What is the term for behavior that violates the norms or expectations of a group or a society?

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Levine, J. M., & Hogg, M. A. (2010). Social deviance. In Encyclopedia of group processes & intergroup relations (Vol. 1, pp. 774-777). SAGE Publications, Inc., https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412972017.n239

Levine, John M., and Michael A. Hogg. "Social Deviance." In Encyclopedia of Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, edited by Levine, John M., and Michael A. Hogg, 774-77. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2010. https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412972017.n239.

Levine, J. M. and Hogg, M. A. 2010. Social Deviance. In: John M. Levine and Michael A. Hogg Editors, 2010. Encyclopedia of Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. pp. 774-777 Available at: <https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412972017.n239> [Accessed 30 Nov 2022].

Levine, John M. and Michael A. Hogg. "Social Deviance." Encyclopedia of Group Processes & Intergroup Relations. Edited by Vol. 1. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2010, pp. 774-77. SAGE Knowledge. 30 Nov 2022, doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412972017.n239.

Levine, John M., and Michael A. Hogg (2010). Social deviance In:Social deviance Encyclopedia of group processes & intergroup relations Vol. 1. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.; 2010:774-777. doi:10.4135/9781412972017.n239

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What is Deviance?

According to the book, Deviance is any behavior, belief, or condition that violates significant social norms in the society or group in which it occurs.

Right from the start we can see that Deviance, despite our instincts about it, is not universal but relative. This means that deviance depends on the group in which the behavior occurs.

We have been discussing social structure and group dynamics and we saw that each group has it's own culture…so we can look at deviance only relative to the culture (either group or societal) norms and expectations.

Different kinds of deviance have different degrees of seriousness.

Crime is a form of deviant behavior that violates criminal law and is punishable by fines, jail terms and other negative sanctions.

An interesting question for sociologists to ask is: Who defines what is deviant? Or better yet, what is normal?

To fully understand the answers to this question we have to take into consideration what we have learned about social structure. Individuals and institutions within our society have been charged with the responsibility of determining what is normal and what is deviant…all together these create a sense of what is normal for our society.

Consider the following groups and their role in defining what is normal and what is not:

Courts

Many times when a case goes to court it is not clear if a crime has been committed. Depending on the type of crime, judges and juries will decide if a particular behavior happened and how it should be punished

Psychiatrists and Psychologists

These individuals collectively publish a book called the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders. The guidebook provides diagnostic criteria for determining if behavior is simply eccentric or abnormal.

Legislators and Law Makers

Ultimately what is considered criminal is based in policy. Policy that has been developed in light of legislative action that limits, or controls interactions among individuals.
Different levels of government have control over different kinds of interactions.

All that we are dealing with here is social control, which came up in the last chapter.

Social Control is the systematic practices developed by social groups to encourage conformity and discourage deviance.

All groups exert a kind of social control on their members in order to reduce deviance. This is important in the establishment of the identity of a group because it is these behaviors which define the group.

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Deviance

core definition

Deviance refers to that which is not consistent with the norm.

explanatory context

While intuitively straightforward, defining what is deviant is difficult because the norm is difficult to pin down.

The simplest situation occurs in statistical analysis where deviant cases are those that deviate most from the ‘average’ .

When discussing deviant behaviour, however, no simple notion of average behaviour exists and so what is deviant has to be construed in other ways. In general, the study of social deviance can be seen to have developed in one of two ways. First, as ‘objectively defined’, in which case research addresses official records of what a society has defined as deviant on the assumption that there are widespread and consistent norms and values. Second, as ‘subjectively problematic’, in which case deviance is viewed as against prevailing norms and the focus of enquiry is on those who define a person as being socially deviant, and on how this definition (or labelling) effects the deviant.

analytical review

CliffsNotes (undated) states:

Deviance is any behavior that violates social norms, and is usually of sufficient severity to warrant disapproval from the majority of society. Deviance can be criminal or non-criminal. The sociological discipline that deals with crime (behavior that violates laws) is criminology (also known as criminal justice). Today, Americans consider such activities as alcoholism, excessive gambling, being nude in public places, playing with fire, stealing, lying, refusing to bathe, purchasing the services of prostitutes, and cross-dressing—to name only a few—as deviant. People who engage in deviant behavior are referred to as deviants.

Raynet Sociology Glossary (undated) stated:

Deviance (deviant[s]) - Generally, deviance is nonconformity to social norms. However, often deviance is simply conformity to the norms or standards of a subgroup or subculture rather than those of the dominant culture. Deviance is not inherent in any behavior or attitude but rather is a result of human interaction in particular normative situations.

Elwell's Glossary of Sociology (undated) defines deviance as:

Behaviors which do not conform to significant norms held by most of the members of a group or society. What is regarded as 'deviant' is highly variable across societies.

and defines deviant subculture as:

A subculture which has values and norms which differ substantially from those of the majority in a society.

Richard Schaefer (2017):

Deviance: Behavior that violates the standards of conduct or expectations of a group or society..

associated issues

related areas