Deviant Behavior

             1. In establishing what is social deviance, one must look at the different explanations and definitions to find what best fits your view. The root of deviance in its simplest form is to differ from the norm or differ from what is accepted. The problem with this is that you will always find some exception or norm in a collective group that can be accepted despite being different. An example is that the norm is all children go to school, however it is accepted that a child may be home schooled rather than attend an educating institution. So in forming a definition of social deviance, one must look further and attach clarifiers. In the statistical definition, that clarifier is that the deviance is defined by that which is rare, unusual, or departs from the statistical norm. The problem with this definition is that what is rare is not always deviant and is often acceptable. In the absolutist definition, you are looking at what is universally right and wrong. The problem with this that there are no absolutes and it ignores different cultural views and extenuating circumstances. Example, murder is universally wrong but what if the murder took place while in the act of defending yourself from being murdered. The social harm definition places clarifiers by limiting deviance to that which harms or produces negative effects to individuals or society. Again, the problem with this definition is that what is considered unacceptable is not always harmful and what is acceptable can be harmful. An example of this is smoking. For a long period of time, smoking has been known to be harmful to individuals and to society but is generally acceptable for people to do and isn't considered a socially deviant act. Deviance is easily defined in the deviance as crime definition as the violation of that which is protected by social laws. If it is unlawful, then it is deviant. The problem with this definition is that some social laws have not changed with th...

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Deviant Behavior. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 12:02, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/11129.html