Unit 7: Conformity and Deviance society.
Its methods are typically implemented in accordance to specific
Lesson 1: Social Control
Despite its dynamicity and flexibility, cultures have rules. These rules, called
norms, values, statuses, and roles, differ depending on the society wherein
they are found. They keep order and stability in a society, as long as the
society is able to ensure compliance to these rules. The capacity of culture
to ensure the success of a society comes from its capacity to maintain the
same meaning for symbols, language, values, norms, and roles.
 Symbols- Through symbols, members of the same culture recognize
each other.
 Language- Through language, members of the same society can
communicate effectively because they appropriate standard
meanings to symbols.
 Values- Through values, members of a culture are able to define
what is desirable and what is undesirable, hence directing not just
actions, but also points of views.
 Norms- through norms, that members of society gain a sense of
security and trust in their personal interactions.
The Concept of Social Control
Social control originally referred only to a society's capacity to regulate
itself, but in recent years, it has been altered to reflect its capacity to
influence human behavior towards the maintenance of a given order.
Informal Means of Social Control- Informal means of control it is refers to
an individual's inner capacity to sense what is right and what is wrong,
which decreases the tendency of an individual to deviate from norms.
Social Control Theory- Social control theory is the proposes that individuals
will tend to uphold the norms and values.
Formal Means of Social Control
Formal means of control- are the system of rewards and punishments that
become structuralized in an institution. In general, formal means of control
are methods utilized by governments and organizations to prevent chaos in
social goals.
Education- is an extension of socialization because it inculcates moral,
intellectual, and social values in individuals.
Law- a system of rules created to reinforce social values and to regulate
behavior. Law helps maintain social order in larger societies where informal
means of control may no longer be sufficient.
Coercion- or the use of force against social deviance is a formal means of
control that is utilized only by the state. It is used only in extreme situations
as a last resort.
Deviance
refers to "recognized violations of cultural norms." Though the word is easy
to define, determining what deviant behavior is not so straightforward.
Firstly: Deviance is defined by its social context. To define whether a
behavior is deviant or not, one must examine the context, what the existing
rules are, and how these rules were established. When rules change,
behaviors defined as deviant also change.
Secondly, Deviance is not an inherent trait of human beings, nor of the
behaviors themselves. Instead, it is a product of social processes. Norms and
social contexts determine what deviant behaviors are, and such definitions
are continuously defined and redefined by the changes in social, cultural,
and political powers.
Lesson 2: Forms of Deviance
 Formal Deviance: refers to the violation of formally enacted laws,
Crimes are an example of formal deviance.
 Informal Deviance: refers to violations of informal cultural norms.
John Hagen, in 1994, introduced a typology for classifying deviant acts in
terms of their perceived impact to the society, the degree of norms
violated, and the severity of the social control such violations elicit.
  Consensus Crimes- the serious acts of deviance are referred to as
consensus crimes. In this situation, there is a near-unanimous public
agreement that such deviant acts are injurious and morally
intolerable, and hence, must be subject to severe penalties.
 Conflict Crimes- the second kind of deviant acts are called conflict
crimes because there is considerable disagreement about its
seriousness.
 Social Deviations- represent deviant acts which are not illegal, but
are widely regarded as inappropriate.
 Social Diversions- acts that fall under the category of diversions are
those that are considered by the society to be acceptable variations
in lifestyle.
Deviant acts can also be classified as individual deviance and group deviance
 Individual Deviance: When single individuals violate cultural norms,
this is referred to as individual deviance.
 Group Deviance: an entire group that has deviated from the norm
of peace and order or a group of people that violated the law.
Lesson 3: Human, Dignity, Rights, and the Common Good
The Concept of Human Dignity
Human dignity refers to the idea that every human being has the right to be
treated with respect and value. To be treated with dignity means honoring
one’s autonomy, personhood, and free will. Proliferating such social values
are commonly the function of socialization, citizenship training, and
education.
Violations of Human Dignity
According to editors Paulus Kaufmann, Hannes Kuch, Christian Neuhäuser,
and Elaine Webster, human dignity may be violated in four ways.
Humiliation- refers to any act that may diminish the self-worth of an
individual or a group. Note that humiliation in this sense differs significantly
from the kind of humiliation used as a social control the latter referred to by
John Braithwaite as reintegrative shaming.
 Two different types of shaming
Reintegrative- or the social process of expressing disapproval (such
as angry mutterings and reprimands) with the intent of invoking
remorse in the offender.
Stigmatic Shaming- which sets the offender apart from his or her
society for the rest of his or her life.
 Instrumentalization or objectification- refers to the act of treating
another individual to achieve some goal.
 Degradation: refers to acts that degrade the value of human beings.
 Dehumanization- refers to acts that strip a person or a group of all
its human characteristics.
The Concept of Human Rights
Human Rights- are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race,
sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status.
International Bill of Human Rights- This bill provided a legal standard for
the basic economic, social and cultural rights countries must afford their
citizens.
The Concept of Common Good
In all fields of the social sciences, the common good is defined the same
way: the values, structures and processes that are shared and are beneficial
for all members of the same culture or society. In 1925 there are three
elements of common good: respect for and promotion of the fundamental
rights of the person; prosperity, or the development of the spiritual and
temporal goods of society; the peace and security of the group and of its
members.
Human Dignity, Human Rights, the Common Good and its
Relation to Culture
When we talk about human dignity, human rights, and the common good,
and its connection to culture, we will always have to look at the current
state of society and the problems that plague it.