Deviance is any type of behavior that breaches social norms and is normally of enough severity to warrant disapproval from society. It acts as a claim of identity and individuality and as a rebellion against group norms of certain dominant cultures. Deviance affirms cultural norms and values, pushes the moral boundaries of the society and people and encourages people to gather and react in the same way. It can be criminal or non-criminal and varies considerably across places, groups and times. In this case, certain acts may not be consistent with the society and may receive punishments within the society while others may be seen as normal. As much as deviance is depicted negatively, sometimes breaching of social norms is not a negative action. The breaching of norms can be subdivided into different forms of deviance.
Additionally, deviance measures the reactions of society to specific behavior. It also weighs a given society’s way of life so that someone can easily define the way of life. According to Özbay (2012). , deviance mostly ignores social order which is against the belief of most organizations who believe in the reality of the society. The breaching of these social norms can be used as a way of maintaining positions, power and the influence of a particular group of individuals or organizations. The idea of deviance in most cultures is based on beliefs, deeds, and values that are achieved through certain relationships among individuals that have an impact in the society and it is passed on from one person to another. From Bernard and Snipes (2016) studies, it is clear that huge cultural force is a determinant of deeds that are appreciated or discouraged in society.
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There are different types of deviance. One of the forms of deviance is innovation. In the innovation form, society sets goals for people to focus on and further lay a foundation to achieve the set goals. When an individual accepts both means and goals, the result is usually conformity. But sometimes when an individual develops or innovates his own ways of achieving the goals, he becomes deviant. If the created means do not bring any negative results, there is no problem for social order but if it brings negative results, the danger is posed to society. For instance, if pleasure-seekers and poor people are forced to create illegitimate means to get money, they become problematic deviance.
Another type of deviance is ritualism. Ritualism form of deviance occurs when an individual gives up significant social values but lips service to them by noticing linked norms of behavior. In this form of deviance, people do not follow success and strictly stick to stated means. Additionally, these people regard rules as sacred and tend to lower their aspirations and do not expect success because they are unable to violate their commitment to the rules. These individuals are deviant because they refuse to take brave as well as dangerous actions needed by the adherence to values. Apart from refusing to take dangerous and courageous action, they take refuge in neutral but safe behavior which appears like decent conformity. One notable example of the ritualistic type of deviance is when an individual has stabbed death within the sight of neighbors but they refuse to involve themselves in the case. As much as it is difficult to criticize such behavior, it is a type of deviance because norms exist to serve values.
Rebellion is another form of open response to individuals that do not accept both means and ends. This kind of deviance enables people to decline certain orders and makes them to engage in efforts that replace that order. In this case, people attempt to substitute means and ends for those that exist. Rebellion is mostly generated by alienation from both norms and values. Rebellion provides active support and loyalty to a set of incompatible values and norms to people instead of making them retreat. This type of deviance makes a person feel more superior to those people that live in conventional society and makes him or she seek reconstruction or some changes in the existing order. This individual may even try to completely destruct that order or struggle to replace it with his or her own order. In addition to giving active loyalty and support to an incompatible set of values and norms, it has been noted that this type of deviance varies from small-scale to that of a greater scale ( Bernard & Snipes, 2016 ). One notable example of such rebellion is when a student gives up education in the name of doing greater things or a young person deciding to move away from the society to create a criminal gang for revenge upon some authority. Religious and political revolutions formed by an individual or a group of people also come under this category.
Another type of deviance is retreatism. Retreatism is the rejection values as well as norms. This type of deviance makes an individual to drop or resign to speak about society. In this case, those individuals that retreat from society do not get their wealth in legal means. This simply implies that these individuals refuse to live a conventional life and instead break the set procedure due to the strongly internalized norm. Retreatism is, therefore, a passive rejection of respectable occupational activities as well as the goal of success. This type of deviance comprises of vagabonds, psychotics, chronic drunkards and vagrants. These kinds of people are strongly disapproved because they care little about the values of people.
References
Bernard, T. J., & Snipes, J. B. (2016). Theoretical integration in criminology. Crime and justice , 20 , 301-348.
Özbay, Ö. (2012). Merton's strain theory: Evidence from the high schools in Ankara (Doctoral dissertation, Middle East Technical University. Department of Sociology).
