Mr. Crowley
Sociology 101
26 September 2015 Deviance and Sanctions
Deviance is an absence of conformity. Social norms vary from culture to culture. A deviant act can perpetuate in one’s society that breaks a social norm, you may have restrictions in one society, but it may be normal in another. Such as shaking hands to show respect in the U.S. could be disrespectful in another country. Robert Merton’s strain theory talks about how most American societies try to reach their culturally approved goals and why deviance causes them not to. In situations one may forget such goals and they become deviant or criminal. Strain theory is mostly used in lower class crimes. Merton states that lower-class people turn to crime so they can share are goals of economic success. There are four types of deviant behavior Merton talks about, Innovation, Ritualism, Retreatism, and Rebellion. (Brinkerhoff 2011 p.122)
The first type of deviance is Innovation, Innovation is the acceptance of society’s goals but the rejection of a legitimate way of accomplishing those goals. On the news you may …show more content…
For example Thomas Jefferson owned hundreds of slaves by inheritance, marriage, and trade. He inherited large plantations making him one of the biggest planters in Virginia. In Jefferson's Presidency Virginia banned importing slaves into Virginia. Jefferson was in favor of ending the slave trade. He owned slaves but when he was president tried to get rid the country of slavery.
The third type of deviance is Retreatism, Retreatism is the rejection of cultural goals and the means of achieving those goals. People who shoplift, do drugs, commit fraud are examples of this type of Retreatism deviance. Anyone who lives in a certain environment with laws and guidelines and requirements on how to live they either don’t feel like it applies to them or they just don’t