Theories of Deviance

Theories of Deviance

1. Structural Functionism

   • The morals that individuals are taught constrain their behavior
   • Deviance is functional for society
   • Durkheim though it was normal/necessary

2. Strain Theory

   • Culture dictates success for all citizens but institutional access is limited to middle/upper strata

3. Conflict Theory

   • Social conflict arises from incompatible interests (class, politics)
   • Crime exists b/c of dominant class interests

4. Feminist Theory

   • Patriarchal system oppresses/discriminates women
   • Deviance is male centered and subjugates women

5. Culture Conflict Theory

   • Subculture norms/values meshed w/American culture conflicts
   • 3 way of conflict: migration, territory takeover, or culture codes clash

6. Reaction Theory

   • Working-class males have highest difficulty succeeding due to subculture
   • Creates deviant behavior

7. Lower Class Culture Theory

   • Those that follow subculture norms become deviant to middle class norms

8. Differential Opportunity Theory

   • Criminal- arise from access to deviant subcultures
   • Conflict- attract those with violent attributes
   • Retreatist- attract those not inclined to violence but want to withdraw from society

9. Drift Theory

   • Cross into deviant subcultures occurs gradually from deviance to legitmacy
   • Applies to leaving deviance as well

10. Labeling Theory

    • Those caught during deviance are branded as a deviant
    • "A deviant is one whom the label has been applied; deviant behavior is behavior people so label"

11. Control Theory of Delinquency

    • Relationship between individual and society rather than interaction dynamics
    • Elements of the Bond
      • Attachment
      • Commitment
      • Involvement
      • Belief

12. Differential Association Theory

    • Deviant behavior is socially learned from friends/family
    • Criminal and non-criminal behavior express same needs/values
    • Become criminal b/c of criminal pattern contacts and isolation from noncriminal contacts

13. American Dream Cultural Axioms

    • Deflection of criticism of social structure onto oneself
    • Social power preservation by having lower class identify themselves with upper class
    • Less membership into society for those that fail to conform

14. Types of Individual Adaptation

    • Conformity- widely used due to cultural goals/institutionalized means
    • Innovation- access to cultural goals but no institutionalized means
    • Ritualism- rejects cultural goals and abides institutionalized norms
    • Retreatism- in the society but not of it (follow neither)
    • Rebellion- leads to a new/changed social structure (neither for nor against)

15. Constructionism

    • Redefine social problems as claims that various conditions constituted social problems
    • Focused of deviance, medicalization, macro level
    • Emphasizes role of interpretation, assigning meaning, understanding deviant behavior classification