Defining Deviance CRN#21827-202220
Defining Deviance
Introduction, Tammy L. Anderson,
- Rules for the Distinction of The Normal and the Pathological, Emile Durkheim /
- Notes on the Sociology of Deviance, Kai T. Erikson /
- Definitions of Deviance and Deviance and the Responses of Others from Outsiders, Howard S. Becker /
- Defining Deviance Down, Daniel Moynihan /
- Connections: Definitions of Deviance and the Case of Underage Drinking and Drunk Driving, Tammy L. Anderson, Critical Thinking Questions /
Points Possible: 20
Deliverable Length: 2-3 pages
Due: Sunday, January 30, 11:55 pm
Answer two questions:
1. Durkheim treats deviance and crime as objective, measurable social facts. Deviance is both normal (ALL societies have patterns of deviance/crime) and pathological (patterns of deviance/crime are statistically infrequent compared to conforming behavior patterns). Explain how recreational marijuana use may be both normal and pathological social behavior. If most people have used marijuana (“normal”), how can it be defined as deviant (“pathological”)?
2. Erikson argues that deviance is NOT an objective quality of behavior; rather, social audiences label deviance based on directly or indirectly witnessing such behavior. In short, deviance is less about statistical evidence and more a quality of social reaction. Using drunk driving as an example, how does audience reaction establish boundaries between recreational drinking and drunk driving, especially the legal response to the latter? In your answer pay particular attention to age of offenders as an important boundary.
3. Emile Durkheim has written that crime is “normal.” Similarly, Kai T. Erikson maintains that deviant behavior functions to uphold community standards by punishing the deviant. Explain how deviance and crime can be normal and/or functional. Pay particular attention to the sociological context of crime/deviance in your answer. How does boundary maintenance relate to the sociological idea that crime/deviance is normal?
4. Summarize Becker’s four different viewpoints on deviance: statistical; medical/disease; failure to obey group rules; and labels defined through social interaction. Which of the four do you think is the most important in understanding the persistence of deviance in society?
5. Moynihan contends that society is in a constant state of defining and redefining what is considered deviant, “so as to exempt much conduct previously stigmatized and also quietly raising the “normal” level in categories where behavior is now abnormal by any earlier standard.” Discuss the three specific types of redefinition he covers: the altruistic, the opportunistic, and the normalizing.
Defining Deviance CRN#21827-202220 Answer
Social facts are defined to be a category of facts embedded with special traits that comprise forms of acting, school of thought, and feeling that do come out naturally from the individual (Durkheim, 1982). Given that these truths comprise actions, thoughts, and feelings, they are completely independent of the biological disposition. A notable distinct criterion determined by Durkheim (1982) is that a social fact may seem to be normal for a particular type socially depending on the developmental phase………
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