Introduction to Sociology SOCI201 Module 3 Exploring Arenas of Sociological Study Chapters 7 13 14 15 and 17 Deviance Straying away from the norm normative Statistics standard deviation distance certain values are from the average There is positive and negative deviance Deviance Norms Driven over the speed limit Skipped a class Drank alcohol while under the legal age Have a tattoo Taken illegal drugs Told a lie Been involved in a fight Stolen anything Cheated on a significant other Cheated on an exam Been a prick just to be a prick Norms Guidelines that govern our thoughts beliefs and behaviors Prescriptive tell us what we should do o Informal no written rules excuse me after bumping o Formals laws that require us to pay part of our income into someone each year in taxes Proscriptive tell us what we should NOT do o Informal don t put your feet on the dinner table o Formal don t cheat on partner don t murder Types of Norms o Folkways informal norms that reflect cultural traditions and guide our everyday interactions different by culture nation etc o Mores Morays informal but salient norms that are linked to value judgments about the rightness and wrongness of particular acts Almost always have moral connotations and include norms prohibiting acts such as incest adultery murder and stealing o Laws Mores often codified into laws formal rules enacted and enforced by the state Deviance and Norms Deviance violation of a social norm Conformity adherence to social norms http www youtube com watch v ltaUpq 26Us how we conform to act in elevators People stand backwards so the man being watched turns around backwards slowly also They follow along in peer pressure to fit in with what the other people are doing face the same way take off the hats http www youtube com watch v lwxwwoJaYuo borat dating service skin http www youtube com watch v PTxHmulfHOQ jackass always violating social norms http www youtube com watch v e9sMr Ivcfs science of gossip and rumors http www youtube com watch v oFDWOXV6iEM Function of gossip understand social culture behavior Celebrity gossip reflection of popular ethics information humanity ourselves exchange Gossip cannot consume it without bias and your own experience what we believe and expect and reject and how we process Gossip allows us to set a standard of conduct o Double standard Kristen Stewart example she lost roles and director got more roles and kept job Gossip told us about our social expectations about Gossip or reflection of social trend About celebrities relationships becoming moms o Most comfortable seeing moms as moms Rihanna and Chris brown flection of societies attitudes about violence towards women and going back to men who abuse them Range of Tolerance Most human behavior falls around the norm Society members create a range of tolerance around the norm when it falls outside the range it is considered deviant Under conformity considered deviant norm over conformity considered deviant How do age race and gender play a part of this She does this women shouldn t do this We ve changed the range of tolerance for the speed limit not normal to drive the speed limit College working too hard over conforming and not working enough and going out too much under conforming Deviance and Norms Time norms change over time example Place place where behavior occurs important example Situation think time place Culture different cultures different norms Parsons Sick Role Illness deviant Sick role socially acceptable for us and certain rules for us being sick don t have to go to school work can eat what we want can watch movies we can be lazy because we have to get better don t follow social norms Have to earn this role though want to get better seek professional help and see a doctor Can deviance ever be positive Individuals who lead civil rights women s rights Deviance and speaking out but for a positive impact Theories on Deviance Structural Functionalist Durkheim Merton Conflict How Power explains deviance Symbolic Interactionist Labeling primary secondary deviance master status Structural Functionalist Deviance How can social deviance be function Think Durkheim s perspective Even severe forms of deviance such as crime can enhance social cohesion and solidarity Gossip reinforce social norms reminds us about rules that we are supposed to follow Crime reminds us that its not right and we need to follow rules Merton s 1938 Theory of Anomie American culture emphasizes success and wealth as important values strive for economic and educational success Education system legitimate route to widely shared goal of economic success LARGE segments of society perceive their means to success are systematically blocked their schools suck poorly trained teachers discriminations etc blocks what we consider the legitimate route to success barriers o Inadequate school facilities poorly trained teachers lack financial assistance to pursue higher education class and race based discrimination in schools and in labor force blocks their path to societal GOALS Anomie gap between socially acceptable goals Desires and success and structural means to those goals access to adequate education and employment People who experience Anomie adapt to that dilemma in one of several possible ways changing goals pursuing alternative means or both 5 adaptive responses conformity ritualism innovation retreatism rebellion o When we talk about these we are talking about accepting rejecting socially accepted goals success and the culturally approved means of achieving these goals education and employment Conformity people accept socially approved goals and pursue them by culturally acceptable means even if they find those means to not be readily available to them Go through it and a little blocked not on level playing field going to try to get the best education and the best job even though there are barriers in the way Just going to work harder Innovation finding a new way to do an old thing Innovators internalize societal goals o BUT o They either reject the culturally approved terms of achieving them o OR b c they find the approved means unavailable develop alternative means of pursuing those goals o F education f employment its not going to go for me this sucks I cant get an education with bad teachers and lack of resources this was not for me its too blocked for me So find a different way to do it Example robbing a bank can t get money so they find a different way to get the money Ritualism person