Answer to Question #196675 in Sociology for Gloria Phoebe

Question

deviance is a function of the failures of society. with the aid of three relevant theories and practical examples discuss the statement

Answer 1

Deviance is any conduct that infringes social customs and norms and is typical of adequate sternness to deserve condemnation from most of the community. Deviance can be non‐criminal or criminal. Modern societies deliberate such deeds as drunkenness, extreme gambling, robbery, dishonesty, declining to take a bath, acquiring the amenities of prostitutes, and cross‐salad dressing—naming a few—as deviant.

Deviance has several functions in society. It explains norms and enhances conventionality. It reinforces social connections between the individuals responding to the deviant and supports in leading to affirmative social change. Various social and physical features of metropolitan districts contribute to high crime rates. As a result, deviance is argued as a function of the failures of society.

1.0 Edwin Sutherland devised the phrase "differential association" to address how individuals learn deviancy. Consistent with this theory, the surroundings play a crucial role in determining which customs individuals learn to infringe. Precisely, individuals in a specific orientation group offer models of conformism and eccentricity, and as a result, significantly impact the way other individuals view the world, comprising how they act in response to social facets (Shoemaker, 2018). Individuals also learn their standards from numerous socializing agents— educators, family, parents, friends, co‐employees, and the mass media. In summary, individuals learn criminal conduct, like other deeds, from their relations with others, particularly in close groups. This concept relates to many forms of deviant behavior. For instance, juvenile mobs offer a setting in which young people learn to develop into convicts.           

2.0 Anomie denotes the misunderstanding that develops when social standards conflict or do not exist. During the 1960s, Robert Merton employed the term "anomie" to define the dissimilarities between publicly established objectives and the accessibility of resources to attain those aims. Merton emphasized, for example, that getting wealth is a crucial objective of people in modern societies. Still, not all people hold the resources and avenues to do this, particularly members of underprivileged groups (Kaufman, 2017). Thus, people who find the "road to treasures" fastened them experience anomie since a stumbling block has disillusioned their search for a communally accepted objective. When this materializes, these people may use deviant behaviors to achieve their goals, strike back against culture, or "make a point." The critical input of the anomie concept is its capacity to describe numerous types of deviance. The philosophy is also sociological in its prominence on the role of social facets in generating nonconformity in communities.

3.0 As Walter Reckless's control theory states, both internal and external controls work against deviant propensities. Individuals may desire—at best some of the time—to act in non-standard manners. However, most do not. They have numerous limitations: internal controls, for instance, integrity, standards, reliability, decency, and the aspiration to be a "respectable individual"; and external controls, for example, the police force, family, associates, and religious establishments (Inderbitzin et al., 2016). Travis Hirschi distinguished that these internal and external limits create an individual's personality, a self-control that inhibits performing against societal standards. The key to developing self‐control is appropriate socialization, particularly early in infancy. Kids who lack this self‐esteem, then, may extend to obligate crimes and other non-standard deeds.

References

Inderbitzin, M., Bates, K. A., & Gainey, R. R. (2016). Deviance and social control: A sociological perspective. SAGE Publications.

Kaufman, J. M. (2017). Anomie, strain and subcultural theories of crime. Routledge.

Shoemaker, D. J. (2018). Theories of delinquency: An examination of explanations of delinquent behavior. Oxford University Press.