Conceptual Analysis on Social Behavior: Deviance
CONCEPTUAL ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL BEHAVIOR: DEVIANCE
Viel Elysse N. Cansino
Concept: DEVIANCE is the outcome of social strains due to the way the society is structured. For some people, the strain becomes overwhelming to the point where they do deviance as a way to manage the strain. Often their deviance is due to their feelings of anomie—meaningless due to not understanding how the social norms are to affect them. This is usually because the norms are weak, confusing, or conflicting. Robert K. Merton, an American sociologist, discussed deviance in terms of goals and means as part of his Strain/Anomie theory.
Nature of Man: Merton postulated that an individual 's response to societal expectations and the means by which the individual pursued those goals were useful in understanding deviance. Specifically, he viewed collective action as motivated by strain, stress, or frustration in a body of individuals that arises from a disconnection between the society 's goals and the popularly used means to achieve those goals. Often, non-routine collective behavior (rioting, rebellion, etc.) is said to map onto economic explanations and causes by way of strain. These two dimensions determine the adaptation to society according to the cultural goals, which are the society 's perceptions about the ideal life, and to the institutionalized means, which are the legitimate means through which an individual may aspire to the cultural goals.
Nature of Society: Merton believed that social institutions act to further society and work to keep stability within the social structure. This is the framework from which Merton tried to understand how deviance shapes society (and vice versa). With deviance being found naturally within a society, Merton believed that society caused it. Merton believed that when societal norms place pressure on the individual to conform, they force the individual to either work within the structure society has produced, or, become members of deviant
Viel Elysse N. Cansino
Concept: DEVIANCE is the outcome of social strains due to the way the society is structured. For some people, the strain becomes overwhelming to the point where they do deviance as a way to manage the strain. Often their deviance is due to their feelings of anomie—meaningless due to not understanding how the social norms are to affect them. This is usually because the norms are weak, confusing, or conflicting. Robert K. Merton, an American sociologist, discussed deviance in terms of goals and means as part of his Strain/Anomie theory.
Nature of Man: Merton postulated that an individual 's response to societal expectations and the means by which the individual pursued those goals were useful in understanding deviance. Specifically, he viewed collective action as motivated by strain, stress, or frustration in a body of individuals that arises from a disconnection between the society 's goals and the popularly used means to achieve those goals. Often, non-routine collective behavior (rioting, rebellion, etc.) is said to map onto economic explanations and causes by way of strain. These two dimensions determine the adaptation to society according to the cultural goals, which are the society 's perceptions about the ideal life, and to the institutionalized means, which are the legitimate means through which an individual may aspire to the cultural goals.
Nature of Society: Merton believed that social institutions act to further society and work to keep stability within the social structure. This is the framework from which Merton tried to understand how deviance shapes society (and vice versa). With deviance being found naturally within a society, Merton believed that society caused it. Merton believed that when societal norms place pressure on the individual to conform, they force the individual to either work within the structure society has produced, or, become members of deviant
References: Merton, R. K. (1942) "The Normative Structure of Science", The Sociology of Science: Theoretical and Empirical Investigations, University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-52092-7, Chicago, IL, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_K._Merton. Merton, Robert K. (1968-08-01). Social Theory and Social Structure (1968 enlarged ed.) US: Free Press.ISBN 0-02-921130-1, New York, NY. MB Clinard and RF Meier (1968), Sociology of deviant behavior. JD Douglas and FC Waksler FC (1982), The sociology of deviance: an introduction, Little Brown, Boston. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deviance_(sociology)