DV - Impact of Deviance on Society Lesson

 

Impact of Deviance on Society Lesson

There are costs and benefits to everything in life and deviance is no exception. Let's quickly view how deviance can impact society according to sociologists.

"Deviance weakens established social norms and creates division and disorder."

We all know that deviance is disruptive, whether it's the fairly harmless deviance of talking during a movie or the fairly harmful deviance of being a serial killer. It can be more than that. It can be a threat to those social norms that society has put into place. If enough people incorporate the deviant behavior into their repertoire of actions, norms weaken and possible problems ensue. This might explain why people panic when they see commercials that incorporate non-traditional families or non-traditional religious ceremonies or non-traditional anything. They worry as to whether or not this will encourage disorder in their society.

"Deviance is a method for brining about social change."

Wh en enough people incorporate a deviant behavior into their repertoire of actions, norms weaken but this does not automatically lead to problems. Sometimes it leads to change. A deviant behavior repeated by the masses is no longer deviant according to its definition. When enough people are participating in a behavior the cultural norm will change to adapt to the behavior. Imagine the first person to have a trash can at a party just for recycling. After the party, more than likely, he had to take his recycling himself to a distant recycling center. Now, in many communities, the recycler is no longer alone and can put his recycling out with the normal trash collection to be hauled away by a government service.  

"Deviance helps people adjust to a change in norms."

Since deviance is a violation of cultural norms, it exposes others to behaviors "outside of the box" gradually and eases others into a position where they are no longer shocked by the behavior. Then, if that behavior becomes part of the social norm, the others are prepared for this change. Imagine the first nose piercing paired with purple hair---imagine the stares, the questions from children who pointed, the fear of what was to come, but now people don't really notice.

 

 

"Deviance promotes social solidarity by distinguishing between 'us' and 'them.'"

By forming a distinction between deviants and the rest of society, society bonds in its response to what is not "normal," thereby reaffirming its ties and creating social cohesion. In this way, also, a society draws the line between what is "right" and what is "wrong" and unites in establishing the culture's moral boundaries. Consider Eastern theocracies that define "western behavior" within their borders as deviance. The leaders of those countries are able to unite their populations in a distrust of western cultures and solidify their roles as leaders fighting to protect their society's culture. Often, though, the concept of 'us' versus 'them' leads to an existence of prejudice, discrimination, and racism within a society. Historically, the results of this type of impact can be more negative than positive. This is a subject on which sociologists argue depending on the major theoretical perspective that they follow."

"Deviance introduces new ideas and elevates them within society."

Not all deviance is negative. Some deviant behaviors are carried out with honest intentions of improving society. Recall the four black college students of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University who organized a "sit-in" at a segregated lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1960. It was not culturally normal for black patrons to sit at the all-white counter at that time and location. In fact, it was against the law, which makes their action, by definition, a deviant one.  However, the next day they were joined by more black students and a couple of news crews.  As the days passed, hundreds more joined them along with national press coverage and sit-ins protesting segregation spread throughout the South.  Their "deviant" behavior introduced a "new" idea (well, not really new, people had been working to fight segregation before this) and elevated it within society.

According to this list, deviance is "a difference that makes a difference."

 

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