Sociology Plus
Deviant Behaviour Definition
The sociology of deviance is an analytical field that studies socially proscribed departures from accepted norms, offering a significantly broader scope than traditional criminology. While traditional criminology historically focused narrowly on infractions of legal norms, the sociology of deviance examines any behaviour deemed deviant, regardless of its legality, encompassing a heterogeneous range of activities such as foul language or heavy drinking. This approach fundamentally diverges from traditional views by shifting the focus from individual criminality to the social processes and structures that define and manage deviance within society.
Divergence from Criminology
The distinction between the two fields rests on three major analytical divergences. Firstly, in terms of scope, criminology concentrates on behaviour that violates established legal standards, whereas the sociology of deviance adopts a much wider definition, treating any socially condemned departure from ‘normality’ as an object of study. Secondly, regarding causation, traditional criminology tended to locate the causes of crime within the individual criminal, whereas deviancy theory posits that certain criminal acts result from the imposition and enforcement of social control mechanisms upon subordinate or marginal social groups. This perspective highlights how the application of law can inadvertently amplify existing societal deviance. Finally, there is a difference in analytical focus: traditional criminology often conflated the existence of crime with the character of the offender, whereas deviancy studies advocate for keeping the question of societal deviance and the process of individual deviation analytically separate.
The Social Construction of Deviance
The notion that behaviour is simply ‘deviant’ presupposes a degree of normative consensus within society, which itself is an assumption challenged by modern industrial societies characterised by value pluralism. The experience of deviance involves a structured social process: individuals who commit deviant acts face negative social reactions, leading to stigmatisation and social isolation. This process can be conceptualised through the progression from primary deviance—the initial infraction of social norms—to secondary deviance. Social isolation often compels the individual to seek support in deviant subcultures, thereby adopting a deviant role.
Deviant Careers and Stigmatisation
The development of a deviant identity is seen as the result of these social processes, where individuals are ostracised from conventional roles and forced to adopt alternative self-conceptions. This process can be viewed as a ‘career’ of deviance, which involves a structured pattern of rule-breaking that socialises an individual into deviance over time. While this career model is particularly useful for understanding offenders in specific areas like drug or sexual offending, it raises questions regarding the conflicts between external social labels and personal identity. The limitations of purely symbolic interactionist approaches have underscored the necessity of theories that centrally incorporate the role of ‘social control’ in shaping deviant behaviour.