Essay on the Social Deviance – It is true that the social order is mainly maintained by means of social control and socialisation. It is equally true that most of the people follow or conform to most of the norms most of the times. But all the people or even most of people do not conform to all the norms always.
As Young and Mack have pointed out, “No norm is always obeyed; no individual always conforms to every set of expectations”. Hence, deviance, that is, the act of going against the rules or norms is there everywhere.
Deviant behaviours such as knavery, cheating, adultery, unfairness, crime, malingering, immorality, dishonesty, betrayal, burglary, corruption, cunningness, sneakiness, wickedness, gambling, drunkenness etc., go along with conformity. Deviance in one shape or another is found everywhere. Definition of Deviance or Deviancy
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1. Horton and Hunt:
“The term deviation is given to any failure to conform to customary norms”.
2. Orville G. Brim Jr:
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“Deviance can be defined as failure to conform to the expectations of other persons”.
3. Louise Weston:
“Deviance can be defined as behaviour that is contrary to the standards of conduct or social expectations of a given group or society’.
4. M.B. Clinard suggests that the term deviance should be reserved for “those situations in which behaviour is in a disapproved direction and of sufficient degree to exceed the tolerance limit of society”.
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5. In simple words, deviance many be defined as the act of going against the group-shared expectations and norms.