Master of Science in Criminal

Justice Education major in

Criminology
DEVIANT BEHAVIOR

“POSITIVE FUNCTIONS OF SOCIAL DEVIATION”

YHOVERLYN BI TALO GONZALES
 DEVIANT BEHAVIOR

Deviant behavior is a form of behavior which goes beyond the

expected or approved behavior of the group. It is a behavior
which maybe be tolerated, approved or disapproved by the
group.

What is considered deviant in one society may not be considered

as such in another.

What is deviant in a particular society at a particular place and

time may not be considered as deviant at a future time.
Positive deviance 

 is an approach to behavioral and social change based

on the observation that in any community there are
people whose uncommon but successful behaviors or
strategies enable them to find better solutions to a
problem than their peers, despite facing similar
challenges and having no extra resources or knowledge
than their peers.
Positive deviance

 involves over conformity to norms. Positive deviants

idealize group norms. It can be as disruptive and hard to
manage as negative deviance.
According to American Behavioral Scientist, Gretchen
Spreitzer:

Positive deviance as "intentional behaviors that

significantly depart from the norms of a referent group in
honorable ways."
Principles of Positive Deviance

Positive deviance is a strength-based approach which is applied

to problems requiring behavior and social change. It is based on
the following principles:

Communities already have the solutions. They are the best

experts to solve their problems.

Communities self-organize and have the human resources and

social assets to solve an agreed-upon problem.
 Collective intelligence. Intelligence and know-how is not concentrated in the leadership
of a community alone or in external experts but is distributed throughout the community.
Thus the aim of the PD process is to draw out the collective intelligence to apply it to a
specific problem requiring behavior or social change.

 Sustainability as the cornerstone of the approach. The PD approach enables the

community or organization to seek and discover sustainable solutions to a given problem
because the demonstrably successful uncommon behaviors are already practiced in that
community within the constraints and challenges of the current situation.

 It is easier to change behavior by practicing it rather than knowing about it. "It is easier
to act your way into a new way of thinking than think your way into a new way of
acting".
The Steps of Positive Deviance
Positive deviance is perhaps better thought of as a positive mindset, rather than a
model or theory. The 4D’s–define, determine, discover, and design–are central to
delivering a positive deviance outcome (Pascale et al., 2010):

Step 1 – Define the problem and the necessary outcome

The community itself (rather than a set of outsiders) defines, refines, and reframes the
issue.
Actions:
• Engage with the community to understand the data that measures the problem
• Create a view of how an improved, or an ideal future would look
• Explore the issues and barriers associated with the problem
• Identify the stakeholders
• Be open, and share the findings in community forums

 
Step 2 – Determine common practices

The community is most qualified to determine the practices

and behaviors that are commonplace.
Actions:
•Set up meetings to include different groups across the
community
•Involve the community in identifying activities, learnings,
and prioritization
Step 3 – Discover uncommon, successful behaviors
The community identifies positive deviants.
Actions:
•Identify who in the community faces the same challenges,
with the same resources, yet tackles the problem
successfully
•Interview individuals displaying deviant behavior
•Identify the uncommon practices that lead to improved
outcomes
•Share the lessons learned with the community
Step 4 – Design an initiative using the learnings

The community comes up with the design and the activities to expand the
reach of the solution.
Actions:
•Apply the positive deviance learned behaviors
•Begin small then expand the roll-out
•Connect people who were not previously connected
•Create opportunities for learning to take place

The community itself will monitor the overall effectiveness of the initiative.
If successful, document the insights gained, and the suggested behavior and
share beyond the original community to others facing similar challenges.
THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS!!!