doing brainwriting the rules are ideas
should not be evaluated. You should not be too critical, all ideas are allowed, even absurd or foolish ones.
Come up with ideas that are as funny or as silly as possible as all ideas will not be evaluated. Do not judge
any idea and you should not be too detailed or complicated. Brainwriting literally involves writing what
comes to mind.
Problem Solving
The role of prior knowledge has been identified as an important individual difference in the identification
of entrepreneurial opportunities. Prior knowledge creates a knowledge corridor that allows people to
recognize certain opportunities (Venkataraman, 1997; Hayek, 1945).
Through qualitative research, Shane (2000) provided evidence that people’s prior knowledge of markets,
how to serve markets and customer problems were related to their prior knowledge. It was argued, however,
that in the case when the opportunity is tacit, and no prior knowledge existed, the opportunity would tend
to be overlooked as suggested by Austrian economists (Kirzner, 1997). Without the prior knowledge and
associated knowledge corridor, the potential entrepreneur would not recognize the opportunity. In the case
when prior knowledge existed and the opportunity was codified, the search could be more focused on
opportunities within the field of experience.

Needs
People will always have needs; a human need is a basic requirement that a person wishes to satisfy. Needs
are basic parts of human life, and are therefore not created by businesses. Businesses only try to influence
demand by designing products and services that are attractive, affordable, available and work well for the
customer.
Identifying people’s needs is one of the better strategies that entrepreneurs use when looking out for
opportunities. To do this, look out for peoples’ needs like; what exists is too expensive need something
cheaper, what existsis not easy to use so need a user friendly one, quality of existing product or service is
not good enough and many others. Opportunities can be identified through other ways like;

 Existing product/service provider weaknesses

 Application of existing products or new functions
 Cross-border limitations