Deviance

• Deviance

• Norms and Sanctions

• Deviance and Social Stigma

• Deviance and Technology

• The Functions of Deviance

Four Mechanisms that Regulate Our Behavior

Our behavior in our everyday lives is regulated by social norms, law and policy, technology and design,
and market forces.

• Deviance in a sociological context, describes actions or behaviors that violate social norms ,
including formally-enacted rules (e.g., crime), as well as informal violations of social norms (e.g.,
rejecting folkways and mores).

• folkway - A custom or belief common to members of a society or culture.

• More - A way to refer to norms that are widely observed and have great moral significance.
Mores include an aversion for societal taboos, such as incest.

• cyberloafing - The use of computers by employees for purposes unrelated to work.

• Property deviance - is "where employees either damage or acquire tangible assets…without

authorization". This type of deviance typically involves theft but may include "sabotage,
intentional errors in work, misusing expense accounts", among other examples.

• sabotage - A deliberate action aimed at weakening an enemy through subversion, obstruction,

disruption, and/or destruction.

• stigma - A mark of infamy or disgrace.

• stigmatized - Subject to a stigma; marked as an outcast.

Deviance, in a sociological context, describes actions or behaviors that violate informal social norms or
formally-enacted rules. [Among those who study social norms and their relation to deviance
are sociologists, psychologists, psychiatrists, and criminologists, all of whom investigate how norms
change and are enforced over time].

• Deviance is often divided into two types of activities. The first, crime, is the violation of formally
enacted laws and is referred to as formal deviance. The second type of deviant behavior
involves violations of informal social norms (norms that have not been codified into law) and is
referred to as informal deviance.
Deviant behavior may violate formally-enacted rules or informal social norms.

Formal deviance includes criminal violation of formally-enacted laws. Examples of formal deviance
include robbery, theft, rape, murder, and assault.

Informal deviance refers to violations of informal social norms, which are norms that have not been
codified into law. Examples of informal deviance include picking one's nose, belching loudly, or standing
unnecessarily close to another person.

Deviance can vary dramatically across cultures. Cultural norms are relative, which makes deviant
behavior relative as well.

Dr. Karen Halnon of Pennsylvania State University studies informal deviance and focuses on what she
calls "deviance vacations," whereby people of a given socioeconomic status voluntarily enter a
different, often lower, social strata. One example involves heterosexual white males who become drag
queens on weekends.

This behavior represents a luxury, because heterosexual white males can afford to make a temporarily
shift, knowing that they may subsequently return to the comforts of their prevailing socioeconomic
status. Other examples include performers who may affect deviant behaviors in order to gain credibility
with an aim to increasing commercial profits.

Norms and Sanctions

• Norms are social rules that govern behavior in a community, and a sanction is a form of
punishment against violation of different norms.

• Norms and deviance always depend on the culture in which they exist. To study norms and
deviance, one must contextualize the action, or consider the action in light of all of the
circumstances surrounding it.

• Norms can be formal, as in the case of laws, or informal, as in the case of codes of etiquette.

• Formal deviance results in legal sanctions, such as fines or prison, while informal deviance
results in social sanctions or stigma.

• While society might deem it preferable to show up to most job interviews wearing a suit rather
than casual attire, you will likely not be out of the running for the job for wearing khakis rather
than a suit. However, should you show up nude to most interviews, you would likely
be stigmatized for your behavior, given that it was such a drastic departure from the norm.

Folkways and Mores

• The violation of a folkway leads to the development of a preference rather than stigmatization.

When a more is violated, on the other hand, it results in a more serious degree of social
sanction.
 • Deviance and Social Stigma

• Social stigma is a severe social disapproval of a person because of a particular trait that indicates
their deviance from social norms.

• Erving Goffman presented the fundamentals of stigma as a social theory, including his
interpretation of "stigma" as a means of spoiling identity. 

Deviance and Social Stigma

 By this, he referred to the stigmatized trait's ability to "spoil" recognition of the individual's adherence
to social norms in other facets of self.

• Without a society, one cannot have stigma. To have stigma, one must have a stigmatizer and
someone who is stigmatized. As such, this is a dynamic and social relationship.

Deviance and Technology

• Cyber loafing refers to the use of high-speed internet by employees for personal use instead of
work-related purposes.

• Production deviance refers to the behaviors of deviant employees that have a negative impact
on the overall productivity of the organization.

• Property deviance refers to cases in which workers damage an employer's property without
authorization.

• Property deviance typically involves theft, but it may include sabotage, intentional errors in
work, and the misuse of expense accounts.

The Functions of Deviance

• Deviance provides the key to understanding the disruption and recalibration of society that
occurs over time.

• Systems of deviance create norms and tell members of a given society how to behave by laying
out patterns of acceptable and unacceptable behavior.

• Deviance allows for group majorities to unite around their worldview, often at the expense of
those marked as deviant.

• Social parameters create boundaries between populations and lead to an us-versus-them

mentality within various groups.

• Being marked as deviant can actually bolster solidarity within the marked community as
members take pride and ownership in their stigmatized identity.
 Some traits will be stigmatized and can potentially cause social disruption. However, as traits
become more mainstream, society will gradually adjust to incorporate the formerly stigmatized
traits.

Misogyny in Billboards

This billboard has been defaced in order to highlight the sexual norms behind the advertisement.

Slacking and Snacking at Work

Misusing company resources to conduct personal business, such as online shopping.

Be Aware: End the Stigma against Mental Illness

Be Aware is an awareness campaign that aims to end the stigma against mental illness.

The Stigmatization of Homeless People

Homeless people are regularly stigmatized by society for being unemployed while living in the streets.

-A mark of infamy or disgrace (stigma)

A way to refer to norms that are widely observed and have great moral significance. _______s include
an aversion for societal taboos, such as incest. (More)

A custom or belief common to members of a society or culture (folkway)

Subject to a stigma; marked as an outcast. (Stigmatized)

Actions or behaviors that violate formal and informal cultural norms such as law and the
discouragement from public nose-picking. (Deviance)

The use of computers by employees for purposes unrelated to work. (cyber loafing)

A deliberate action aimed at weakening an enemy through subversion, obstruction, disruption, and/or
destruction. (Sabotage)

_______ is “where employees either damage or acquire tangible assets…without authorization”. This
type of deviance typically involves theft but may include “sabotage, intentional errors in work, misusing
expense accounts”, among other examples. (Property Deviance)

What is cyber loafing? (Employees’ use of company internet access to procrastinate and avoid work

Actions or behaviors that violate formal and informal cultural norms such as law and the
discouragement from public nose-picking. (Deviance)

Which of the following best describes how deviance is defined? (Deviance is socially defined)
Merton's Social Strain Theory

This diagram depicts Robert K. Merton's Social Strain Theory.