Walter B Miller Theory Of Deviance Essay

What is deviance, could you tell which youths are the ‘bad eggs’ and which ones you want your children to befriend? What about those who embezzle and commit fraud, are they also deviant? Being such a broad topic, is there really a single theory out there that can explain why deviance occurs. From arguments that it happens because of the culture of the lower class to issues surrounding the ego, or perhaps its environmental factors that explain deviance. I will argue that because deviance is a diverse phenomenon and therefore cannot be explained by any one theory.

Beginning with Walter B Miller’s (Miller, 1958) theory, which is based on very niche criteria, lower class young people from the slums who commit crime. Miller (1958) goes on to dismiss any psychological or environmental factors as an influence to any deviance or crimes committed, despite those ion the lower class being most affected by their environment and being most likely to fall ill to mental health issues. This would provide a counter argument to Miller as psychological and environmental issues might be what is keeping the youth out of work and in the lower class committing crimes. Miller would …show more content…
Deviance is incredibly complex and does not have a singular cause or solution. Each of these theories focuses on particular acts of deviance, and cannot be applied to different acts, often ending with contradictions. Each theory has then tried to apply its reasoning’s to the much more diverse phenomenon, deviance. Each of these theories has tried to determine a single great cause rather than a series of smaller causes that adapt and change depending on the situation. A better theory perhaps would be to understand and explain forms and acts of deviance, rather than try to ambitiously understand it as a single