It is impossible to pinpoint one reason why people partake in deviant behavior. While a person’s own pathology may have some effect on whether a person will commit crime, I think that most acts of deviance are the result of their social environment. Different people react in their own way to different opportunities handed to them. Whether these responses to their environment are either “deviant” or “criminal” is determined by the society they are a part of. While Emile Durkheim discusses the effect of anomie on mental states, Robert K. Merton elaborates on the concept of anomie created by a society where success is based on material goods. “The acceptable means to attain success are often in short supply, and what means exist are not uniformly
People that have gone to a good school and have a family with positive influences are less likely to engage in deviant behavior. External structures like schools, churches, clubs, police departments, keep individuals from deviating, these institutions push individuals into conforming to the norms of society. Travis Hirschi introduced four elements of social bonds: “attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief” (Vierra 2014). Reckless believed that these four components could prevent crime and deviant behaviors because they give the individual a purpose and sense of responsibility. If individuals in many of these lower income neighborhoods do not have a job and no source of steady income, then they are ever more likely to resort to deviant behaviors in order to attain the means of survival.
Do more right things than wrong things and success is inevitable."
Time, space, and context are also important in regards to deviance. When someone commits a deviant act, where they commit it, and who commits it/what setting they commit it in can affect other people’s reactions to the deviant behavior. A deviant action or behavior will not be viewed in the same way by everyone. Each person has their own perspectives and what might constitute grievous deviant behavior to one person might just be a minor inconvenience to another. The same principle applies to deviant behavior when setting is
However, the main motive is merely to inform readers how and why success comes so effortlessly to some but then does not come at all for others. Those among us who are packed with key factors such as attentiveness, self-sacrifice,
My paper aims to discuss the three different factors of criminal behaviour, what causes it and why. My essay will examine and focus mainly on the genetic makeup of a person, the environment in which they are raised in and gender differences.
Durkheim had proposed that this occurs due to modern societies and how there are social hierarchies based on the economy or relational merit, which results in criminal activity and deviance (Pattanaik,
The most important one for crime is the innovation, when people have the values, they want to succeed, want to become rich and fulfill the American Dream, but don’t have the means to get to that, have barriers and lack of possibilities that won’t let them achieve the goals they and all American society wants. This disjunction between goals and means causes the anomie, the breakdown of norms, the social disorganization and deviance referred by Durkheim. Not having legitimate ways of becoming rich and
Fifth, the specific direction of motives and drives is learned from definitions of the legal codes as favorable or unfavorable. Sixth, a person becomes delinquent because of an excess of definitions favorable to violation of law over definitions unfavorable to violation of the law. Seventh, Differential associations may vary in frequency, duration, priority, and intensity. Eighth, the process of learning criminal behavior by association with criminal and anti-criminal patterns involves all of the mechanisms that are involved in any other learning. Lastly, while criminal behavior is an expression of general needs and values, it is not explained by those needs and values, since non-criminal behavior is an expression of the same needs and values.
Also, Merton’s theory of social structure and anomie looks to clarify deviance. In this theory, circumstances in the social structure cause deviant conduct. An inequality of goals and their means of achievement is what cause deviant behavior. People do not have an equal chance to attain the goals. The low class does not have the same opportunities as the upper class.
Crime and deviance can be found in all cultures in society. It comes in many degrees, and affects us all differently. As the years go by, crime rates have increased, and criminals are becoming craftier. Crime and deviance often occurs due to desperation, conflict, dare, and rebellion. These crimes are often controversial, and spark media and political debate.
Deviance has many functions in society. Although deviance violates social norms, without it, we would not have rules, so it helps form, guide, and shape society’s norms and goals. Social norms are different from culture to culture. Norms that may be acceptable in one culture may be frowned upon in another. Emile Durkheim quotes that “deviance and deviant behavior is an integral part of all healthy societies (Adler, 2014, p74).”
I, nevertheless, hold that success not merely means money, statue, and reputation; it means that pursues what you wholehearted want, then making your pursuit is accessible, and enjoys this process. Some people suggest that owning a great deal of money is success, which has become the symbol of success. I
the last but most important point deviant behaviour is labelling that is most of the people after this are thought bad or good depending on deviation . and the group or that organization is always thought to be the same and not accepted by the society later . “Once the deviant label is attached, it is pretty hard for it to be
Deviant behavior reflects the opposite of societal norms. Drug use in today’s society is seen as deviant behavior. There are many factors that may lead a person to using drugs. Some of these factors include the prevalence predominately being for low socioeconomic status, the legality of a drug, the lack of education in drug use, the availability of drugs, and even the glamorization of drug use in society. These factors differ depending on certain drugs.
If an individual can learn how to attain goals with crime due to the illegitimate opportunities then they can just as easily learn legitimate ways just the same. As we know, the opportunity theory can be used to fill in the gaps of Merton’s strain theory, Merton fails to recognize that illegitimate opportunity as well as legitimate opportunities play an important role in crime. Merton believes that the pressures or strains brought on through social interactions. Cloward and Ohlin make a valid point when they suggest that to explain crime you have to take into consideration a person’s access to legitimate opportunity and access to illegitimate opportunity. Moreover, this theory can also be used to inform and extend the social learning theory.