Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

Deviance Is Relative

Good Essays
479 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Deviance Is Relative
“Deviance is relative” – Evaluate.

Deviance is actions that seem to be abnormal or go against the norms and values of society. What is deviant largely depends on a situation so it is relative. This means that it is only deviant in certain places at certain times or in certain cultures.

There are three types of deviance, cross cultural, situational, and historical. Cross cultural deviant is some cultures but not in others for example in the UK it is seen as normal to wear shoes inside your house, but in japan in is seen as deviant.

Religion is also something that affects what is classed of deviance for example in religions such as Sikhism; they are expected to cover their heads when entering a temple, even if they are outside of the Sikh religion it is mandatory to wear something over your head in respect, if someone was to enter temple without covering their head it would be seen as morally wrong.

Situational deviance is when something is deviant in certain situations; what is seen as deviant in one country might not be in another country, it is hard to find one act that is universally seen as deviant in all types of societies. Deviance is relative to various different factors such as age, social status, and location. For example, deviance is subject to location; shouting in church during a service is considered as deviant but shouting at a party isn’t.

Historical deviance is another type of deviance which is basically something that used to be deviant in the past but is now no longer considered deviant in today’s society. In Victorian times it was seen to that all women wore long dresses that fell all the way to the floor as it was seen as unacceptable behaviour for women to show their ankles to men whereas in today’s society women are free to wear whatever they like, as long it is not seen as inappropriate by society.

The concept of deviance is not always relative, to say, absolute. If the concept is absolute it would mean that the same behaviour will always be considered deviant in all societies and at all times. One example of this is the 10 commandments; in Christianity these are the set rules they follow, all Christian societies follow these commandments as if they were law and as they were etched into stone there was no way that these rules could ever be changed, what was considered deviant in the commandments stayed to be seen as deviant in future generations.

To conclude the concept of ‘deviance is relative’ is true, I feel that this argument is stronger than the other because there is very little evidence of absolute deviance still existing in the world. Deviance is relative because it will always be changed by different factors such as situation, time and cross cultural.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Deviance is the term used to describe the violation of norms. Howard S. Becker, the sociologist that came up with the thought that says “It is not the act itself, but the reactions to the act that make something deviant”. A good example of the act of being deviant is when you see someone walking around naked or not politely dressed in public. It is something different that you don't see every day so you take it as something “Weird” and make it into a huge deal. It makes no sense in what you see, but they might think that it is normal and is very usual to them. Another good example is that if you were to go to the mountains and live with a tribe for a day or two, you will see that you guys are much different from each other, them thinking…

    • 223 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Pys-270 Dq 1&2 Wk1

    • 756 Words
    • 4 Pages

    * Deviance- One that differs from a norm, especially a person whose behavior and attitudes differ from accepted social standards ("Merriam-Webster Dictionary", 2013). Example: A person growing up in a house that yells everything at each other and that person as an adult does the same at home and work. Yelling instead of talk to family or co-workers. They raised that you yell at others then talk to them like a normal conversation.…

    • 756 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Module 1 Exam

    • 1710 Words
    • 13 Pages

    Deviance refers to human behaviors or actions that are considered by others to be wrong. Selected Answer: True…

    • 1710 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Deviance is behavior that a considerable number of people in a society view as reprehensible and beyond the limits of tolerance. In most cases it is both negatively valued and provokes hostile reactions. Deviance does not exist independently of norms. Without norms, and without the application of norms in interpreting behavior, there is no deviance. Society bases their views on what is considered appropriate by the majority of people within that society or culture. So in rural Utah seeing two men hold hands and displaying affection towards each other may seem unnatural and extremely out of the ordinary, the same couple could be living in San Francisco and their behavior may go unnoticed because they are among people of like mind where homosexuality is accepted. This explains how deviant behavior is relative to the population who deem what is socially appropriate. Or we could consider WWII and how being Jewish was considered deviant. The Nazi’s tried to exterminate an entire race due to their beliefs. This behavior was seen as deviant by the rest of the world and spawned WWII.…

    • 1971 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Chapter 6 Study Questions

    • 1594 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Deviance is behavior or characteristics that violate important social norms. The difference between how the dictionary defines deviance and how sociologist define deviance is what may be deviant in one place, at one particular time, may not be deviant in another place and time. Basically with times changing something may or may not be tolerated as acceptable behavior.…

    • 1594 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    According to chapter seven of Society (2006) deviance is the recognized violation of cultural norms. Something deviant in Europe might not be considered deviant in the United States. Someone who behaves in a manner which is against the norm of their culture is considered deviant. Some examples of human behavior that is considered deviant in some countries are woman who wear makeup, or woman being allowed to vote. According to Society (2006), woman in Saudi Arabia not only cannot vote, but are not allowed to drive automobiles as well. In the United States on the other hand, woman are allowed to wear makeup, vote, and drive automobiles. This is a good example…

    • 366 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    In sociology, the term deviance depicts a social judgment and not a moral judgment and since a deviant behavior is one that defies the expectations of a particular community, but not necessarily immoral. As such, one community might perceive a certain behavior as a crime while other communities perceive the behavior a norm. For example, the popular culture resonates closely with deviant characters such as sociopaths and psychopaths with Hannibal and Sherlock Holmes being ideal examples, in spite of the fact that such individuals have inherent social control and manipulative skills which enable them to blend with the rest of the society, making them that much more dangerous (Hare,…

    • 1239 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    4. What are three factors that Hirschi argues makes us more or less likely to be deviant?…

    • 704 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Youth Suicide in Australia

    • 1973 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Deviant behaviour can be defined as social problems reflect violations of normative expectations. Behaviour or situations that depart from norms are deviant. Deviant behaviour is caused by inappropriate socialization – for example, when the learning of deviant ways is not outweighing by the learning of non-deviant ways. This socialization is viewed as taking place within the context of primary group relations (Rubington & Weinberg, 2003, p.124). Both suicide and binge drinking can be classified as deviant behaviour.…

    • 1973 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Many deviant acts are acts that depart from are social norms. Every society has its basic social norms; it may vary a bit, because of so many different multi-cultural societies. Even so I can safely say that most societies have the same universal belief when it comes to social norms. Social norms are very serious if an individual commits a deviant act, the community will automatically demand punishment. In some cases the individual will be punished by the society but will not face a criminal charge by the government. Many deviant acts do not violate written laws; therefore individual cannot be charge with a criminal violation.…

    • 499 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Culture is the feature and knowledge of a distinct people. A pattern of shared values, norms, language, traditions, symbols and their meanings that are passed from one generation to the next. Every culture has norms that establish expectations about what types of behaviors are appropriate for a particular individual in certain social situations. Deviance is an action or behavior that violates those social norms including formally-enacted rules or laws. Viewing deviance as a violation of social norms, sociologists have characterized it as any thoughts, feelings, or actions that members of a social group judge to be a violation of their values or laws (Wikipedia 2017). One kind of deviance is crime, which may be punished by the state with sanctions when a legal norm has been violated. Sanctions are…

    • 416 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Deviance In Sociology

    • 1014 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Many sociologists have said that the sociology of deviance is dead, such as Colin Sumner in 1975. It was said that behaviors are not deviant but rather just seen as not normal in society, but the term ‘normal’ cannot exactly be defined. Deviance is a discipline in Sociology that many claim is now ‘dead’. Deviance is an act with refers to ‘norm-breaking’ in our society. A social norm is appropriate behavior for a social group and an appropriate behavior for the environment an individual is in. Deviance is the act of breaking these social norms whether it be your behavior or something you do. Once you break…

    • 1014 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Crime and Deviance

    • 2163 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Deviance is an action that is not acceptable behaviour to the majority of people, breaking “rules” of society which can also infringe into the laws of the land. Such as hooliganism but this is often seen more as non compliance within social norms. An example would be homosexuality which has changed over time, as pre 1969 this was a criminal offence. In Britain and in 1994 the age of consent was reduced to aged 18yrs from 21yrs this only includes males, as females are entitled to participate in same sex relationships from the age of 16. This also changes with…

    • 2163 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    An example of a deviant behavior would be murder. Murder is not a social norm, not every individual goes around killing others. Murder is abnormal behavior that is not accepted by society. There are other forms of deviance that are…

    • 306 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Deviance is not all that different to crime. In fact sometimes crime and deviance are the same thing, but not in every case. Deviance may be defined as non-conformity to a given set of norms that are accepted by a significant number of people in a community or society (Giddens, 2001 pg. 203). We can split deviance into two groups’ folkways and mores. Folkways are minor norms while mores are more serious norms. There are different sanctions for a violation of them. An example of the violation of folkways would be burping in a library, and a violation of mores would be killing someone for a biscuit. Mores can also be laws. Laws are formal sanctions. Durkheim who was probably one of the founding fathers of sociology saw crime and deviance as social facts. (Giddens 2001 pg. 207). They are essential and necessary to a society’s progression. The problem with this is that traditional norms become undermined and if you don’t replace them, Anomie exists. Durkheim believed Anomie exists when there are no clear standards to guide behaviour, social values and…

    • 1954 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays