For this part of the lectures we are going to use each of the four perspectives we have learned to look at the issue of deviance.
Now remember, the symbolic interactionist point of view looks at what the behavior or situation means to us from a social perspective. It has a lot to do with identity.
When we discussed groups before we looked at the importance groups have in forming our identity. Consider that a group to which you belong engages in criminal or deviant behavior. If your desire, or all you ever knew, was to be a part of the group lead you to engage in that behavior.
Researchers have called this the Differential Association Theory of deviance. In essence, it means that if you hang out with individuals that engage in deviant behavior you are more likely to deviate yourself.
I'm sure you can now make the connection to what we have said about Social Control. The group provides input to the individual to engage in the behavior and if the person does so, he or she is rewarded by the group. This creates a significant social bond between individuals.
There are some gangs in our country who have a requirement that a person kill someone in order to be a part of the gang. Once someone has passed this testÉ.they achieve status, role, support and reinforcement from the group.
Another trend that we see in our society is expressed in the effect that Labeling has on human behavior.
Consider that a person may go through the following stages of deviant behavior:
You can adapt this model to look at a number of deviant behaviors from smoking to schizophrenia. Consider this: Are there any behaviors that you possess that have been "normalized"?