Through time each group of people, society or even religion has created different sets of norms that are accepted upon and expected to be followed by each of the members. Most people assume that all group members will agree, respect and follow all of these norms but in reality a few of them will demonstrate deviant behavior. Deviance is an action or behavior that violates a social norm and as an outcome it will evoke a negative reaction from others. People who act deviant either receive a formal or an informal type of punishment. A formal punishment is given to those who break a serious law such as killing, rape or stealing, this type of punishment is given by the judicial system. Informal punishment in the other hand is only a mild sanction
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Such laws are made so society could be stable and function properly. The theoretical perspective that best describes deviance is structural functionalism since it focuses on how different parts of a community all contribute to the overall stability of society. Emile Durkheim is one of the first sociologist who argued that human behavior is mostly influenced by different social facts or social relations in which people are surrounded by. I agree since the forms you behave in, think and believe are largely depending on whom you surround yourself by and how you grow up in life. The way your family, friends and even classmates act and behave will largely influence you, as you will act likewise in order to fit in. Robert Merton has a slightly different point of view as he believed that Durkheim exaggerated the degree to which people actually shared the same believes or values. He suggested that social structures had different type of consequences for different groups of people. I believe that his theory is one of the strongest ones, and the one I agree with the most since, as it is your final decision on how to act upon different situations. You choices are not defined by experiences you’ve had in the past or by choices your friends or family make, you are the one to make the final decision and act towards
Such laws are made so society could be stable and function properly. The theoretical perspective that best describes deviance is structural functionalism since it focuses on how different parts of a community all contribute to the overall stability of society. Emile Durkheim is one of the first sociologist who argued that human behavior is mostly influenced by different social facts or social relations in which people are surrounded by. I agree since the forms you behave in, think and believe are largely depending on whom you surround yourself by and how you grow up in life. The way your family, friends and even classmates act and behave will largely influence you, as you will act likewise in order to fit in. Robert Merton has a slightly different point of view as he believed that Durkheim exaggerated the degree to which people actually shared the same believes or values. He suggested that social structures had different type of consequences for different groups of people. I believe that his theory is one of the strongest ones, and the one I agree with the most since, as it is your final decision on how to act upon different situations. You choices are not defined by experiences you’ve had in the past or by choices your friends or family make, you are the one to make the final decision and act towards