Module Two Critical Thinking

FOUNDATIONS OF DEVIANCE IN SOCIETY

Deviant behaviors are created from societal norms, meaning there are informal and formal
mechanisms to reinforce our conformity to these standards on a micro and macro level.
Thinking critically about this, you should know:
● This means there are six types of deviant behaviors (refer to your Chapter 3 notes for the
types).
● There are three types of conformity methods (refer to your Chapter 5 notes for the
different types).
It is important to note that just because an action is considered deviant, does not mean it is
inherently deviant. Using your sociological imagination, you will find that most actions that are
labeled as deviant are not ‘bad’ at all and have been formulated as such through means of
historically prejudiced events.
 Thinking back to Chapter 3 where we learned about hegemony and social control, deviant
behaviors are used to socially control you to interact with social aspects in the way that
these hegemonic cultures want you to. Thus, we see this working through the
examination of social inequalities.
 Chapter 3 through Chapter 6 builds the foundation of understanding the root of this
course, which are the social inequalities we begin to learn about in Module Three.
 To understand social inequalities critically, you must understand the different aspects of
in-groups and out-groups are created by power, authority, conformity, and leadership and
how these sociological aspects work together to create deviant behaviors on a macro-
level that can influence the micro-level (especially for those who are in the out-group)

As mentioned, the purpose of behaviors being labeled as deviant is to create social control. From
this social control, society and its members interact within the agents of socialization in many
ways. This is due to the social ways of thinking about deviance to embed social inequalities into
society. When you purposefully commit acts of deviance to protest the standards of the status
quo, you are thus labeled as a deviant hero.
Thinking critically about this, you should know:
● There are four agents of socialization (refers back to your Chapter 4 notes for the types).
● There are several social inequalities you will learn about in this course. Please note that
we will learn about racism, classism, sexism, genderism, and xenophobia in this
course.
● Social control is reinforced through mechanisms of positive and negative sanctions.
● Deviant heroes can do simple acts, such as a woman not caring about what they wear
when they know they will be labeled as a ‘whore’ OR can be as major as climbing the
flagpole at a state capital to protest the wrongful killing of black individuals by the police
forces in our country (as done by Bree Newsome) knowing you are going to be arrested.
MERTON’S TYPOLOGY OF DEVIANCE
Merton presented four typologies that are connected to how individuals can react to the standards
of deviance in society. The overall standard of the typologies is conformity, which is when
individuals accept the cultural goals presented by the status quo and accept the institutionalized
means of how to achieve these goals.
➔ Innovators: Accepts the cultural goals presented by the status quo but rejects the
institutionalized means of how to achieve these goals.
◆ An innovator can be a mother who knows the cultural goal of being a mother is to
feed her child but rejects the means of how to do so since she cannot afford the
increasing prices of infant food products. This leads the mother to choose the
means of stealing the items to feed her child.
➔ Ritualist: Rejects the cultural goals presented by the status quo but accepts the
institutionalized means of how to achieve these goals.
◆ A ritualist can be showcased from an employee who goes through the motions of
their jobs without any real ambition for advancement or success.
➔ Retreatists: Reject the cultural goals presented by the status quo and also reject the
institutionalized means of how to achieve these goals.
◆ Retreatists are people who had previously accepted cultural goals and the
institutional means but eventually abandon both the goals and the means.
Retreatists still feel a moral obligation to use the institutional means, but their
acceptance of the cultural goal pressures them to pursue the goal illegitimately.
These conflicting values lead the individual to reject both the goal and the means
and instead find a way to escape the requirements of society by different actions.
These actions include substance abuse, social isolation, and use of media in the
form of video games for prolonged periods.
➔ Rebels: Usually due to frustration, oppression, or marginalization, these individuals reject
the cultural goals and the accepted means to achieve the goals. Instead, they attempt to
introduce new cultural goals and new institutionalized means, ultimately aimed at
producing a new social order.
◆ Rebels are people who use social movements to create social change aimed at
creating a society with more modest and equally accessible goals, as well as equal
opportunity means.

THEORIES OF DEVIANCE
In this chapter, you are introduced to the theories that I like to call ‘umbrella theories.’ These
‘umbrella theories’ are subsets of the Core Four Theories in the course that are used to explain
certain social aspects and situations more in-depth. As a major hint, now that you have begun to
learn about these ‘umbrella theories,’ you will rarely directly use the Core Four Theories in your
work from now on. This is largely due to the increasing intersectionality presented in discussions
and sociological perspective that will be required from you from now on in the course.
Structural Functionalism
–Presents the understanding that labeling certain actions as deviance is needed.
Manifest functions: Creates a social understanding for members of society to not commit acts
that are harmful to themselves and others.
Latent functions: Reinforces social inequalities due to the hegemonic culture labeling certain
behaviors as deviant, although they are not.
Thinking critically about this:
● Certain actions are in fact harmful to both social levels and must be labeled as such to
provide a consensus within all cultures that these behaviors should not be committed.
Acts like these include murder, sexual assault, etc.
Social Control Theory: ‘Umbrella Theory to Structural Functionalism
–Presents the understanding that when society and its members have stronger social bonds,
society will have fewer deviant acts being committed.
● Manifest functions: Creates stronger bonds, leading to a society that has fewer deviant
behaviors.
● Latent functions: Leads to individuals to have social bonds with other individuals who
have matching social identities due to the deviant standards in place by the hegemonic
culture.
Structural Strain Theory: ‘Umbrella Theory’ that connects Functionalism and Conflict Theory
–Presents the understanding that deviance in society is inevitable due to the many factors that
come with being human (functionalism). However, an individual’s position in the social structure
will affect their experience of deviance and conformity. This is typically showcased through
goals in our society that people want to achieve but cannot always reach, which creates stress (or
strain).
➔ There is a question on the Course PowerPoint that asks: “What American cultural myth is
displayed from this theory?” The answer is the American Dream Ideology. This ideology
is not true, and statistically there are large percentages of people who (no matter how
hard they work) cannot reach certain statuses in life due to the systemic structures of the
social inequalities you will be learning about.
Differential Association Theory: ‘Umbrella Theory to Symbolic Interactionism
–Presents the symbolic interactionist perspective developed by Edwin Sutherland that states that
we learn deviance from interacting with deviant peers.
➔ As we go along in the course, you will learn that the differential association theory is not
true on a macro level. Most individuals who commit deviant acts do not have interactions
with others who are deviant. In fact, most people who commit deviant acts have never
been in environments where deviant acts were showcased at all.
Labeling Theory: ‘Umbrella Theory to Symbolic Interactionism
–According to Howard Becker, “labeling” can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy: a prediction that
causes itself to come true.
 ➔ Stereotype threat: a self-fulfilling prophecy in which the fear of performing poorly and
thereby confirming stereotypes about one’s social group causes people to perform poorly.
◆ Intersectional race and class, the American Dream Ideology is the most used form
of stereotype threat. Applying the Social Strain Theory, lower-socioeconomic
status, black individuals lead to the typology of retreatist or ritualist.
➔ Stereotype promise: a self-fulfilling prophecy in which positive stereotypes lead to
positive performance outcomes.
◆ Positive assumptions about the academic performance of Asian Americans are an
example of this. Applying the “looking-glass self,” these Asian American students
are more likely to do well academically since they want to stay within the
standards of how others perceive them.

STIGMAS OF DEVIANCE
Stigmas are labels created by the reference group (or in-group) of society. Once an individual has
been labeled as deviant, they are stigmatized and acquire a “spoiled identity.” These spoiled
identities are based on one of the three types of stigmas present in society.
➔ Physical: Typically relates to ableist actions in society.
➔ Moral: This stigma type is created from labels in society. Being a felon is a type of moral
stigma.
➔ Tribal: Typically relates to racist, classist, sexist, genderist, and xenophobic actions in
society.
◆ Thinking critically, you should know that tribal stigmas are connected to the
outgroups for each social inequality. You will learn more about outgroups in
Chapter 7.
◆ Passing can be applied to all three types of stigmas. This is where an individual
can hide that they are a part of a stigmatized group.

The types of stigmas and the Labeling Theory connect to the theories of self that were presented
in Chapter 4, and the ethnocentric ways of thinking that are reinforced by hegemonic cultures in
Chapter 3.
 Thinking critically, you are able to understand that cultural relativism is a key factor to
dismantling social inequalities.
 Due to the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis created from symbolic culture linked to the Symbolic
Interactionist Theory, it is challenging for many individuals to view the real culture of
society on a macro-level (which causes them to participate in actions that embed social
inequalities into society on the micro-level).

Critical Thinking and Reflection Activity

 IMPORTANT NOTE:
The explanations proved are based on the critical levels that have been showcased collectively in
the course. There are other terms that can be used, and if you are able to understand the
sociological pieces that are missing: good job! I did not want to create more confusion for those
who are working on their sociological imagination, but I also want to be sure that everyone was
given assistance with working on their critical level required for this course.

Scenario One:
You hear someone speak and decide to correct a statement they made on the basis that they are
not speaking properly. You just committed an action that is connected to the formation that there
is a definite manner that should be spoken in America. Explain what just occurred here in a
sociological manner.

Explanation:
You just participated in an action that is linked to ethnocentrism and the foundation that speaking
a certain way is an informal more within your micro-level. With a critical understanding of
culture from a cultural relativist viewpoint, you know that there are many ways to speak: even in
American. There is Western American English, African American Vernacular English (AAVE),
there is Geechee, Tutnese, and many other dialects of English. Due to the hegemonic culture in
our society that was created by the in-groups on a macro-level, you are being social controlled to
leave out this fact and be a part of a system created to place a tribal stigma on anyone that does
not speak in the manner that the hegemonic culture wants us to speak. This, in turn, creates social
factors and aspects that will impact the individual who spoke in other social realms that are
known and can be examined in a critical manner using the Structural Strain Theory.

Scenario Two:
Critically explain this statement using your sociological imagination: “Boys wear blue, and girls
wear pink.”

Explanation:
The statement, “Boys wear blue, and girls wear pink,” is linked to the intertwining of symbolic
culture, the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, and the Symbolic Interactionist Theory. There is a macro
level culture that has been created to reinforce the binary aspects of gender, which aids in the
process of discriminating against those who do not live in this binary. Intertwining symbolic
culture, the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, and the Symbolic Interactionist Theory together helps us
thoroughly examine how these colors being associated with sex and gender socially controls
society to interact with sex and gender as if they are the same. If you do not interact with sex and
gender within a binary aspect, you are now committing a deviant act that can lead to tribal
stigmas being placed on you. This stigma worsens if your agent of family is a part of this belief
cycle and has created living outside of the gender binary into an informal taboo.