FHHM1114

INTRODUCTION TO
SOCIOLOGY
TOPIC 3 DEVIANCE AND SOCIAL
CONTROL
 This topic is
corresponding to:

• Chapter 8 [Part 2]
in Schaefer’s text;
and

Main Reference 2:
• Chapter 8 [Part 2]
Schaefer, R. T. (2012). Sociology (13th in Henslin’s text.
ed.). NY: McGraw-Hill.

Main Reference 1:
Henslin, J. M. (2012). Sociology: A down-to-earth
approach (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Pearson.
TOPIC 3: DEVIANCE AND SOCIAL CONTROL

3.1 WHAT IS DEVIANCE?

3.2 WHAT IS SOCIAL CONTROL?
3.3 WHAT IS CRIME?
3.4 SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES
ON DEVIANCE AND CRIME
3.5 SUMMARY
TOPIC 3: DEVIANCE AND SOCIAL CONTROL

3.1 WHAT IS DEVIANCE?

3.1.1 DEFINING DEVIANCE
3.1.2 DEVIANCE AND SOCIAL STIGMA
3.1 WHAT IS DEVIANCE?
3.1.1 DEFINING DEVIANCE

DEVIANCE
Behaviour that violates the standards of
conduct or expectations of a group or
society
Nonconformity to a set of norms that are
accepted by a significant number of people in
a community or society
• NONE of us is as normal as we
think
• We are ALL deviant from time to
time
• Each of us violates common social
norms in certain situations
• Deviance may also occurs when
the norms are unrealistic, e.g.
beauty myth which exaggerated
ideal of beauty
• Deviance may involve an individual or a group

DEVIANCE
SUBCULTURE
A subculture whose
members hold values
that differ
substantially from
those of the majority
Deviant subculture among
drug addicts
 Exercise 3.1
1. Identify which of the following deviant behaviours that you did
at certain point in your life?
a) Cut classes
b) Bribed a traffic police official
c) Cheated in an examination
d) Drew graffiti
e) Used mobile phone in the cinema
f) Wore very short pants while shopping
 CHARACTERISTICS OF DEVIANCE

1. THE RELATIVITY OF DEVIANCE

Because different groups have different
norms, what is deviant to some is NOT
deviant to others
Hence it is subjected to social definition
within a particular society at a particular
time
Mainstream Malaysian society
views having tattoos as a
deviant behaviour

Yet, for many indigenous tribes and

ethnic groups in East Malaysia,
it is a core part of their cultures
and a type of norm
2. THE COMPREHENSIVENESS OF THE
CONCEPT OF DEVIANCE
Deviance involves the violation of group
norms, which may or may not be
formalized into law
It includes not only criminal behaviour but
also many actions that are NOT subjected
to prosecution
 DIAGRAM DEPICTING
THE CONCEPTS OF DEVIANCE AND
CRIME
DEVIANCE CRIME
Bizarre
Clothing, Murder,
Sexual Speeding,
Tattooed, Disregarding
Piercing, Assault,
Robbery, red light,
Hair dying, Peaceful
Utter foul Prostitution,
Burglary assembly
words
Non-
Crime
Deviance
3.
THE NEUTRALITY OF THE CONCEPT OF
DEVIANCE
This concept is used non-judgmentally
When Sociologists use this term, it does
NOT mean that they agree that an act is
bad, just that people judge it negatively
 3.1 WHAT IS DEVIANCE?
3.1.2 DEVIANCE AND SOCIAL STIGMA

• To be considered as deviant, a person does not even

have to do anything
• A person can acquire a deviant identity in many ways:
 physical appearances
 physical or mental abilities or disabilities
 behavioural characteristics
 involuntary memberships
• Once labeled as deviant,
one are unwillingly cast in
negative social roles
• He/she would have
difficulty to present a
positive image to others
• As such, he/she would
experienced low self-
esteem
 SOCIAL STIGMA
The labels society uses to devalue or
discredit members of certain social
groups

• Social stigma can be applied when the person

involved may no longer engage in the specific
deviant behaviour (e.g. ex-convict)
• While some types of deviance will stigmatized a
person, others do not carry a significant penalty
 Exercise 3.2
1. Identify which of the following are normal or deviant?
How so? What kind of norms are involved?
TOPIC 3: DEVIANCE AND SOCIAL CONTROL

3.2 WHAT IS SOCIAL CONTROL?

3.2.1 DEFINING SOCIAL CONTROL
3.2.2 CONFORMITY AND OBEDIENCE
3.2.3 FORMAL AND INFORMAL
SOCIAL CONTROL
 3.2 WHAT IS SOCIAL CONTROL?
3.2.1 DEFINING SOCIAL CONTROL

• Deviance disrupts social order and undermines

predictability, the foundation of social life

• To enforce norms and alleviate deviance, societies use

social control promoted through an effective process
of socialization
 SOCIAL CONTROL
The techniques and strategies for
preventing deviant human behaviour in
all levels of any society

• Through it, we are well aware that individuals, groups

and institutions expect us to act “properly”
 3.2 WHAT IS SOCIAL CONTROL?
3.2.2 CONFORMITY AND OBEDIENCE

• Techniques for social control operate on BOTH the

group level and the societal level
• Stanley Milgram (1975) made a useful distinction
between the two levels:
 group level – conformity
 society level – obedience
CONFORMITY
OBEDIENCE
Going along with peers –
Compliance with higher
individuals of our own status
authorities in a hierarchical
who have NO special right to
structure
direct our behaviour
 3.2 WHAT IS SOCIAL CONTROL?
3.2.3 FORMAL AND INFORMAL SOCIAL CONTROL
• All social norms carry sanctions that promote conformity
and protect against nonconformity

NEGATIVE SANCTIONS
An expression of disapproval for breaking a norm,
ranging from a mild, informal reaction such as a
frown to a formal reaction such as a fine or a prison
sentence
FORMAL SANCTIONS
Applied by a specific group or agency to
ensure that a particular set of norms is
followed

INFORMAL SANCTIONS
Less organized and more spontaneous
reactions to nonconformity, usually
casually enforced
 Informal
Sanctions

Formal
Sanctions
 LAW
Norms defined by governments as principles
that their citizens MUST follow

• Where there are laws, there are crimes, because crime

constitutes ANY type of behaviour that breaks a law
• Laws are passed in response to a perceived need for
formal social control
TOPIC 3: DEVIANCE AND SOCIAL CONTROL

3.3 WHAT IS CRIME?

3.3.1 DEFINING CRIME
3.3.2 TYPES OF CRIME
3.3 WHAT IS CRIME?
3.3.1 DEFINING CRIME

CRIME
A violation of criminal law for which some
governmental authority applies formal
penalties
A deviation from formal social norms
administered by the state
 3.3 WHAT IS CRIME?
3.3.2 TYPES OF CRIME

• Sociologists classify crimes in terms of:

 how they are committed
 how society views the offenses

• However, a type of crime may be overlapping the

domain of another type of crime, so some type of
crimes hereafter is NOT exclusive
VICTIMLESS CRIME WHITE-COLLAR
CRIME
HATE CRIME
CORPORATE CRIME
STREET CRIME
ORGANIZED CRIME
CYBERCRIME TRANSNATIONAL
CRIME
PROFESSIONAL
CRIME
 VICTIMLESS CRIME

VICTIMLESS CRIME
The willing exchange among adults of widely
desired but illegal goods and services,
such as prostitution, drug abuse, gambling
etc
A crime without obvious victim
• Many Sociologists, including feminists rejected the claims
that there is NO victim other than the offender in such crimes
because:
 the offenders or criminals in those cases are also the
victims themselves
 the crimes may involve an enormous amount of personal
and property damage
 such crimes may drive or motivate further or other kind
of criminal activities
 such categorization excuses certain crimes for
objectifying women and promotes violence against
women
 HATE CRIME

HATE CRIME
The offender is motivated to choose a victim
based on based on gender, race, ethnicity,
nationality, religion, sexual orientation or
some other personal characteristics, and
when evidence shows that hatred prompted
the offender to commit the crime
 STREET CRIME

STREET CRIME
A loose term for criminal offences taking
place in public places, such as snatch
theft, robbery without firearms,
pickpocketing, vandalism, street
prostitution etc
 CYBERCRIME

CYBERCRIME
Criminal activities by means of electronic
networks or involving the use of new
information technologies, like electronic
money laundering, personal identity theft
and malicious hacking and information
theft
 PROFESSIONAL CRIME

PROFESSIONAL CRIME
Crime committed by a person who pursues crime
as day-to-day occupation, developing skilled
techniques and enjoying a certain degree of
status among other criminals, also known as a
career criminal
 WHITE-COLLAR CRIME

WHITE-COLLAR CRIME
Criminal activity committed by affluent
people or those in professional jobs,
which includes tax fraud, land fraud, illegal
sales practices, antitrust violations,
embezzlement
 CORPORATE CRIME

CORPORATE CRIME
Offenses committed by large corporations
in society, for instance, false advertising,
pollution and violations of health and
safety regulations
 ORGANIZED CRIME

ORGANIZED CRIME
The work of a group that regulates relations
among criminal enterprises involved in
illegal activities, including prostitution,
gambling, the smuggling and sale of illegal
drugs, firearms and humans
 TRANSNATIONAL
CRIME

TRANSNATIONAL CRIME
Crime that occurs across
multiple national
borders, such as
slavery and also human,
drug and firearms
trafficking, especially
due to globalization
TOPIC 3: DEVIANCE AND SOCIAL CONTROL

3.4 SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON

DEVIANCE AND CRIME
3.4.1 FUNCTIONALIST THEORIES
3.4.2 INTERACTIONIST THEORIES
3.4.3 CONFLICT THEORIES
3.4.4 SUMMARY
 3.4 SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON
DEVIANCE AND CRIME
3.4.1 FUNCTIONALIST THEORIES

• Argues that crime is a natural part of society, NOT an

aberration or some alien element in our midst

THE NOTION OF ANOMIE

STRAIN THEORY /
ANOMIC THEORY OF DEVIANCE
 THE NOTION OF ANOMIE

ANOMIE
A state of normlessness exists when there are
NO clear standards to guide behaviour in a
given area of social life and caused people to
feel disoriented (loss of direction) and
anxious
• During times of
revolution, sudden
prosperity or economic
depression, since there
is much less
agreement on what
constitutes proper
behaviour, conformity
and obedience
become LESS
significant as social
forces
• For Émile Durkheim, deviance is necessary for society
because:
1. Deviance has an adaptive function- by introducing
new ideas and social challenges, it brings about
change
2. Deviance promotes boundary maintenance
between “good” and “bad” behaviours – a criminal
event helps to clarifies social norms and heightens
group solidarity
• Émile Durkheim’s
ideas help to shift
attention from
individual explanations
to social forces
 STRAIN THEORY /
ANOMIC THEORY OF DEVIANCE

STRAIN
Frustration people feel when their
access to success is blocked

• For Robert Merton, deviance is

a by-product of economic
inequalities
STRAIN THEORY
Robert Merton’s term for the strain engendered
when a society socializes large numbers of
people to desire a cultural goal (such as
success), but withholds some of the approved
means of reaching that goals
One adaptation to that strain is crime as the
choice of an innovative means to reach the
goal
• There are
five basic
forms of
adaptation
to the
strain:
Conformity

Deviance
N BASIC FORMS OF
DESCRIPTIONS
O ADAPTATIONS
Most common adaptation and the exact
1 CONFORMITY
opposite of deviance
Abandoned the goal of material success and
become compulsively committed to the
2 RITUALISM
institutional means
Blindly applies rules and regulations
Accepted the goals but pursues them with
3 INNOVATION
means that are regarded as improper
4 RETREATISM Withdrawn from the mainstream society
Felt alienated by the dominant goals and
5 REBELLION means and attempted to create new social
structure or social order
Exercise 3.3
• Identify which forms of
adaptations do the
snatchers (shown in
the upper left picture)
and vagrant beggars
(shown in the lower left
picture) applied in
response to strains of
living in Malaysia
3.4 SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON
DEVIANCE AND CRIME
3.4.2 INTERACTIONIST THEORIES

LABELING THEORY

DIFFERENTIAL ASSOCIATION THEORY

SOCIAL DISORGANIZATION THEORY

CONTROL THEORY
 LABELING THEORY /
SOCIETAL-REACTION APPROACH

LABELING THEORY
An approach to the study of deviance that
suggests that people become “deviant” because
certain labels are attached to their behaviour
by political authorities and others
• According to Howard S. Becker, It is
NOT the act itself makes one a deviant,
but rather the way others react to it
• Labeling theorists concern with why
certain people are viewed as deviants,
delinquents, criminals etc
• People who represent law and order
or who impose definitions of
morality on others do most of the
labeling
• They are the agents of social control
• Labels on devious and criminal acts are framed by wealthy
for the poor, by men for women, by older people for younger
people, and by ethnic majorities for minority groups
• They may include police, doctors, teachers, school officials,
judges, lawyers, employers, religious authorities, movie
makers etc

Exercise 3.4
• Who decide that smoking is
deviant in Malaysia? How do
label contributes towards this
deviant behaviour?
• In response to the labeling by the powerful social forces,
“deviants” generally device two strategies to cope with it

STRATEGIES IN RESPONSE TO LABELING

REJECTING LABELS: EMBRACING LABELS:

How People Neutralize How People Cherish
Deviance Their Deviant Identity
 DIFFERENTIAL ASSOCIATION THEORY

• According to Edwin H. Sutherland, in

a society with a variety of
subcultures, some social
environments encourage illegal
activities, whereas others do not
• Individuals become delinquent
through associating with people
who follow criminal norms
DIFFERENTIAL ASSOCIATION
The process through which exposure to attitudes
favourable to criminal acts leads to the
violation of rules

• The acts may also

include noncriminal
deviant act such as
drinking (among
Muslim only)
• Differential association can ONLY occurs through a
learning process named cultural transmission

CULTURAL TRANSMISSION
One learns criminal behaviour by interacting with
others
Such learning transmits the followings:
 techniques of lawbreaking
 motives, drives and rationalizations of the
acts
• Improper behaviour is the result of the types of
groups to which one belongs and the kinds of
friendships one has

• Other than mass

media influences,
bullies learn
bullying motives
and techniques
from one another
 SOCIAL DISORGANIZATION THEORY

SOCIAL DISORGANIZATION THEORY

Increases in crime and deviance can be attributed
to the absence or breakdown of communal
relationships and social institutions, such as
family, religion, government and education
• Apparent disorganization occurred as cities expanded
with rapid immigration and migration from rural
areas

• Social disorganization theorists gradually moved to

study on the effects of social networks on
communal bonds, which may be enhanced or
weakened by their ties to groups outside the immediate
community
 CONTROL THEORY

CONTROL THEORY
A theory that views crime as the outcome of an
imbalance between impulses toward criminal
activity and controls that deter it
A theory that views criminals are rational beings who will
act to maximize their own reward unless they are
rendered unable to do so through either social or
physical controls
• According to Walter Reckless and Travis Hirschi, there
are two control systems work against our motivations
to deviate

CONTROL SYSTEMS

INNER CONTROL OUTER CONTROL

 INNER CONTROL

• Inner controls include:

 internalized morality –
conscience, religious
principles, ideas of right and
wrong,
 fear of punishment,
 feelings of integrity; and
 the desire to be a “good”
person
• Parents help their children to develop self-control by:
 supervising them,
 punishing their deviant acts; and
 using shame to keep them in line

• Travis Hirschi suggests that

delinquents have low-levels of self-
control that resulted from
inadequate socialization at home or
at school
 OUTER CONTROL
• Humans are fundamentally selfish beings who make
calculated decisions about whether to engage in criminal
activity by weighing the benefits and risks
• Our outer controls consist of people who influence us NOT to
deviate, they include:
 family members
 friends
 police officials
• Social relations and interactions are to be considered
during such decision-making process
• There are four types of bonds that link people to society
and law-abiding behaviour, thus maintaining social control
and conformity

FOUR TYPES OF BONDS TO THE SOCIETY

Our affection and respect for people who
Attachments conform to mainstream norms
Having a stake in a society that you don’t
Commitments want to risk, such as reputation and job

Involvements Participating in approved activities

Convictions that certain actions are morally
Beliefs wrong
 Social Self-
Bonds / Control /
Outer Inner Tendency to
Control Control Deviate

Social Self- Tendency to

Bonds / A /
Control Deviate
Outer Inner
Control Control
• This theory also variously known as Social Bond
Theory and Social Control Theory

• It is common to acknowledge links between the logic of

Hirschi’s Social Control Theory and Social
Disorganization Theory as they both share similarity
in terms of their focuses on impacts of weak social
relations and social bonds on deviance
3.4 SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON
DEVIANCE AND CRIME
3.4.3 CONFLICT THEORIES

CONFLICT THEORY

FEMINIST THEORY
 CONFLICT THEORY

CONFLICT THEORY
Argues that deviance is deliberately chosen and
often political in nature, as response to the
inequalities of the capitalist system
• Criminal laws reflect competing values and interests
• Malaysian law
outlaws marijuana
because of its
alleged harm to
users, yet cigarettes
and alcohol – both
of which can be
harmful to users –
are sold legally
almost everywhere
Exercise 3.6
• Who decides who, at where, how and with whom,
gambling is legal and illegal in Malaysia?
• For Richard Quinney, the criminal justice
system serves the interests of the powerful
• The powerful also breaks laws, but are
rarely caught

DIFFERENTIAL JUSTICE
Differences in the way social control is
exercised over different groups and puts them
at a disadvantage in the justice system, both
as juveniles and as adults
 FEMINIST THEORY

FEMINIST THEORY
Argues that many theories about deviance may
be valid for male behaviour but NOT
necessarily valid for female behaviour

• This theory deals with women as BOTH victims and

offenders
• Existing approaches to deviance and crime were
developed with ONLY men in mind
• Malaysian law (Penal Code 375) narrowly defines rape

Stereotypical gender inequalities

• In the case whereby men are victims of male rape,
according to Malaysian law, it is NOT considered as rape
• Marital rape is NOT criminalized in Malaysia
3.2 SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES
ON DEVIANCE
3.3.4 SUMMARY
SUMMARY
TOPIC 3 DEVIANCE AND SOCIAL
CONTROL
 CORE CONCEPT 1
Deviance is the behaviour that violates
the standards of conduct or
expectations of a group or society;
Crime is the violation of criminal law for
which government applies formal
penalties; Social control is the techni-
ques and strategies for preventing
deviances; Social stigma is the labels
society uses to devalue or discredit
members of certain social groups
 CORE CONCEPT 2
People commit deviance when they
are experiencing anomie, a state of
normlessness – THE NOTION OF
ANOMIE
Deviant behaviour is a response to
structural strain, a situation in which a
disconnect exists between the cultural
valued goals and legitimate means for
achieving those goals – STRAIN
THEORY
 CORE CONCEPT 3
Labeling theorists maintain that an act is
deviant when people notice it and then
take action to label it as a violation and
apply appropriate sanctions – LABELING
THEORY
Criminal behaviour is learned, thus,
criminals constitute a special type of
conformist in that they conform to the
norms of the group with which they
associate – DIFFERENTIAL
ASSOCIATION THEORY
 CORE CONCEPT 4
Both weak social bonds and weak
social control system lead to
deviance and crime –
CONTROL THEORY & SOCIAL
DISORGANIZATION THEORY
Crime is the outcome of an
imbalance between impulses toward
criminal activity and controls that
deter it – CONTROL THEORY
 CORE CONCEPT 5
Powerful elite defines deviance to
suit their needs; Deviance is
deliberately chosen and often
political in nature, as response to the
inequalities of the capitalist system –
CONFLICT THEORY
Many theories about deviance may
not necessarily valid for female
behaviour – FEMINIST THEORY