HUMNNTR 2210 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Counterculture, Differential Association, Anomie
22 Aug 2016
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Document Summary
Definition of deviance: deviant behavior is any behavior that violates the social norms and values shared by the people in a particular culture. Since norms vary across societies, what is considered to be deviant varies across societies. Different societies have different expectations on how people are to behave. Norms change over time so what is considered deviant at one point in time will be considered normative at another point in time. The sanctions may not be severe but every norm has a sanction. To define an act as deviant is not a judgment on whether the act is good or bad, moral or immoral. Saying that an act is deviant means that it violates the norms of a group of people at a particular point in time. Criminal behavior is behavior that violates the laws of a particular society. Criminal behavior need not be considered deviant and deviant behavior need not be criminal.
