Defining deviance

• deviance is any behaviour that differs from normal.
• the three types of deviance are:

  • behaviour that is unusual and good
  • behaviour that is unusual and eccentric or bizarre
  • behaviour that is unusual and bad or disapproved of
• behaviour that is unusual and bad or disapproved of is what is most relevant to criminologists. this involves doing something forbidden or regarded as unacceptable. in other words, it involves breaking a rule or norm of some kind.
• the rule-breaking involved in deviance leads to a critical, hostile or disapproving reaction from others. these ‘others’ might be society as a whole or a sub-group within society and their reaction may involve punishing the deviant in some way.
• societies have different rules and therefore deviance can take many different forms.
• deviance that is disapproved of is likely to lead to negative sanctions.

  • formal sanctions are ones imposed by official bodies such as the police, courts, schools and other institutions. they are punishments for breaking formal written rules or laws.
  • informal sanctions are used where the rules are not formally written down and are perhaps ‘unspoken’.
• sanctions can be positive, such as rewards for behaviour that society approves of.
• all sanctions are forms of social control - ways in which society seeks to control our behaviour and ensure that we conform to its norms and behave as others expect us to.