DEVIANT BEHAVIOR AND

CONFORMITY

Chapter 6 1

Deviance and Social Control

OVERVIEW: WHAT WE WILL COVER TODAY

Review From Chapter 5:

Norms, Folkways, Mores, and Taboos

New Concepts

Deviant Behavior

Normative Influence

Conformity

Important Experiments

Ashe (Line Experiment)

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Deviance and Social Control

VOCABULARY REVIEW:

Norms are: “a customary standard for behavior

that is shared by members of a culture.”

Example: How you should stand in an elevator.

Important because

they make behavior

predictable. Without

norms we would have chaos.

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Deviance and Social Control

VOCABULARY REVIEW:

Three Types Of Norms (or social Rules)

Folkways- Norms that are not strictly enforced.

Mores – Norms that are strictly enforced

because they are essential to

core values or wellbeing.

Taboos – Norms that are so

strong it often brings revulsion

if violated. 4

WHAT IS DEVIANCE?

Any violation of norms, whether

the infraction is as minor as

driving over the speed limit or as

serious as murder (p. 142) 5

Deviance and Social Control

MORE ABOUT DEVIANT BEHAVIOR

Deviant behavior is relative. What is deviant

to some is not deviant to others.

The term is used non-judgmentally to refer

to any act to which people respond negatively.

All of us are deviants of one sort or another…

we all violate norms from time to time

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Deviance and Social Control

EXAMPLES:

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Is this deviant

Behavior?

If so, what type of

norm is violated?

Deviance and Social Control

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What is the

difference?

Deviance and Social Control

WHAT QUALIFIES AS “DEVIANT” SOMETIMES

CHANGES WITH….

Gender

Age

Physical appearance

Race

Geographical location

Primary group (parents/friends) 9

WHAT IS

CONFORMITY?

The tendency to do what

others do simply because

others are doing it. (p. 643) 10

Deviance and Social Control

MORE ABOUT CONFORMITY

People can influence us by providing information

about what is appropriate. This is called

Normative Influence.

People will conform to something even if they

know it is incorrect or wrong.

The Asch Experiment

provides an example

of conformity.

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Deviance and Social Control

EXAMPLE OF CONFORMITY

Asch Experiment

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GIMQ86p3x4

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Deviance and Social Control

TO SUMMARIZE

Norms are social rules

3 Types: Folkways, Mores, and Taboos

Deviant Behavior = Violation of norms

Normative Influence = When a person’s behavior

is influenced by those around them.

Conformity = Tendency to

do what others do simply

because they are doing it.

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