Any act that

violates a
social norm.

Time
Place
Public Consensus

Is considered by the
public consensus or by
the powerful at a given
time and place, to be a
violation of social norms.

Deviance as a violation of
social norms
Deviance as assertions of
individuality and identity
Deviance as reactive
construction
Deviance affirms cultural
values and norms.

All behaviordeviance as well as

conformity

IS SHAPED
BY THE
SOCIETY.

No thought or action is
inherently deviant; it becomes
deviant only in relation to
particular norms.

Everyone violates
cultural norms at
one time or
another.
People become
deviant as others
define them that
way.

Law is the means by

which powerful people
protect their interests.

Others perceiving
you to be obtaining
obedient or deviant
behavior.

Perceiving one to
participate in
deviant and rulebreaking behavior.

Not being perceived as

deviant, but merely
participating in the social
norms that are distributed
within societies

When the individual is

not perceived as
deviant or
participating in any
rule-breaking behavior.

1. Deviance clarifies what the norms are by exercising

social control to defend its values.
2. Through deviance, people learn to define, adjust and
reaffirm the norms.
3. Deviance increases unity within a society or group.
When deviance remind people of something they
value, it strengthens their commitment to the value.
4. Deviance promotes social change (civil rights
movements and civil disobedience). Oftentimes,
they sought to bring reforms that will benefit the
society

If a deviant act
becomes more
accepted, it soon may
be considered
legitimate.

It provides examplesof alternate

lifestyles and eases the shock of
social change because"deviants"
introduce these changes
gradually. Over timeindividuals
get used toseeingdifferent
styles of dress, behavior, etc.

In this way it increasessocial

cohesionin the larger society
by establishing social
boundaries defining
whatacceptable behavior is.

Agents such as the

mediatend to socially
stigmatize subcultures and
portray them in an
undesirable manner. In
turn, the public follows suit.

Stereotyping and labelling

are based onfalse beliefs
about the alleged deviant,
but the actions other people
take onthe basis of these
false beliefs eventually
make them a reality.

Taking homosexuality as an
example, thesocietymay
convince gays and lesbians that
they are intrinsically bad, which
canresult in reckless sexual
behavior or low self-esteem.

Mainstream Muslims and

Christians, for example, can
practice theirbeliefs without any
problems. However, when taken
to the extreme, deviantfringe
groups can occur and cause
intense clashes or even war.