Deviance describes any act that goes against or contrary to the norms of a certain societal set up. For example, it is not acceptable for adults to pick at their noses in public. This can be considered a deviant act. However, children in the same society may pick at their noses without raising the same kind of disapproval. Deviant behaviour can be different in nature and intensity. The social norm that is violated varies according to the age of the person practicing the act and the nature of the society they all live in. It can vary from simple acts of defiance such as skipping class, to serious acts of injustice of a criminal nature such as advancing unwanted sexual attention. The acts may be criminal in nature when they violate the confines of the law. An example is rape or sexual assault. This activity identified a single study subject in order to understand deviant acts better. The subject was made aware of the nature of the project and he was assured that his identity would be protected. He was free to stop the interview at any time if he felt that he was no longer comfortable with the interview. The subject was assured that the interview would not raise any egalitarian issues that required reporting or passing of information to law enforcement officers.
The subject in question engaged in the deviant act of skipping school. This is considered a deviant act because class attendance is compulsory. However, the subject chose to practice the deviant act because he thought he could get away with it. He skipped some classes at random intervals depending on his extracurricular activities and the type of class. The skipped classes averaged about 10-15 percent of his overall classes per week. The time spent on the skipped classes was sometimes spent outside school visiting malls and gaming arcades. Sometimes class time was spent in the school compound socialising with friends in unoccupied rooms such as the gym or in sections of the football pitch. Sometimes the activity was undertaken alone but most of the time it was done in the company of friends.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The deviant act began as a result of loneliness on the part of the subject. He is a shy and introverted individual who was going through school in a state of constant solitude. He often avoided attending social events in school and was freely in the company of other students. He previously had one friend who doubles up as a partner and as a study mate. However, the friend transferred to another school when his parents relocated to another state because of occupational considerations. This was when the idea of skipping school was conceptualized. The subject found school more unbearable than usual when he was forced to face his unfriendly school mates by himself. He began to skip certain classes where the bullies and unfriendly students were more aggressive. This was done tactfully to avoid arousing the attention of the instructor. The subject explained that the crowded classes were easier to get bullied in without the attention of the teacher. Similarly, this were the easiest classes to skip because they would not be easily missed during the course of the lesson (Malizia, 2018).
Skipping classes became more frequent when the subject realised that it was relatively easy to be absent without any serious repercussions. The subject also stumbled upon other deviant students who missed entire days of class. The activities intensified when he was labelled as a genius class cutter. This was because he was able to maintain good grades even without attending classes. This concept of rule breaking gave him a new identity as well as a new reputation of a rebel. The deviant behaviour was now established as it became a source of social power. The subject now felt he had to live up to his social label of being a rebel because it made him get friends and it stopped the bullying. What began as an act of individual deviance ended as cooperative deviance (Clinard & Meier, 2015).
Cooperative defiance is the type of anti social behaviour that benefits two players mutually. In this case the deviant school skipping student with good grades was able to gain social milage. This benefited him as he dropped the bullying. Additionally, he was selected to secure tutoring students who earned him money and improved on his social status. The main exchange that occurred in this case was of social status. The subject's particular act of deviance can be explained in the context of the labelling theory. Labelling theory defines that a peoples response to deviant behaviour determines its continuity or ceasure (Osgood et al, 2017).
The subject may have stopped his deviant acts if his peers and other members of the society had responded to him differently. For example, if the bullying and unfriendly behaviour had continued even in his safe haven of escape, then maybe the subject would have stopped. He may have sought alternative means of conflict resolution such as engaging an instructor or school appointed counsellor. The label that the subject received, positively reinforced his acts of deviance. He therefore continued to engage in the act of skipping school because it was labelled as a positive thing. His act in particular falls under secondary deviance because positive reactions made the deviance a long term activity and a boost to his self esteem.
References
Clinard, M. B., & Meier, R. F. (2015). Sociology of deviant behavior . Nelson Education.
Malizia, N. (2018). Boredom and Social Deviant Behavior: An Empirical Study. Advances in Applied Sociology , 8 (02), 174.
Osgood, D. W., Wilson, J. K., O'malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., & Johnston, L. D. (2017). Routine activities and individual deviant behavior. In Crime Opportunity Theories (pp. 49-69). Routledge.
