The sociology of crime and deviance, therefore, is a complex subject and a complex set of theories are used to understand it and trying to ascertain the cause is not always as easy as it might seem. In general, conflict theory is a macro-relativistic approach that focuses on the definition and reaction to deviance as a political phenomenon. Looking to historical patterns of change in the law and social control for insights into conflict processes, these sociologists use large-scale concepts to analyze the structure of power in entire societies. Inspired by activist values, conflict theorists see a macro-level approach as necessary for understanding and changing the systems of political domination that shape a society’s reactions to deviance. Labeling theorists have been particularly interested in the implications of formal reactions to deviance, social control administered by law enforcement agencies or mental health professionals.
Meanwhile, you want to meet some law-abiding friends, so you go to a singles bar. You start talking with someone who interests you, and in response to this person’s question, you say you are between jobs. When your companion asks about your last job, you reply that you were in prison for armed robbery.
Islanders reacted with disgust, yet incest was relatively widespread and not frowned upon providing it was discreet. This illustrates the basis of labeling theory; it is not the act that is significant but the social reaction . Deviance, therefore, is relative, depending upon who commits it, who sees it and what the response is. The consequence of being labeled as deviant is, as Becker states, that it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy, a ‘master status’.
Official labeling of a person as criminal or psychotic can lead to confinement in dehumanizing institutions such as prisons and asylums. Labeling theorists also point out that official, public labels stigmatize deviants by defining them as morally inferior beings who should be avoided and rejected by members of conventional society. Labeled as deviant by powerful agents of social control and treated as outcasts by conventional society, deviants may actually come to see themselves as the thing they have been labeled.
We behave based on what we believe to be true rather than what is objectively true. However, some young people subjectively attach a symbol that smoking is ‘cool’ and presents a positive image to their peers. They choose to smoke based on the subjective belief that smoking is a desirable behavior rather than on the objective evidence that smoking is harmful.
The ‘parts’ of society include social structure and social functions. We learn what is accepted behavior and what is deviant behavior from our interactions with others in our society. If Bart grew up in a family that rarely bathed, then Bart learned to skip bathing.
For example, committing acts of violence against others, such as assault, rape, or murder are examples of deviant behavior. These values produce crime by making many Americans, rich or poor, feel they never have enough money and by prompting them to help themselves even at other people’s expense. Crime in the United States, then, arises ironically from the country’s most basic values. Often institutions set up strict codes that must be followed and maintained, any kind of behavior that will not obey this code will be considered as deviant behavior.
From this standpoint, the societal reaction to deviant behavior suggests that social groups actually create deviance by making the rules whose infraction constitutes deviance, and by applying those rules to particular people and labeling them as outsiders. This theory further suggests that people engage in deviant acts because they have been labeled as deviant by society, because of their race, or class, or the intersection of the two, for example. Sociologists define deviance as behavior that is recognized as violating expected rules and norms.
Here the conformity refers to the acceptance of the cultural goals and values and the means of attaining these goals and values. Eleanor is researching the effect social media has on worldwide political awareness and revolution. Felix is examining the effect World of Warcraft has on the romantic relationships of middle-aged powtoon software men in his metro area. In Alabama, it is a criminal offense – against public health and morals – to engage in “shooting, hunting, gaming, card playing or racing” on Sunday. Violators of this law risk being fined $10 – $100, imprisonment in the county jail, or sentencing to “hard labor for the county” for up to three months.
Under this theory, even crime and deviance serve important functions. For example, deviance can lead to social change, which is any significant alteration in behavior patterns, cultural values and social norms. As a first step in bringing about radical social change, conflict theorists attempt to analyze and understand the underlying sources of society’s definitions and reactions to deviance. Deviance theory must look beyond the micro-level interactional processes through which individual deviants are labeled and attempt to analyze the macro-level processes of class or cultural conflict through which labels are created.