Sociological Theory Of Deviance

As young children, from the time we learn to walk, talk, and etc., children are taught to obey and behave in a way that is satisfying to their society's standards of behavior. Each society is set to have its own standards of behavior, also known as norms. One set of norms set within one society, may be similar to those of another society or they could differentiate from another society's principles and rules. No matter how different or similar, norms are a part of a society's core, and for they are the guidelines to how those living within the society should act, behave, and exhibit what is acceptable and unacceptable. Despite the efforts to enforce norms through different acts of social control, there are many civilians who do not abide by

These perspectives and theories help provide a structure for understanding observations on topics such as deviance. The symbolic interaction perspective views society as a product of daily social interactions of individuals. However, when it comes to studying deviance, many of these theorists observe how people in everyday situations define deviance. Sociologist, Edwin Sutherland, studied deviance from the symbolic interaction perspective (). Based on his gatherings, deviance is a learned behavior that people learn from a variety of groups that they associate themselves with. According to Sutherland, the reason people do commit deviant acts are because they associate themselves with people who commit deviant acts themselves or who act in a deviant manner. Sutherland went on the further explain that when an individual inherits different behaviors from others that they see commit, they are likely to mimic those actions. The closer the relationship, plays a part in the someone's actions too. Overall, the sociologist interactionalist perspective views deviance as something that is influenced upon an

Theoretically, functional analysis and the conflict theory share similarities because they both comprehend society's at a larger viewpoint and both group individuals together by class or either symbols. Rather than this functionalist approach beginning with the individual, the functionalist analysis of deviance begins with society as a whole. The functionalist perspective believes deviance serves two primary roles in creating social stability for a society. The first primary goal is systems of recognizing and punishing deviance create norms and tell members of a given society how to properly behave by laying out the guidelines of what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior. Mainly, everyone must be aware of what behaviors are considered deviant in order to avoid an unsettling society. From a structural functionalist perspective, then, how does society change, particularly in regards to establishing norms and deviant behaviors? (The Functionalist, n,d). Overall, deviance provides the key to understanding the disruption and re-calibration of society that occurs over a period of time from a functionalist