Chapter 7: Deviance and CrimeSections 7.1-7.2a, up to and including the section labeled “Durkheim: The Study of Suicide.” What Is Deviance?I. The Functionalist Perspective on Deviance and Social ControlSOC 101 March 17 Lecture OutlineChapter 5: Social Structure and Social Interaction, continuedImpression Management and DramaturgyErving GoffmanPresentation of Self in Everyday Life (1959)Dramaturgical theory makes use of concepts that parallel those of stage performances: roles, props, scenes, etc.People project images of themselves on the social stage to be seen in particular ways and to achieve particular ends.Impression management: how one watches and manipulates another's behavior and adjusts his/her own to the other’s expectations.Front stage: Back stage: RolesPerformanceAudienceSocial Exchange Theoryour interactions are determined by the rewards/punishments we receive from others.Argues that behavior that is rewarded will be repeatedBehavior that is punished will not be repeatedChapter 7: Deviance and CrimeSections 7.1-7.2a, up to and including the section labeled “Durkheim: The Studyof Suicide.”" What Is Deviance?2A general definition: “deviance” refers to any violation of normsAccording to Howard S. Becker, sociologists are concerned not with the act itself, but the reactions to the act – those reactions are what make something deviant.Deviance is relative; “what is deviant” varies from society to society and group to group.A specific form of deviance, crime (the violations of rules that have been written into law), is also relative.To sum up, the four main characteristics of deviant behavior:1. It occurs in a social context and is not just individual behavior.2. It is culturally relative.3. The social rules are created or constructed; not just morally decided upon or enforced.4. The audience decides what is defined as deviantWhat is the purpose of social control?By making behavior predictable, norms make social life possible. Consequently, all human groups develop a system of social control with formal and informal means of enforcing norms.An especially effective negative sanction within primary groups and small communities is shaming, which typically involves subjecting a “rule breaker” to public ridicule, humiliation, and/or condemnation.The Medicalization of DevianceOver the past 100 years, there has been a growing tendency to view deviance,including crime, as mental illness3Thomas Szasz argues that mental illnesses are neither mental nor illness. Rather, theyare simply problem behaviors. Although not all sociologists agree with Szasz’s arguments, some find his analysisrefreshing because it indicates that socialization and social structures, not illnesses ofthe mind, underlie deviant behavior. A good example is the labeling of inattention and disruption in class, as well as disrespect for authority, as the result of the child having ADD or ADHDTheories of DevianceI. The Functionalist Perspective on Deviance and Social ControlWhat, then, are the functions (and dysfunctions) of deviance?Functionalists contend that deviance, including crime, is a natural part of society and, furthermore, fulfills necessary functions for society. According to Durkheim, deviance contributes to the social order through three main functions:1. Deviance clarifies moral boundaries and norms (punishing deviants affirms a group’s norms and clarifies what it means to be a member of that group).2. Deviance promotes social unity (punishing deviants fosters a feeling of togetherness in a group’s members, while affirming the rightness of that group’s ways). Even dysfunctional behaviors such as prostitution and arson reinforce stability.3. Deviance promotes social change (when boundary violations gain enough support, they become new, acceptable behaviors; as such, deviance may force a group to rethink and redefine its moral boundaries and change its customary ways).The Case of SuicideIn fact, the pursuit of mainstream values may generate forms of deviance4Anomic suicide occurs when the disintegrating forces in the society make individuals feel lost or alone. Altruistic suicide occurs when there is excessive regulation of individuals by social forces. As Durkheim argued, altruistic suicide results when individuals are excessively dominated by the expectations of their social group. People who commit altruistic suicide subordinate themselves to collective expectations,even when death is the result.Egoistic suicide occurs when people feel totally detached from society. Ordinarily, people are integrated into society by work roles, ties to family and community, and other social bonds. When these bonds are weakened through retirement, loss of family and friends, or socioeconomic hardship, the likelihood of egoistic suicide