Examples Of Deviance And Social Control

Syed Raza

SOC-101-001WB

6/6/2023

Deviance & Social Control

Deviance is a behavior, belief, or trait that departs from a norm and generates a negative reaction in a particular social group. In other words deviance means the state of departing from acceptable standards. However because deviance is based on norms and beliefs something might be deviant in one culture but seem normal in another. Also because of that deviance should never be held against morals because norms and beliefs change all the time unlike morals. An example of deviance is seen in this example about going out with your friends to dinner. The first example is if you use the tiny fork to eat salad instead of the biggest. You would be breaking a norm but none of you friends

In the first example if you were in a group of people and everybody was wearing a mask when you guys went out. You would most likely wear a mask. But in the second example, if nobody in your group wears masks. You would most likely not wear masks because you would feel like you're breaking deviance. Another example includes a protest during covid-19. This is seen when a child that appears to be younger than 8 years old tossing her mask into a fire started using an anti-mask protest. With all the adults around her tossing their masks in the fire, it would be an act of deviance if the child did not throw her mask too. The child does not know better and it would appear very wrong if the child had not thrown her mask into the fire. Another example that largely affects a lot of people in the United States and the world is jail time. Because an example of punishment for breaking deviance can be seen in jail time. Once somebody breaks deviance they might be held accountable and their punishment would be to be imprisoned. Impromeinemt or known as the criminal justice system, made up of police, courts, and correction is also known as social

Where he discusses how one must be strong with their social bonds, family and religion, civic and other groups. And how if one has strong bonds with these groups they are less likely to commit crimes. But overall the people who behave deviantly most likely have personal, environmental, or societal influences. An example can be seen as people who are deviant heroes. These people violate norms at the risk of repercussions on their own behalf. An example of a deviant hero can be seen in Colin Kaepernck who was a former professional quarterback. Even though the high chances of damaging his reputation he held his courage to kneel during the national anthem. This shows how Kaepernck broke a social norm so he would be able to speak about an important cause. Social control is the formal and informal mechanism used to elicit conformity to values and norms and thus promote social cohesion. Prime examples of social control can be seen in a punishment or something a community might do to control their social environment. A popular theory by Travis Hirschi provides a more detailed definition. Social control theory is a theory of crime that posits that strong social bonds increase conformity and decrease