Defining Deviance (pp.11-15) Flashcards
What is deviance?
A violation of norms
What are norms?
The dos and donts of society
What are sanctions?
Reactions to norm violations, can be formal or informal
What is a formal vs informal sanction?
Formal=prison. Informal= being ostrasized
What are the three types of norms that Sumner came up with?
Folkways, Mores, and Laws
What are folkways?
Simple, everyday norms (ex: etiquette, custom, traditions). Violations are not seen as serious, but can cause one to be seen as odd or be avoided
What are mores?
Norms based on moral values (ex: Drug addictions, extramarital relations). Violation is seen as a threat to the social order.
What are laws?
Certain norms upheld by codified social sanctions ex) murder, assault, rape. Violations seen as major societal threats.
Why are some activities (ex: war, white collar crime), not considered to be deviant?
Because the activities are governed by the most powerful people in society.
What are the ABC’s of deviance?
Attitude, Behaviour, and Conditions
What is attitude?
Being branded as deviant for an alternative attitude or “extreme” belief system (ex: cults, satanists). Mental illness can also sometimes fall into this category.
What is behaviour?
Overt acts regarded as deviant ex) violating dress code, speech conventions, kinky sex behaviour.
What are conditions?
Deviance as defined by personal characteristics or traits ex) wealth, weight, tattoos.
What is acheived vs ascribed deviance?
Achieved-is deviance that you adopt during your lifetime, and it can be changed
Ascribed-Something you are born with and generally cannot change ex) Disability
What are the 3 S’s of deviance?
Sin, sick, and selected
What is Sin in relation to deviance?
Deviance was referred to as a sin in the middle ages, due to religious paradigms prevailing. Violation of religious norms was attributed to Satanic influences
What is Sick in relation to deviance?
The medicalization of deviance from the 19th-mid 20th century. Use of medical treatment in response to deviance.
What was Rosenhans experiment?
He had perfectly sane people check into a mental asylum. They told the doctors that they were hearing a little voice in their head saying “hello.” As soon as they were checked in, they began behaving normally, but the doctors wouldn’t let them out, even though other patients knew that there was nothing wrong with them This shows how the sickness era was blown out of proportion, as people defined more and more conditions as being a sickness.
What is Selected in relation to deviance?
Recent movement to resist medicalization of deviance-certain behaviours/conditions seen as intentional, selected, or voluntary lifestyle choices.
