THEORIES OF DEVIANCE

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THEORIES OF DEVIANCE

• Past and Present

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The Pre-Positivist View of Deviance

• For most of human history deviant behavior has
  been attributed to possession by demons or
  spirits.
• For much of human history attempts to correct
  deviance were based on the belief that extreme
  punishment could exorcise the possessed person.
  
• Even as superstition began to fade with with
  emergence of the Age of Reason in the 1700s,
  harsh punishment were often meted out to deviants
  and criminals. Punishments included trial by
  fire, quartering, the rack, the stocks,
  hanging, and dunking.

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Positivism and the Age of Reason

• By the 1700s, people began to question the idea
  that supernatural forces lie behind human
  behavior. Gradually, the idea that human behavior
  should be explained through the use of the
  scientific method began to replace old
  superstitions.
• By the 1800s, a number of early scientists began
  attempting to use the scientific method to
  explain deviant or criminal behavior.

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The Classical School of Criminology

• The Classical School of Criminology (late 1700s
  to early 1800s) was one of the first major
  schools of thought on crime and deviance to
  emerge from the Age of Reason.
• Rejected the notion that deviance is caused by
  spirits or possession sought another
  explanation.
• Cesare Beccaria Jeremy Bentham were key figures
  in the classical school of criminology.
• Beccaria and Benthan favored the Free will and
  rational choice model of behavior According to
  this view of behavior people act based on a
  calculation of pleasure and pain (likely cost to
  potential benefit). Specifically, on the
  calculation of the likelihood of punishment
  (pain) and the potential for reward (pleasure).
• This View is sometimes referred to as the
  pleasure-pain calculus of crime/deviance.
• The Classical Schools assumptions about human
  behavior lead to the development of the
  Detterence Doctrine.
• The Detterence Doctrine States that in order to
  prevent crime/deviance, punishments for
  crime/deviance must be swift, certain, and
  proportionate to the offense (punishment fits the
  crime). (Also known as Swiftness, Certainty, and
  Celerity)

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Problems with the Classical School Approach and
the Deterrence Doctrine

• Rational Choice/free-will model ignores the fact
  that we make cost-benefit or pleasure-pain
  calculations on a basically unconscious level.
  Further, even if we were to consciously make a
  pleasure-pain calculation for every act we could
  not truly know the odds of reward and the odds of
  punishment and making such calculations would
  take far more time than is available in most
  situations.
• Further, much human behavior is not based on
  rationality but emotion.
• In addition, perceptions of pain and pleasure or
  rewards and punishment are subjectively defined.
  So what is painful for one may be pleasurable for
  another.
• The Deterrence doctrine is incompatible with
  modern day views of human rights and due process
  under the law.
• Finally, because in some cases people can be
  forced or ascribed into deviant statuses (we
  will see this especially in the case of
  prostitution later)the free-will/rational choice
  model cant explain the process of deviance
  ascription.

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19th Century Positivist Approaches to
Deviance/Crime (Mid 1800's to Early 1900's)

• The progression of science lead many to question
  to notion that all human behavior is based on
  free-will or choice.
• Instead, early scientists using the positivist
  method began arguing that human behavior,
  including deviance, is determined or influenced
  by specific biological factors and that the
  scientist could understand these forces and their
  effects on human behavior.
• Ceasre Lombroso Theory of Atavisms proposed
  that deviants and criminals represented
  individuals who are evolutionary throwbacks to
  a more primitive kind of man. Lombroso claimed
  that criminals craniums (skulls) had distinctive
  features separating them from non-criminals.
• The notion that deviance/crime are biologically
  rooted was largely dismissed by 20th century
  scientists. Recently, however, biological and
  genetic models are again gaining some popularity.

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19th Century Positivist Approaches to
Deviance/Crime (Mid 1800's to Early 1900's)

• Herbert Spencers theory of Survival of the
  Fittest
• Spencer, following the lead of Charles Darwin,
  developed a theory of social development based on
  the concept of survival of the fittest.
• Although Spencer was not specifically concerned
  with problems of crime and deviance, his
  survival of the fittest approach suggested that
  criminal and deviant individuals represent
  individuals who are less fit than other
  non-criminal/non-deviant persons.
• Essentially, Spencer advocated the view that we
  should let the fit survive and the unfit die
  off.
• Spencer did not support programs designed to help
  the poor, the handicapped, or the uneducated, and
  was critical of attempts to reform
  deviant/criminal individuals.
• Later theorists, however, largely rejected
  Spencers views because what is seen as most
  fit is largely defined by cultural norms and
  values fitness IS NOT an objective feature of
  an individual.

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Early 20th century approaches to deviance/crime

• By the late 1800's and early 1900's, the sway of
  positivism and the focus on the use of the
  scientific method had lead to the emergence of
  new outlook on crime and explanations for crime.
  This new outlook was pioneered largely by
  sociologists.
• Quetlet used statistics on demographics (e.g.
  population density, age ratios, sex ratios,
  income level), season, climate, and drinking
  patterns to show that levels of crime/deviance
  appears to be influenced by these factors.
• Quetlets work helped form the foundation of
  modern day examinations and explanations of crime
  by moving explanations from the individual level
  to a more macro or structural level.
• Durkheim proposed an entirely new theoretical
  vision of crime. Whereas earlier theorists had
  seen crime as a kind of social pathology of
  society, Durkheim argued that crime is not a
  pathological condition in society but is, in
  fact, A NORMAL CONDITION OF A HEALTHY SOCIETY.

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Theories of Deviance Today

• Thanks largely to the work of Durkheim and
  Quetlet, others studying crime and deviance began
  studying how factors outside of the individual,
  especially the social conditions in which an
  individual lives, can influence human behavior
  and lead to deviance.
• Modern-Day Theories of Deviance
• Social Control Theory
• Social Disorganization Theory
• Anomie Theory
• Illegitimate Opportunities Perspective
• Learning Theories
• Self-Control Theory
• Choice Theories (e.g. Routine Activities Theory)
• Socio-Biological/Genetic Theories (now gaining
  new ground)

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SOCIAL CONTROL THEORIES

• Social control theories assumes that the
  potential for deviant behavior is fairly constant
  across all individuals and populations. In other
  words, the theory assumes that most of us
  (probably nearly all of us) have some desire to
  engage in behavior that may be defined as
  deviant--and also have opportunities to do so.
• These theories are not necessarily making an
  essentialist assumption that we are naturally
  motivated to be deviant. The theory can also be
  understood as saying that it is likely we all
  want to do things that happen to be labeled
  deviant in our society (but may not be labeled
  deviant in another society).
• What needs to be explained according to Social
  Control Theories is NOT WHY some people engage in
  deviant behavior, (because we all could (and most
  of us want to) BUT INSTEAD WHY MOST OF DO NOT
  engage in a great deal of deviant behavior.
• For example, we could ask why most teens arent
  highly deviant rather than asking why some teens
  are highly deviant.
• Similarly, this approach is beginning to be
  applied to the study of drug abuse we begin with
  the assumption that everyone who uses a drug
  could become addicted and then ask why dont
  most people get addicted? instead of asking why
  do some people get addicted?)

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Social Control Theories (Continued)

• According to social control theories, what keeps
  most of us from being deviant is our stake in
  conformity. Essentially, the more we have to lose
  (in terms of money, status, relationships, career
  options, etc) the lower our likelihood of
  engaging in deviant acts.
• Travis Hirschi developed a variant of social
  control theory known as SOCIAL BONDING THEORY.
• Hirschi argued that our stake in conformity could
  be conceived as our social bond to others, which
  has four corresponding elements

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Elements of the Bond According to Hirschis
Social Bonding Theory

• Attachment The degree to which an individual is
  attached emotionally and psychologically to
  conventional others (such as parents, non-deviant
  peers, teachers, etc.)
• Belief The degree to which an individual has
  internalized the norms of the society and
  believes them to be correct and just.
• Note that having strong attachments to others
  (especially in child-parent relations) helps
  facilitate internalization of norms and thus
  increase the strength on ones beliefs.
• Commitment The degree to which the individual is
  committed to conventional lines of action (such
  as going to college, getting married, having
  children).
• Involvement The degree of involvement in
  conventional activities such as having a job,
  raising a family, playing video games, watching
  TV.
• Hirschis social bonding theory gains empirical
  support from the fact that its theoretical
  predictions are consistent with the age-deviance
  curve.
• Further, other tests of Hirschis theory have
  generally shown that the bond does have an
  effect on deviance. Although how much the theory
  applies to extreme forms of deviance is the
  subject of considerable debate.