According to Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin, differential access to illegitimate means affects the type of deviance in which individuals experiencing strain engage. These characteristics include poverty, dilapidation, population density, and population turnover.Īccording to Robert Merton, deviance among the poor results from a gap between the cultural emphasis on economic success and the inability to achieve such success through the legitimate means of working. Table 7.1 Theory Snapshot: Summary of Sociological Explanations of Deviance and Crimeĭeviance has several functions: (a) it clarifies norms and increases conformity, (b) it strengthens social bonds among the people reacting to the deviant, and (c) it can help lead to positive social change.Ĭertain social and physical characteristics of urban neighborhoods contribute to high crime rates. A summary of these explanations appears in Table 7.1 “Theory Snapshot: Summary of Sociological Explanations of Deviance and Crime”. We now turn to the major sociological explanations of crime and deviance. Consistent with this book’s public sociology theme, a discussion of several such crime-reduction strategies concludes this chapter.
Define deviancy theory how to#
As such, they have important implications for how to reduce these behaviors.
As a whole, sociological explanations highlight the importance of the social environment and of social interaction for deviance and the commision of crime. Together they help answer the questions posed earlier: why rates of deviance differ within social categories and across locations, why some behaviors are more likely than others to be considered deviant, and why some kinds of people are more likely than others to be considered deviant and to be punished for deviant behavior. Many sociological theories of deviance exist, and together they offer a more complete understanding of deviance than any one theory offers by itself. If we want to reduce violent crime and other serious deviance, we must first understand why it occurs. State the major arguments and assumptions of the various sociological explanations of deviance.
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