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Conformity & Deviance

James M. Henslin (Adapted for TP)
(10th Edition)
Chapter 6
GSS1004: Introduction to Sociology
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Learning Outcomes

 Identify a deviant/deviant behaviour

 Understand how society encourages or discourages deviant
behaviour
 Explain the causes of deviance (theories)
 Identify society’s reactions to deviance

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Who is a Deviant?

 Person who exhibits behaviour/ characteristics that

society considers unacceptable

What is Deviance?
 Any behaviour/act that violates social rules (norms)

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What makes an act Deviant?

Deviance or Not?
CONTEXT Boxing Ring Vs Street Fight
(What)
TIME (When) Women wearing pants(1950s) vs
Women wearing pants (now)
PERSON (Who) Drunken Child VS Drunken Man

PLACE (Where) Naked in the bathroom VS Holland Village

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Crime & Deviance – Link?

CRIME: A specific form of deviance

 Breaking rules that are laws

Overlap between Deviance & Crime:

 Crime = Deviant?
 Is a Deviant act always a Crime?

Any overlap between Deviance & Crime in:

 Developed vs less developed countries?
 Western vs Asian countries?

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Deviance – a non-judgemental term

“It is not the act itself, but the reaction to the act that
makes something deviant.”
- Howard Becker, 1966

DEVIANCE IS RELATIVE

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Real-Life Examples

Iranian women soccer team banned Men with long hair are served
from Olympics 2012 qualifying VS last at public offices, (SG 1970s)
match due to “inappropriate attire”

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Causes of Deviance:
Symbolic Interactionist View

Differential Association Theory:

 Deviance is learnt through different groups’ norms

 By choosing & joining one group over another, we shape our

own orientation to life & deviance

 Groups = family, friends, neighbourhood, subcultures, CCAs

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Causes of Deviance:
Symbolic Interactionist View

Control Theory:
We want to deviate but we conform. Why?
2 control systems:

 Inner Controls: include our internalised morality (conscience,

religious convictions, moral values, desire to do good, fear of
punishment, feeling of integrity)

 Outer Controls: include people who influence us to follow norms

(family, friends, police)

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Causes of Deviance:
Conflict Theory
 Power elite runs society & controls the criminal justice system
(police, courts, prisons)

 They define deviance of other groups to protect their own position

& privileges in society

 The marginal working class, being poor, commit crimes out of

desperation

 Law is used as an instrument of oppression

 punish the crimes of the poor severely while diverting legal
attention away from the crimes of the rich

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Causes of Deviance:
Conflict View
Real Life Examples of Conflict Theory

Elderly man arrested for Goldman Sachs, one of the biggest

attempting suicide VS investment banks in the world, fined
US$500million for misleading investors

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Causes of Deviance:
Functionalist View

Strain Theory:

 Most people aspire to mainstream cultural goals

 Unequal access to society’s institutionalised means prevent

them from achieving these goals

 They experience strain and feel wronged by society

 The way out: reject/replace goals or use illegitimate means (4

deviant responses)

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Strain Theory: Conformity
Path Cultural Institutionalised Deviant? Examples
Goals Means

Conformity Desire Accept No Work hard & earn

(just follow) diploma/ degree

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Strain Theory: 4 Deviant Paths
Path Cultural Institutionalised Deviant? Examples
Goals Means
Innovation Desire Replace Yes Drug dealer
(short cuts)
Retreatism Reject Reject Yes Drug addict/
(withdraw) dropout
Ritualism Reject Accept Maybe PhD in
(give up idealism) unmarketable
field/bored
cashier/clerk
Rebellion Reject/ Reject/Replace Yes Political
(create something) Replace revolutionary/
activist

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How does society deal with
deviants?

Develop systems of social control to ensure we follow & obey

norms
How? Through sanctions

Positive Sanctions Negative Sanctions

• encourage desired behaviours • deter undesired behaviours

• reward norms-followers • punish norms-breakers

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Sanctions - Examples

Positive Sanctions Negative Sanctions

Praise, pay rise, Z grades, sainthood, hero Gossip, frown, avoidance, demotion, death
worship, promotion etc. penalty etc

Result: People stick to norms Result: People suffer social stigma ,

hopefully less deviant

The medicalisation of deviance (sees

deviance as mental illness)

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Is Society better off without
Deviance?
Functionalist View: No

3 Functions of deviance:

 Draws clear moral boundaries & affirms norms

 Promotes social unity against deviants

 Promotes social change (with enough support, deviant behaviour

can become acceptable) e.g. Tattoos

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Food for Thought

Was Steve Jobs a deviant? In what way?

Check out ‘Think Different’ ad:
https://youtu.be/4oAB83Z1ydE

 Did not finish school

 Did not do consumer research before releasing products like iPhone and iPad
 Focus on design & simplicity while the entire computer industry focuses on
performance & functionality
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Food for Thought

For those of you interested to do further research or study on your own,

you may want to consider finding out explanations for the following:

Why do gangs still persist in modern-day Singapore?

Why is homosexuality illegal in Singapore?

Do you learn how to be a better criminal while in prison?

Remember: Sociological explanations are not the same as ‘common-

sense’ explanations.

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References

Theories of Deviance

www.cliffsnotes.com/study-guides/sociology/deviance-crime-and-social-control/t
heories-of-deviance

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MindMap
Relative Sanctions
Person, Context & Place
Positive
• more conformity

Deviance & Crime Negative

• Less deviance

Conflict Functionalist
Theory Symbolic Theory
Law – instrument of Interactionist
oppression of marginal 1. Functions of deviance
working class Differential Association
Control Theory 2. Four Deviant Paths

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