Deviance: Objectivist vs. Subjectivist Approaches

Defining Deviance

Deviance refers to behaviors, beliefs, or characteristics that violate significant social norms and elicit negative social reactions. Sociologists debate whether deviance is an objective reality or a subjective social construction.

• Objectivist (Positivist) Approach: Views deviance as the violation of absolute or widely agreed-upon norms. Focuses on identifying what is normal/abnormal and seeks to explain the causes of deviance.

• Subjectivist (Interpretivist) Approach: Argues that deviance is socially constructed and defined by societal reactions and labels. Emphasizes the relativity of deviance across time, place, and context.

Objectivist Approach: Common Characteristics

• Statistical Rarity: Deviance as behavior that is statistically rare. Limitation: Not all rare behaviors are deviant, and not all common behaviors are non-deviant.

• Harm: Deviance as behavior causing harm (physical, emotional, societal). Limitation: Perceptions of harm are subjective and change over time.

• Negative Societal Reaction: Deviance as behavior that elicits widespread negative reactions. Limitation: Whose reaction counts? Sometimes only powerful groups' reactions matter.

• Normative Violation: Deviance as violation of societal norms. Limitation: Norms change over time and are not always universally agreed upon.

Subjectivist Approach: Social Construction of Deviance

• No Single Characteristic: Deviance is not defined by one trait but by social processes and dominant moral codes (e.g., criminal, religious, or moral codes).

• Relativity: What is considered deviant varies across cultures, historical periods, and contexts.

• Social Typing Process: Deviance is constructed through three stages:

  1. Descriptive: Labeling a person or act (e.g., 'obese').

  2. Evaluation: Attaching judgment (e.g., 'disgusting').

  3. Prescription: Enacting social control (e.g., teasing, medical intervention).

Objective-Subjective Continuum

• Objective (Absolutist): Assumes immutable sources define deviance (e.g., religious texts, laws of nature).

• Subjective (Constructionist): All knowledge and definitions of deviance are interpretations shaped by social processes.

The Social Construction of Deviance

Definitional Shifts and Claims-Making

Deviance is not static; its definition can shift over time and context through social processes.

• Interpretivist Approach (Micro): Focuses on how individuals construct meaning through interaction (symbolic interactionism).

• Social Constructionism (Macro): Examines how entire societies come to define certain behaviors as deviant.

• Claims-Making: The process by which individuals or groups attempt to convince others that a behavior or condition is a social problem.

• Counterclaims: Competing claims that challenge the dominant narrative.

• Hierarchy of Credibility: Some claim-makers (e.g., scientists, politicians) are more likely to be believed than others (e.g., children, marginalized groups).

• Audiences: Not all audiences are equally significant; those with more power or influence can shape which claims are accepted.

• Constructing Moralities: Claims often appeal to religious, organizational, or humanitarian moralities to justify why something is deviant.

Positivist Theories of Deviance

Biological and Functionalist Theories

Positivist theories seek to identify social laws and facts through empirical, scientific methods. They focus on the causes of deviance, often emphasizing biology or social structure.

Biological Theories

• Atavism (Cesare Lombroso): Criminals are biological throwbacks with identifiable physical traits (stigmata). Critique: Largely discredited due to methodological flaws and deterministic assumptions.

• Somatotype Theory (William Sheldon): Body types (endomorph, ectomorph, mesomorph) are linked to temperament and likelihood of deviance. Mesomorphs (muscular, aggressive) are more likely to be delinquent.

• Heredity Theory: Deviance is inherited and passed down through generations (e.g., studies of 'degenerate' families). Led to eugenic policies such as sterilization.

• Geneticization of Deviance: Modern research explores genetic explanations for deviance, raising questions about stigma and responsibility (genetic essentialism).

Functionalist Theories

• Durkheim's Functions of Deviance:

  • Social Solidarity: Deviance unites society against rule-breakers.

  • Boundary Setting: Deviance clarifies societal norms and boundaries.

  • Innovation: Deviance can challenge outdated norms and promote social change.

  • Reduction of Societal Tension: Deviance can serve as a safety valve for societal frustrations (scapegoating).

• Durkheim's Anomie Theory: Rapid social change can lead to normlessness (anomie), increasing deviance.

• Durkheim's Theory of Suicide: Suicide rates are influenced by social integration and regulation.

  • Altruistic Suicide: Over-integration into society.

  • Egotistic Suicide: Under-integration.

  • Fatalistic Suicide: Over-regulation.

  • Anomic Suicide: Under-regulation.

• Merton's Strain Theory: Deviance results from the gap between societal goals and the means to achieve them. Adaptations include conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism, and rebellion.

• Cohen's Status Frustration Theory: Lower-class youth experience frustration in a middle-class-dominated system, leading to the formation of deviant subcultures.

• Cloward and Ohlin's Differential Opportunity Theory: Access to illegitimate opportunities (e.g., gangs) varies by neighborhood, influencing types of deviance.

Learning and Social Control Theories

Learning Theories

• Sutherland's Differential Association Theory: Deviance is learned through interaction in small groups. The likelihood of deviance increases with exposure to deviant values, especially when these outweigh conformist values. Key factors: frequency, duration, priority, and intensity of associations.

• Glaser's Differential Identification Theory: Individuals may choose to identify with deviant models, even indirectly (e.g., through media).

• Burgess and Akers' Differential Reinforcement Theory: Deviant behavior is learned through reinforcement (rewards and punishments) within social groups.

• Sykes & Matza's Neutralization Theory: Delinquents use techniques to neutralize guilt before committing deviant acts:

  1. Denial of responsibility

  2. Denial of injury

  3. Denial of the victim

  4. Condemning the condemners

  5. Appeal to higher loyalties

Social Control Theories

• Reckless' Containment Theory: Inner (self-concept) and outer (social supervision) containments prevent deviance despite internal and external pressures.

• Nye's Family Ties Theory: Family socialization produces four types of control: internal, indirect, direct, and legitimate need satisfaction.

• Hirschi's Social Bonds Theory: Four elements restrain deviance:

  1. Attachment (emotional bonds)

  2. Commitment (investment in conformity)

  3. Involvement (time spent in conformist activities)

  4. Belief (acceptance of norms)

• Gottfredson and Hirschi's General Theory of Crime: Low self-control, often due to ineffective parenting, leads to deviance when opportunity arises.

Interpretive and Critical Theories

Interpretive Theories

• Symbolic Interactionism (Mead and Blumer): Human behavior is shaped by the meanings individuals assign to objects, events, and people, developed through social interaction and interpretation.

• Key Concepts:

  • Role Taking: Imagining oneself in another's position.

  • Looking Glass Self: Self-concept based on how we think others perceive us.

  • Significant Others: Important people who shape our reality.

  • Generalized Other: Awareness of broader societal expectations.

• Becker's Labelling Theory: Deviance is not inherent in an act but results from the application of labels by society. Labels can become 'sticky,' shaping identity and opportunities.

• Lemert's Primary and Secondary Deviance:

  • Primary Deviance: Initial rule-breaking with little social reaction.

  • Secondary Deviance: Rule-breaking that results in societal reaction and internalization of a deviant identity.

• Goffman's Stigma and Spoiled Identity: A deviant label can become a master status, overshadowing other aspects of identity. Individuals may engage in impression management to cope with stigma.

Critical Theories

• Conflict Theories: Focus on how rules and laws serve the interests of the powerful, and how power dynamics shape definitions of deviance.

• Marxist Conflict Theory: Economic inequality and class conflict are central. The ruling class (bourgeoisie) defines deviance to protect its interests, while the working class (proletariat) is more likely to be labeled deviant.

• Instrumental vs. Structural Marxism:

  • Instrumental: Institutions are tools of the powerful.

  • Structural: Laws protect the capitalist system itself, not just individuals.

• Liberal/Pluralist Conflict Theories: Recognize multiple axes of inequality (e.g., race, gender) and competing interest groups.

• Cultural Conflict Theory: As societies become more diverse, conflicting norms emerge, and powerful groups impose their norms through law.

• Group Conflict Theory: Groups compete for resources, and powerful groups criminalize the conduct of weaker groups.

• Ideology and Hegemony: The powerful maintain control by promoting ideologies that justify the status quo and by shaping societal values (hegemony).

• False Consciousness: The powerless may accept their position due to internalized ideologies, failing to recognize their own subordination.

Summary Table: Major Theories of Deviance

Additional info: Some explanations and examples have been expanded for clarity and academic completeness. This guide covers key sociological theories and concepts related to deviance, suitable for exam preparation in a college-level sociology course.