User:Th Ha Spring 2008

Hannah’s Project Title
Objective: I propose to create/edit/fix the Wikipedia page about social deviance.

Interest: the current page on Wikipedia about social deviance is very brief and not very complete or accurate. This subject is of interest to me because we have just recently studied it in class and read about it in our book. I also have interest in the subject matter because it can be related to crime, which could lead to interesting data or readings. I will talk about the power conflict theory.

Backgound Reading/Research: I will read wikipedia, our class text book and other sociology books I can find at the Alden library about : crime, social deviance, social norms, and power conflict theory.

I will find popular press discussions of my topic. Perhaps Wikipedia articles, blog entrys, newspaper and magazine stories, etc.

General Plan:  I plan to work alone, so I can start my research and organization of information as soon as possible, most likely this weekend.

Collaborators: I will be working alone on this project.

Social Deviance
Deviance is the recognized violation of cultural norms. It is a term that refers to forms of behavior and qualities of persons that others in society devalue and discredit. In general, any behavior that does not conform to social norms is deviance; that is behavior that violates significant social norms and is disapproved of by a large number of people as a result.

Deviance is usually cast in a negative light; however; some people believe it is not always a bad thing.. "Sometimes the norms of society need to be violated so that new norms can be enforced." -Derek E. Hollemans. [] According to Hollemans "Any free thinking person would have to be considered a deviant. Anyone who questions the morality of society's laws would be a deviant. Citizens aren't supposed to think about the laws, they are simply supposed to obey them."

Crime
One familiar type of deviance is crime, or the violation of norms a society formally enacts into criminal law. A subcategory of crime is termed juvenile delinquency, or the violation of legal standards by the young. Deviance encompasses a wide range of other acts of nonconformity, from variations in crazy hair styles to murder. Willem Bonger Theory "When there is a perceived opportunity to gain an advantage through illegal means, crime results." (Starks 49) Even though social deviance does not necessarily have to be criminal, some individuals deviate from the norms of the society. Actors who are known to have different thoughts, tendencies, and attitudes are likely to exhibit deviant behaviors. Factors that lead an individual to deviant behavior can be classified as internal and external factors. Personality, as contended by some, is an important factor in explaining social deviance.

Social Deviance
Deviant people are subject to social control, or how members of a society try to influence each other's behavior. A more formal and multifaceted system of social control, the criminal justice system, refers to a formal response to alleged violation of law on the part of police, courts, and prison officials

Control Theory
A theory that stresses how weak bonds between the individual and society free people to deviate. By contrast, strong bonds make deviance costly. This theory asks why do people refrain from criminal behavior, instead of why people commit criminal behavior, according to Hirschi. The control theory developed when norms emerge to deter deviant behavior. Without this "control" deviant behavior would happen more often. This leads to conformity and groups. People will conform to a group when they believe they have more to gain from conformity than by deviance. If a strong bond is achieved there will be less chance of deviance than if a weak bond has occurred. Hirschi argued a person follows the norms because they have a bond to society. The bond consists of four factors: commitment, attachment, belief, and involvement, these are positively correlated. When any of these bonds are weakened or broken they will be more likey to perform deviance (e.g. you would be less likely to deviate after working hard to get your PhD because the risk would be too great.) More contemporary control theorists, such as Robert Crutchfield take the theory into a new light, suggesting labor market experiences not only affect the attitudes and the "stakes" of individual workers, but can also affect the development of their children's views toward conformity and cause involvement in delinquency. This is still an ongoing study as he has found a significant relationship between parental labor market involvement and children delinquency, he has not empirically demonstrated the mediating role of parents or children's attitude. The research will try to show a correlation between labor market stratification and individual behavior (juvenile behavior).

Labeling Theory
Labeling theory is a sociological approach to deviance suggesting what is inappropriate. the assertion that deviance and conformity result, not only from what people do, but from how others respond to those actions, stresses the relativity of deviance. Labeling theory suggests that deviance is caused by the deviant person being negatively labeled, internalizing the label, and acting according to the label. of themselves in a negative manner and focus on criticizing themselves. This theory examines why some people are labeled as deviant while others who do the same thing go unlabeled.

Willem Bonger Theory (Criminologist) " When there is a perceived opportunity to gain an advantage through illegal means, crime results."(Starks 49)

References: Starks (class text book) http://members.tripod.com/~libertarianism/derek06.html

--Th Ha Spring 2008 (talk) 00:10, 4 June 2008 (UTC)