The main reasons behind involvement in deviant behaviors have fascinated sociologists and scientists alike. This is in view of the fact the term “deviance” is relative and depends on what society perceives as out of line with the norm. Becker (1963) has however used statistics to define deviance by stating that “The simplest view of deviance is essentially statistical, defining as deviant anything that varies too widely from the average”. In an attempt to understand the perspectives of acts that are considered deviant, Chambliss has effectively carried out a comparative analysis of the saints and the roughnecks – two groups of young deviant boys at Hannibal High School. Chambliss (1973) summarizes that external factors that would contribute to the group being labeled as deviant include bias, visibility, demeanor, and reinforcement.
Deviance is a sociological term that describes behaviors that violate cultural norms. It is therefore a violation of social norms and failure to conform to these norms that are entrenched in the culture of the society. Goffman’s idea about stigma has its roots in Greece where it was originally referred to as body markings that identified people as criminals, traitors or society villains. In modern times, Goffman has positively identified three types of stigma that are directly related to deviant behavior. These include body abnormalities which include physical deformities. The second deformity is the character blemishes and the third is the stigma associated with religion, race or nationality. According to Goffman (1986), “stigma is something that detracts from a person and that normal people cannot ignore it; it is something that makes them less than human, and normal people construct a theory to explain their inferiority and the danger they present to them.” In addition to the above, stigmatized people may at times feel normal in their own understanding and demand a fair chance in society just like everyone else.
According to the preliminary conceptions, “Society establishes the means of categorizing persons and the complement of attributes felt to be ordinary and natural for members of each of these categories” Goffman (1986). This defines the key concept of stigma theory in understanding the aspects of deviant behavior. Stigma and social identity are interrelated aspects of deviant behavior that are greatly influenced by social settings. The daily routines of social interactions within our settings allow us to deal with strangers in a completely different way without paying attention or thought (Goffman, 1986).
The limitations of normals in society refer to the possession of stigma in undesired levels on what the society anticipated of them. “We and those who do not depart negatively from the particular expectations at issue are referred to as the normals” Goffman (1986). The attitudes we “normals” project on a stigmatized individual is benevolent in society. In practice, we believe that stigmatized people in society are lesser human beings. This assumption precipitates discrimination that has been pointed as a major cause of reduction in the life chances of stigmatized individuals. According to Merton (1938) “we construct a stigma-theory, an ideology to explain this inferiority and account for the danger it represents, sometimes rationalizing an animosity based on other differences, such as those of social class.” These are characterized by the application of stigma terms such as cripple, moron as sources of discrimination against these people. This theory holds in the analysis of deviance in that some stigmatized people opt to ignore their stigmatized situation and successfully develop social relationships with the normals while others remain isolated. These latter groups may attempt to force social acceptance and search for recognition that may lead to deviant behaviors.
The key concept of discredited vs. discreditable is defined by Goffman (1983) in stating that “discredited stigma include deformities, gross physical handicaps, and other manifest disabilities and are forced to deal with their stigma in virtually all interactions while discreditable stigma includes criminal history, sexual deviance, epilepsy, homosexuality, and other invisible conditions.” These determine their interaction strategies are which are different. While the discredited have stigma that is easily visible, the discreditable are composed of individuals who may opt to tell other people of their stigma or keep them concealed. This may involve revealing their conditions to a small social group or letting the society have full knowledge about their stigma. A good example as illustrated by Merton (1938) includes the fact that “to most epileptics, the strategy of selective concealment is pursued in preference to total secrecy in that one function of disclosure is therapeutic: the individual can overcome some of his/her feeling of isolation by sharing information”.
In the context of Merton’s theory of Anomie, the interest was a search on the kind of societies that would easily generate deviant behavior. According to Merton (1938) “the societies most prone to deviant behavior would be those in which the greatest emphasis was placed on achieving specific goals (e.g. monetary success) but in which legitimate means for reaching those goals were unavailable to some sectors of society (Legitimate means include education, working hard, making wise investments.)”. Within this context, it can therefore be argued that deviance draws its foundations from the competing universal cultural desire for success and the limitations in the opportunities available. Merton, therefore, defines anomie as the state of confused mind inherent in individuals who are unable to balance between the parameters that define success in society and the limitations in the available opportunities.
As the state of anomie increases, the likelihood of a crime being used to achieve the desired objectives increases (Goffman, 1986). According to Merton’s anomie, there are five general responses to goal attainment which include the conformist, innovationist, ritualist, retreats, and rebellion mode.”The conformist is the individual who accepts both the legitimate cultural goals of success and the institutionalized or conventional means for reaching these goals while the innovationist is the individual accepts the goals but employs illegitimate means for attainment” (Merton, 1938). The latter refers to the desire to achieve culturally valued things but does not agree with the social norm of arriving at the goal of their attainment. “Ritualists abandon the goals entrenched and advocated for by the society but continues to operate within institutional norms in their desire to achieve the culturally valued things” (Merton, 1938). A good example as illustrated by Merton (1938) is a “poorly paid clerk who never misses a day of work – he has given up on the goal of success, but continues to follow appropriate means”.
My autobiographical deviant behavior will form the basis of this analysis in regard to reasons as to why one may opt to participate in acts of deviance. My biggest deviant behavior involved a row I had with my Algebra teacher. In my second year in high school, I missed approximately one-fourth of the classes in algebra. This was not because I had any dislike for the teacher; I just did not understand how alphabetical letters and mathematical numbers could be mixed up to create what is referred to as algebra. I was the only girl in the class with the highest number in absenteeism from the class during that particular period. The pressure exerted on me at that particular time in my life pushed me into planting sharp-pointed steel hooks on the road every morning I knew Mr. Chris would pass in his old Volkswagen. This was to punish him and seek vengeance for giving an E grade in Algebra. I succeeded in approximately 80% in my attempts till Mr. Chris abandoned his car and opted to use the train to school.
The root cause of my deviant behavior was the pressure exerted on me in excelling in my academic which was the culturally demanded goal of success. In failing to live up to the standards of the society, I opted for the rebellious mode of goal attainment by withdrawing total allegiance from the demands of the society. I, therefore, viewed my failure in Algebra as unjust and sought to seek revenge by punishing the individual responsible for my failure. Within the functionalist approach, deviance is described as a functional product for society. It is my belief that Durkheim’s assertion in regards to crime and deviant behaviors remains relevant to date. It has therefore been ascertained that deviant behaviors draw their foundations from the systems within the society. Whereas this paper has analyzed the root causes of deviant behaviors in relation to Goffman’s idea about stigma, it, however, cannot capture all the detailed aspects of deviant behavior.
References
- Becker, H.S. (1963). Outsiders: studies in the sociology of deviance. New York: Free Press.
- Chambliss, W.J. (1973). The Saints and the Roughnecks. Journal of Sociology. Vol. 11, No. 1.
- Goffman, E. (1986). Stigma: notes on the management of spoiled identity. New York: Simon & Schuster.
- Merton, R.K. (1938). Social Structure and Anomie. Journal of American Sociology. Vol 3, no 5.