Delinquent and deviant behavior: differences and similarities

All people living on planet Earth are noticeably different both in their character and in their behavior and its norms. What is acceptable for some is completely unacceptable for others. Based on certain norms and principles, the concept of negative behavior was established. In fact, these are any actions that do not comply with generally accepted norms or rules, causing harm to themselves or others.

The most common types of such behavior are drug addiction, theft, leaving home, fighting, using profanity, and so on.

Negative deviant behavior can lead to noticeable problems in the family, with loved ones, in career, with friends, and so on. What is the reason for this behavior?

The reason may lie in several factors:

1. Psychological trauma received at an early age.
2. A frequently recurring negative situation.
3. Inner conviction of something.

There are a large number of options and reasons why this phenomenon exists. At the same time, negative behavior can become a way of life. Naturally, the deeper the problem sits in a person’s mind, the more difficult it will be to cure it. The best option to prevent complications is to prevent negative behavior. But if you have already encountered such a problem, then you should contact a specialist to resolve it.

Examples of this behavior

There are two types of phenomenon under consideration.

1. Positive deviation stimulates the development of society or an individual. Usually the opportunity to deviate from social standards is provided by the group to the leaders. For example, heroic deeds, self-sacrifice and extreme devotion.
2. Negative deviation – there is a negative impact. For example, difficult teenagers, criminals.

There is a similar concept called “delinquent behavior.” The difference between them is that in the first case any social norm is violated, and in the latter we are talking only about legal regulations. Delinquent deviation can be considered as a type of deviant.

Types of deviant behavior

Crime is the totality of all actually committed illegal acts, for each of which criminal liability is provided, as well as a massive negative social and legal phenomenon that has certain patterns, quantitative and qualitative characteristics.

Drug addiction is a disease that is expressed in physical or psychological dependence on drugs, an irresistible attraction to them, which gradually leads the body to physical and psychological exhaustion. A type of drug addiction is substance abuse.

Drunkenness and alcoholism. There are differences between these concepts.

Alcoholism is a pathological attraction to alcohol and subsequent social and moral degradation of the individual.

Drunkenness is excessive consumption of alcohol, which, along with a threat to an individual’s health, disrupts his social adaptation.

There are two main classes of problems associated with excessive alcohol consumption:

• negative consequences for the drinker himself (destruction of his health and personality); negative consequences for society as a whole (increased
• social problems.

The problems of the drinker himself are:

with one-time excessive consumption of alcohol - loss of self-control, aggressiveness, accidents, hypothermia or overheating due to negligence, arrest for being drunk in public places, alcohol poisoning;

with long-term excessive consumption - an increased risk of developing cirrhosis of the liver, some types of cancer and cardiovascular diseases, malnutrition, long-term functional disorders and loss of self-control, accidents, loss of ability to work, the development of alcoholism and early psychoses, etc.

The range of problems for society includes public order violations, traffic accidents, industrial accidents, decreased productivity, absenteeism, as well as economic damage caused by the costs of treatment, disability benefits, and the fight against alcohol-related crime.

Drugs, just like alcohol abuse, are addictive and create mental dependence. At the same time, the health of adolescents who become addicted to drugs is destroyed especially quickly, since in a young body all processes - metabolism, blood flow - proceed much more intensely than in an adult.

A healthy lifestyle means an optimal mode of work and rest, a balanced diet, sufficient physical activity, adherence to personal hygiene rules, hardening, the absence of bad habits, love for people, and a positive perception of life. A healthy lifestyle allows you to be mentally, morally and physically healthy until old age.

To keep the range of social problems as narrow as possible, there is a special mechanism - social control.

Social control is a mechanism for maintaining social order through normative regulation, implying social actions aimed at preventing deviant behavior, punishing deviants or correcting them.

Social control consists of two elements - social norms and social sanctions.

Social norms are socially approved or legally enshrined rules, standards, patterns that regulate people’s social behavior.

Social sanctions are means of reward and punishment that encourage people to comply with social norms.

Types of sanctions

Formal:

• negative - punishment for breaking the law or violating administrative order: fines, imprisonment, etc.
• positive - encouragement of a person’s activity or behavior by official organizations: awards, certificates of professional, academic success, etc.

Informal:

• negative - condemnation of a person for an action by society: an offensive tone, scolding or reprimand, demonstrative ignoring of a person, etc.
• positive - gratitude and approval of unofficial persons - friends, acquaintances, colleagues: praise, approving smile, etc., etc.

Forms of social control

Internal (self-control)

A form of social control in which an individual independently regulates his behavior, coordinating it with generally accepted norms.

External

A set of institutions and mechanisms that guarantee compliance with generally accepted norms of behavior and laws.

Informal (intra-group) - based on approval or condemnation from a group of relatives, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, as well as from public opinion, which is expressed through traditions and customs or through the media.

Formal (institutional) - based on the support of existing social institutions (army, court, education, etc.).

Methods of social control

Insulation

The establishment of impassable barriers between the deviant and the rest of society without any attempts to correct or re-educate him.

Separation

Limiting the deviant’s contacts with other people, but not completely isolating him from society; This approach allows for the correction of deviants and their return to society when they are ready to once again fulfill generally accepted norms.

Rehabilitation

A process by which deviants can prepare to return to normal life and correctly fulfill their social roles in society 5.

Deviant behavior of a person is behavior that does not correspond to the norms accepted by the society of which he is a member.

Norm

-
this is a phenomenon of group consciousness in the form of ideas shared by the group and the most private judgments of group members about the requirements for behavior, taking into account their social roles, creating optimal conditions of existence with which these norms interact and, reflecting, form behavior.
There are biological norms, related to the human body, and social norms, related to his behavior in a group of people.

Violation of social norms by an individual entails condemnation or even punishment by his group.

Among many social norms (professional, labor, aesthetic, religious, etc.), moral and legal norms are of particular importance for deviant behavior. Because of this, the concept of deviant behavior is often associated only with behavior that violates these norms.

However, this concept is much broader, and it is in this broad and diverse sense that it is essential for personality theory. From the position of the principle of the unity of consciousness, personality and activity, this is a broad understanding of deviant behavior.

The behavior of individuals, which results in their violation of moral and legal norms, is most sensitively assessed by the groups to which these individuals belong.

And this is not accidental, since it is determined by the very essence of deviant behavior and the essence of moral and legal norms.

Moral norms are a kind of social norms previously established by customs and ethics, including professional, say

–
medical.
Deviant behavior is sometimes understood as only one of its types: socially deviant and, in its most pronounced form, delinquent behavior.

However, not only it, but also other types of deviant behavior (caused by diseases, adaptation and maladaptation, the presence of hyperabilities, etc.) provide material for a deeper understanding of the interaction of consciousness, personality and activity.

Behavioral deviations can be caused by both social and biological deviations. The first of them in our conditions are always a consequence of defects in education. The latter can be caused by both external conditions and diseases.

Signs of deviant behavior

It is impossible to clearly determine whether behavior is deviant or not - this is a relative concept. A person who breaks the rules may consider this to be adequate and correct. It is easiest to talk about delinquent models, because the norms are prescribed by law.

Important indicators can be identified:

1. Destructive or self-destructive nature. Harms others or yourself.
2. Repeated violation of the rules.
3. Medical norm. Deviation from medical and psychological standard indicators.
4. Social maladjustment. This is both a cause and an indicator - the loss of the ability to assimilate social requirements.

Deviant behavior

Human behavior is a certain established way of interaction with the environment, determined by the ability to perceive, store and transform information, using it for the purpose of self-preservation and adaptation to living conditions.

Not all types of behavior, even adaptive for an individual, may be desirable for a microgroup, team, community or society as a whole. The code of desirable or acceptable behavior has at all times been enshrined in rules, customs, ethical ideas, ideology, religion and legislation. Society has always tried to prevent and eliminate behavioral manifestations that were undesirable for it, which deviated from accepted norms, influencing people using various methods and means. The main goal of such formative influence: the formation of acceptable limits of behavior, the creation of negative ways of reinforcing unacceptable behavior, and positive ways of reinforcing desirable behavior. A separate complex issue is the concept of flexible norms, which means that in different social contexts the same behavior can be both normative and non-normative (for example, causing bodily harm when preventing a crime or, conversely, when committing a crime).

In psychiatric taxonomies, including the current International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision, deviant behavior is not a nosological form identified as a diagnostic category, representing a socio-psychological problem (Marchenko A.A., 2018). Even the formation of stable stereotypes of deviant behavior is not a sign of mental pathology (Shamray V.K., 2015). The competence of a psychiatrist may include the exclusion of a mental disorder that can cause behavioral deviations. Modern methodological tools of clinical psychiatry are not intended for expert interpretation of other forms of deviant behavior and propensity to it. Therefore, deviant behavior is not an object for consideration by medicine from a clinical perspective. At the present stage, deviant behavior is included primarily in the field of consideration of psychology, sociology and criminology.

Definition of deviant behavior

Deviant or deviant behavior is a purposeful system of self-presentation of an individual and interaction on its basis with other people, which does not correspond to the institutional settings prevailing in a certain community in a given specific place and time that determine the rules of social interaction (Cohen A., 1965). In fact, the assessment of the degree of deviance is not carried out by the entire community or society, but by its most influential part, which determines the norms and rules.

Rice. 1 Continuum of norms and deviations of behavior

Behavior in itself is not deviant until it is assessed from certain perspectives by the people with whom the person interacts. For example, spitting on the ground in the forest is not a deviation from the norm, but the same spitting on the floor in a public place will be regarded as deviant behavior.

The concept of deviant behavior is relative, since the assessment of the normativity of a person’s actions changes depending on the norms themselves, which also change in time and space.

For example, over time, society’s attitude towards duels changed: in medieval Europe (before the 15th-16th centuries), a duel to sort things out corresponded to both social and religious ideas about the norm (the tradition of “God’s court”) and legislation: a duel could appointed by court decision (“judicial duel”). Since the 16th century, dueling has almost universally fallen out of the norm of secular and religious law, but remains normative and approved in everyday consciousness almost until the beginning of the 20th century. Only in the 20th century did a duel cease to be an accepted norm for most social groups around the world, but retains its meaning as a “duel of honor” in certain criminal or semi-criminal social groups.

An example of the dynamic use of norms to evaluate behavior is alcohol consumption. Depending on the community that sets the norm, national characteristics and geographic location, both alcohol consumption and a sober lifestyle can be deviant. The behavior of a teetotaler in criminal communities or youth parties, as well as the consumption of alcohol among devout Muslims or in a group of pregnant women, will not correspond to the norm. The following examples are clear examples of the relativity of norming behavior. Expressing one's own professional opinion, contrary to the opinion of a manager or political leader, will be frowned upon in countries with an established authoritarian mode of governance or in conditions of political dictatorship. Conversely, “agreeing” with the unprofessionalism of a leader or politician will cause condemnation in countries with a democratic socio-political system. On the other hand, at present, a subordinate expressing disagreement with the commander of a unit of a power structure in the context of a combat operation will be deviant in a state of any socio-political structure. But at the beginning of the 20th century, in the army of the Russian Empire during the coups of 1917, the absence of objections to the commander of a unit or officer in conditions where the order was executed only after voting by members of the soldiers’ committee was deviant. In any security forces, violence and aggression are deviant if directed at an innocent or civilian, and are normative if directed at an enemy or criminal during a combat operation or official mission.

Table No. 1 Examples of axes of differences in normative behavior

By combining existing definitions of deviant behavior, it is advisable to create a multifactorial definition (Demkin A., 2020):

Deviant human behavior can be defined as characterized by stability:

• individual actions,
• systems of behavior
• life style,
• ideas and belief systems,

contradictory or inconsistent with those accepted in society or formed and established by the most powerful part of society

• rules,
• norms,
• expectations
• patterns and rituals of behavior,
• traditions,
• belief systems
• beliefs
• morality,
• morals,
• ethics,
• codes
• laws,

determined

• terrain,
• social group,
• nationality,
• confession,
• organization,
• profession,
• politics,
• economics,

manifested in

• inadaptability,
• imbalance of mental processes,
• originality, non-standard
• soreness,
• communication disorders,
• social maladjustment,
• self-actualization disorders
• avoidance of control over one's own behavior
• ignoring the consequences
• disrespect
• aggression

having

• neutral, or
• positive, or
• negative

orientation for a person or society,

defiant

• misunderstanding,
• rejection,
• disapproval,
• disgust,
• contempt,
• condemnation
• aggression,
• desire to punish
• distancing,
• avoidance

most members

• groups
• team
• communities
• society,

and resulting

• chronic frustration and distress,
• cumulative effect of mental trauma,
• educational and pedagogical violations,
• the formative influence of a non-standard environment,
• pathological adaptation to a pathological environment,
• organic diseases of the central nervous system,
• congenital pathology of the central nervous system,
• CNS injuries,
• mental pathology.

In one of the most developed concepts of deviant behavior in Russian psychology, V. Mendelevich, the following forms of deviant behavior are identified (V. Mendelevich, 2016):

• aggression;
• auto-aggression (suicidal behavior);
• abuse of substances that cause altered states
• mental activity (alcoholization, drug addiction, smoking, etc.);
• eating disorders (overeating, starvation);
• anomalies of sexual behavior (deviations, perversions, deviations of psychosexual development);
• extremely valuable psychological hobbies (workaholism, gambling, collecting, “health paranoia,” fanaticism – religious, sports, music, etc.);
• extremely valuable psychopathological hobbies (“philosophical intoxication”, litigiousness and querulanism, types of mania – kleptomania, dromomania, etc.);
• characterological and pathocharacterological reactions (emancipation, grouping, opposition, etc.);
• communicative deviations (autization, hyper sociability, conformism, pseudology, jealousy, phobic and narcissistic behavior, nihilism, crusaderism, “vegetativeness”, etc.);
• immoral and immoral behavior;
• unaesthetic behavior, or deviations in behavioral style.

We have proposed an expanded multidimensional classification of behavior, including aspects of deviation from accepted norms, positive and negative orientation, the presence of destructiveness and its direction.

Rice. 2 Classification of types of human behavior based on its normativity.

According to the degree of violation of norms accepted in society or community, the following are distinguished:

• Normative behavior is completely consistent with ideas about the norm in a given community at a given time.
• Non-standard behavior is behavior that is not subject to social sanctions, but already differs from the average norm.
• Non-standard positive behavior more often causes positive emotions, but can simultaneously cause bewilderment, surprise, and rejection. An example of such behavior could be creativity, invention, and social innovation. Even if behavior may be regarded as non-standard, such as social innovation (such as the equalization of the rights of African-American and white populations in the United States in the late 1950s, the movement against female circumcision in Egypt in the 1990s, or currently in Dagestan), in the long term In the long term, it is positive, as it creates new mechanisms for solutions to existing problems and challenges. Over time, as norms change, such behavior may become normative.
• Unusual negative behavior causes rejection and rejection in most people, but does not go so far as to lead to sanctions. An example would be adherence to certain non-criminal subcultures (emo, bikers, etc.).
• Deviant behavior is behavior that deviates from the norms, laws and expectations of a community or society, for which sanctions are imposed.

Based on the presence and direction of destruction, deviant behavior can be:

1. Neutral – when the implementation of the behavior does not cause direct harm to others or the deviant himself. Such behavior includes: immoral, selfish, ideological, religious, unaesthetic, passive-submissive and inappropriate.
2. Externally destructive behavior causes direct harm to other people, society or the environment. This behavior includes: asocial, antisocial (delinquent), criminal, counterproductive and countercommunicative behavior.

Separately, it is worth highlighting counterproductive behavior in the workplace (CWB - Counterproductive work behavior) - this is a relatively new concept that describes the behavior of employees that contradicts the legitimate interests of the organization (Sackett P. et al., 2006). This behavior can cause harm to organizations or people within organizations, including employees and clients, clients or patients. Counterproductive behavior usually falls into the following areas (Robinson S., Bennett R., 1995; Gruys M., Sackett P., 2003; Spector P. et al., 2006):

• theft of property (theft, sale, withdrawal of funds)
• destruction of property (intentional, negligent)
• misuse of information (disclosure of official, secret information)
• abuse of time and resources (cyber loafing, use of corporate resources for personal purposes)
• sabotage (formal performance of duties, failure to fulfill duties, concealment of knowledge and skills, simulation, aggravation),
• unsafe behavior (neglect of safety precautions, dangerous orders for subordinates)
• loss of working time (absenteeism, tardiness, long and frequent breaks)
• poor quality of work
• alcohol consumption
• drug use
• inappropriate verbal action (rudeness, lack of culture, manipulation, gossip, conflicts, threats)
• inappropriate physical action (violence, sexual harassment, abandonment)

Countercommunicative behavior is aimed at destroying a balanced communication process based on equality and mutual respect. Countercommunicative behavior includes: aggressive, manipulative, controlling, passive and passive-aggressive behavior.

1. Self-destructive behavior harms the agent of deviant behavior, but it may not necessarily be negative. There is also positive self-destructive behavior that can be approved and encouraged by society. Examples of positive self-destructive deviant behavior are workaholism, heroism and self-sacrifice (Maisak N., 2010). Although this behavior is encouraged by society, it can in one way or another cause direct harm to its agent, ranging from disruption of social adaptation to deterioration of health or increased risks of premature death. Creativity and creativity can fall both into the category of deviant behavior and into the category of non-standard behavior, depending on whether it is customary in a particular society to impose sanctions for the implementation of such behavior at a particular time.

Negative self-destructive behavior includes types of deviations that certainly cause direct harm to the agent of such behavior. These are risky, addictive, parasuicidal and suicidal behavior.

Table No. 2 Examples for classifying deviant behavior

Theoretical foundations of the formation of deviant behavior

There are a large number of theories of the formation of deviant behavior. In general, most theories agree that deviant behavior is consolidated during the teenage period of human development (12-17 years old), and its specific form is not random, but depends on social origin, value-normative standards, material opportunities and access to information (Tkach B., 2018).

The main socio-psychological theories of the formation of deviant behavior include:

• The theory of differential association by E. Sutherland (1939)
• Rational and situational choice theory D. Cornish and R. Clark (1986, 1987)
• Theory of societal reactions E. Lemert (1967), H. Becker (1963)
• Stigma theory H. Kaplan (1980)
• The theory of stigmatization and reintegrative shaming J. Braithwaite (1989)
• Social control theory by T. Hirschi (1969)
• Self-control theory by M. Gottfredson and T. Hirschi (1990)
• Control-balance theory by C. Tittle (1995)
• Life Trajectory Development Theory by R. Sampson and J. Laub (1993)
• D. Farrington's Theory of Critical Life Changes (1986)

Table 3. Basic socio-psychological theories of the formation of deviant behavior

Based on the understanding of the theories described above and the large-scale (2,750 people) longitudinal study “Project A2” conducted by a joint German research group, an integrative theory of the formation, development and consolidation of deviant behavior was proposed (Reinecke J. et al., 2013). The life course approach is used to study the emergence of deviant behavior from both psychological and sociological perspectives. This project focused on the relationship between the development of deviant behavior and the reinforcement of social inequality and social exclusion. Factors were identified that contributed to both the processes of evading deviance and entering normal life cycles, as well as factors contributing to the long-term persistence or relapse of deviance. It turned out that although deviant behavior peaks in adolescence, it is not limited to this period of life. Deviant behavior owes its emergence to individual heterogeneity, which can lead to social inequality. Heterogeneity and social inequality play an important role in the emergence, continuation and change of deviant behavior.

The integrative life course model of deviant behavior fleshes out general theoretical ideas as well as empirical and theoretical evidence from the CRIMOC and ENDPS studies (Boers & Reinecke, 2007; Lösel et al., 2005). The integrative model reflects the interaction of sociostructural disadvantages (eg, poverty), individual risk factors (eg, temperamental characteristics, history of injury and disease of the central nervous system), local crime rates, levels of social control, and sociostructural heterogeneity. The model examines macro- and micro-level interdependence across the lifespan and distinguishes between processes in childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. Thus, the integrative model considers, in a single time continuum and context of individual development, the development of social-structural disadvantages of childhood into deviance and crime in adolescence and social-structural problems in early adulthood. \ The starting points at the micro level of individual development are individual risk factors. The main factors at the micro level that contribute to the formation of deviance include (Zmanovskaya E., 2003):

• frustration of the child's need for tender care and affection from parents (for example, an extremely harsh father or an insufficiently caring mother), which in turn causes early traumatic experiences of the child;
• physical or psychological cruelty or the cult of power in the family (for example, excessive or constant use of punishment);
• insufficient influence of the father (for example, in his absence), complicating the normal development of moral consciousness;
• acute trauma (illness, death of a parent, violence, divorce) with fixation on traumatic circumstances;
• indulging the child in fulfilling his desires; insufficient demands of parents, their inability to put forward consistently increasing demands or achieve their fulfillment;
• overstimulation of the child - too intense early loving relationships with parents, brothers and sisters;
• inconsistency of requirements for the child on the part of the parents, as a result of which the child does not have a clear understanding of the norms of behavior;
• change of parents (guardians);
• chronically expressed conflicts between parents (the situation is especially dangerous when a cruel father beats his mother);
• undesirable personality traits of parents (for example, the combination of an undemanding father and an indulgent mother);
• the child’s assimilation of deviant values ​​(explicit or hidden) through learning in the family or in a group.

In childhood, the action of such factors leads, for example, to deficits in social and educational development, which already in adolescence contributes to the acquisition of criminal behavior. This in turn makes formal schooling and early adulthood education difficult. These two levels are interconnected in all three life periods. Sociostructural disadvantages influence individual risk factors in childhood. In adolescence, connections with deviant peers contribute to the adoption of deviant and criminal behavior. With a lack of social control at this level, a teenager may take the path of criminal behavior. As a result, two development paths emerge in the future: one along the path of development of criminal behavior, and the other with “spontaneous resistance” to deviance. During early adulthood, social control and deficits in formal schooling and education interact to result, at the macro level, in either persistence of deviance or positive life-cycle turning points reflecting a shift away from deviant developmental courses at the micro level.

For example, an antisocial child with a difficult temperament who grows up in an area with a high crime rate tends to be aggressive and joins delinquent peers in adolescence. This person has an increased chance of acquiring criminal skills, and a decreased chance of acquiring prosocial skills, obtaining a college education, and moving to a better area to live. The prospect of changing his low socio-economic status is unfavorable for him, and there is a risk of coming into conflict with the law and being sent to prison. It is likely that a person who has been in prison will be more closely monitored by the police and will not be able to find stable, well-paying work upon release due to their status as an ex-convict. Also, the person will be excluded from the social circle of prosocial peers, which reduces the chances of the person internalizing and modifying his or her own biased model of social interaction.

Read more about the main forms of deviant behavior in the Armed Forces.

Go to the article on neuropsychological diagnostics of deviant behavior.

Andrey Demkin

Literature

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Braithwaite J. Crime, Shame and Reintegration. Cambridge University Press, 1997. – 234 p.

Boers K, Reinecke J, eds. Delinquenz im Jugendalter: Erkenntnisse einer Münsteraner Längsschnittstudie. Kriminologie und Kriminalsoziologie. Vol 3. Münster und New York: Waxmann, 2007.

Cornish D., Clarke R. Understanding Crime Displacement: An Application of Rational Choice Theory // The Criminology Theory Reader. Ed. by Stuart H., Einstader W. New York: New York University Press, 1987. – P. 45–56.

Hirschi T. Causes of Delinquency. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 2002. – 329 p.

Lemert E. Human Deviance, Social Problems and Social Control. Endlewood Cliffs, New Jersey: PrenticeHall, 1972. – 287 p.

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Human socialization

Human socialization is the process of learning cultural norms and mastering social roles. It proceeds under the vigilant supervision of society and surrounding people.

They not only teach children, but also monitor the correctness of learned patterns of behavior, and, therefore, act as agents of social control.

If control is carried out by an individual, then it is called group control (pressure), and if it is carried out by a whole team (family, group of friends, institution or institution), then it acquires a social character and is called social control.

It acts as a means of social regulation of people's behavior.

Social behavior includes two main elements - norms and sanctions.

Social norms are instructions, requirements, wishes and expectations of appropriate (socially approved) behavior.

Norms that arise and exist only in small groups (youth parties, groups of friends, family, work teams, sports teams) are called “group norms.”

Norms that emerge and exist in large groups or in society as a whole are called “social (general) norms.”

These are customs, traditions, mores, laws, etiquette, and manners of behavior.

Every social group has its own manners, customs and etiquette. There is secular etiquette, there are manners of behavior of young people, there are national traditions and mores.

All social norms can be classified depending on how severe the punishment for their non-compliance (sanctions):

1. Violation of some norms is followed by a mild sanction - disapproval, a smirk, an unfriendly look;
2. Violations of other norms result in severe sanctions – imprisonment, even the death penalty.

A certain degree of non-compliance with norms exists in every society and in every group.

Violation of palace etiquette, the ritual of diplomatic conversation or marriage causes awkwardness and puts a person in a difficult position. But it does not entail harsh punishment.

In other situations, sanctions are more noticeable. Using a cheat sheet during an exam will result in a grade reduction, and losing a library book will result in a five-fold fine.

In some societies, the slightest deviation from tradition, not to mention serious offenses, was severely punished. Everything was under control - hair length, clothing, behavior.

If we arrange all the norms in ascending order, depending on the measure of punishment, then their sequence will take the following form:

Habits – customs – traditions – mores – laws – taboos.

Compliance with norms is regulated by society with varying degrees of strictness.

Violations of taboos and legal laws (for example, killing a person, insulting a deity, revealing state secrets) are punished most severely; habits are punished most mildly. Whether individual (forgot to brush your teeth or clean your bed) or group, in particular family (for example, refusal to turn off the light or close the front door).

However, there are group habits that are highly valued and the violation of which is followed by strict group sanctions (punishment accepted only among group members).

These kinds of habits are called informal group norms. They are born into small rather than large social groups. The mechanism that controls compliance with such norms is called group pressure.

There are four types of sanctions: positive and negative, formal and informal.

1. formal positive sanctions - public approval from official organizations (government, institution, creative union); government awards, state prizes and scholarships, awarded titles, academic degrees and titles, construction of a monument, presentation of certificates of honor, admission to high positions and honorary functions (for example , election as chairman of the board);
2. informal positive sanctions - public approval that does not come from official organizations: friendly praise, compliments, tacit recognition, goodwill, applause, fame, honor, flattering reviews, recognition of leadership or expert qualities, smile;
3. formal negative sanctions - punishments provided for by legal laws, government decrees, administrative instructions, orders, deprivation of civil rights, imprisonment, arrest, dismissal, fine, depreciation, confiscation of property, demotion, demotion, dethronement, death penalty, excommunication
4. informal negative sanctions - punishments not provided for by official authorities: censure, remark, ridicule, mockery, cruel joke, unflattering nickname, neglect, refusal to shake hands or maintain relationships, spreading rumors, slander, unkind review, complaint, writing a pamphlet or feuilleton, compromising evidence.

The word “norm” is of Latin origin and literally means: guiding principle, rule, example.

Norms are developed by society and the social groups that are part of it.

With the help of norms, certain requirements are put forward to people. Social norms guide behavior, allow it to be controlled, regulated and evaluated. They guide a person in all life issues. In these norms, people see standards, models, standards of behavior.

The following types of social norms are identified:

1. moral norms (they express people’s ideas about good and bad, good and evil, justice and injustice);
2. norms of traditions and customs (a historically established rule of behavior that has become a habit);
3. religious norms (rules of behavior contained in the texts of religious books or established by the church);
4. political norms (norms set by various political organizations);
5. legal norms (established or sanctioned by the state).

In real life, the behavior of people in society does not always correspond to established social norms.

When a violation of social norms occurs, they speak of deviant behavior of the subject. Behavior that is not consistent with the norms, does not correspond to what society expects from a person, is called deviant behavior. Deviant behavior is called deviant.

Deviant behavior is spoken of as a negative social phenomenon that harms society. The most serious manifestations of this behavior are crime, drug addiction and alcoholism.

Deviant behavior and social

1. Deviant behavior as a subject of study in the humanities and natural sciences. The concept of deviant and delinquent behavior. Criminal behavior.

2. Deviation and the normative structure of society. Concepts of deviant behavior by C. Lombroso and W. Sheldon.

3. Sociological explanation of E. Durkheim’s deviation, theory of anomie. Study of deviation by R. Merton.

4. Social control in society and its methods.

Deviance and processes of social development.

The problem of deviant behavior is given much attention in various sciences. In addition to sociology and psychology, this area is studied by lawyers, anthropologists, doctors, historians and other scientists. Deviant behavior is behavior that deviates from the norms of behavior accepted in a given society. Deviation from the norm is observed in both negative and positive directions.

Any behavior of an individual in society that does not correspond to generally accepted norms (written and unwritten), is not approved by society and causes condemnation, is called deviant.

Any sharp deviation in the behavior of an individual or a group of individuals from generally accepted norms on the part of society causes a reaction of opposition, obstacles, suppression, because in its extreme manifestations, such behavior threatens the stability of society or its individual institutions.

Control of deviation in society is carried out using certain sanctions, norms and rules, which are implemented within the framework of the function of social control.

Usually in society the control of deviation is asymmetrical, positive deviation is approved, negative deviation is condemned.

There are no exact statistics on deviant behavior in society, but most members of society demonstrate certain patterns of deviant behavior throughout their lives.

There are individual and collective forms of deviance. Frequent cases and diverse forms of deviant behavior that a person demonstrates, as a rule, indicate a conflict between the individual and society. Types of deviant behavior include alcoholism, drug addiction, mental disorders, prostitution, crime, etc.

Usually, deviance is some kind of attempt by an individual to get away from problems, troubles, uncertainty and fear. Sometimes deviance may indicate an individual’s desire for originality, creativity, or an attempt to overcome the standardized, conservative foundations of society, community or group.

In a broad sense, deviance covers all abnormal actions; in a narrow sense, deviant behavior can be divided into three forms:

- violation of social rules,

- deviant,

- delinquent,

- criminal behavior.

Deviant behavior is always relative in time and space, since norms, traditions, and customs change over time and from society to society.

Delinquency (violation of legal norms) is always absolute. As a rule, a deviant act matures in a person’s mind gradually; a person is more prone to patterns of deviant behavior, the more often he encounters such patterns and the younger the person, i.e. Deviation can be considered as insufficiency and unsatisfactory (defects) of socialization processes.

Neil Smelser (American sociologist) defines deviance as the conformity or non-conformity of an individual’s actions with social expectations. Various scientists have made attempts to find the causes and explain deviant behavior.

At the end of the 19th century, the scientist and doctor C. Lombroso made the first attempt to connect the presence of criminal behavior and certain traits of an individual; Later, in the 20th century, W. Sheldon, a psychologist and physician, focused on the connection between body structure and deviance. In the course of further research, these concepts were not confirmed and were subsequently supplanted by new modern concepts.

The sociological explanation of deviation comes down to establishing a connection between deviation and the influence of social and cultural aspects of public life.

For the first time, a sociological explanation of deviant behavior was proposed by E. Durkheim. In his works “On the Division of Social Labor” and “Suicide: A Sociological Study,” he explored the normal and dysfunctional, abnormal state of society - anomie.

This is a state of society when its elements are inconsistent, basic values ​​are lost, a wave of conflicts grows, and ideals and norms are lost. People lose interest in life, uncertainty and disorientation increase, and deviance in behavior actively manifests itself.

A person’s social experience does not correspond to the norms of society, disorientation and disorganization in personal behavior intensifies.

R. Merton argues that the origins of deviance are rooted in the discrepancy between the goals of culture and socially approved methods of achieving them.

Having created a certain typology of personalities, in accordance with their attitude to the goals and means of their implementation, R. Merton identified the following types of personalities: conformist, innovator, ritualist, isolated type, rebel.

Understanding of deviance in their works is carried out by M. Weber, T. Parsons, P. Sorokin, R. Dahrendorf and other scientists. The concept of social control in society includes a certain set of norms, rules, values, actions, sanctions used to hinder, prevent and eliminate deviance.

Since most people in the process of socialization have formed a commitment to social norms and patterns of behavior, we can say that social control promotes social and personal conformity, using a system of sanctions of a positive and negative nature.

Usually there are formal and informal methods of social control.

T. Parsons identified 3 methods of social control: isolation, separation and rehabilitation. The main functions of social control are protective and stabilization. By typologizing methods of social control, one can distinguish its soft and hard forms, formal and informal, direct and indirect, as well as general and detailed control.

Considering modern society and analyzing its dysfunctional states, it is necessary to highlight the tendency of some weakening of norms, especially those that regulate the moral aspect in the behavior of an individual, and at the same time, new norms and rules are being formed in society that affect individuals and society as a whole, forms and methods of social control.

One can also note the emergence of new forms of deviant behavior and new norms and values ​​characteristic of new stages in the development of society.

Society is becoming more diverse, tolerance and respect are becoming the new state of society. Only the path of love, respect and patience will allow society to enter a new stage of development.

Self-test questions:

1. List the reasons for deviation in society.

2. Why did the problems of deviation attract and attract the attention of scientists - representatives of various sciences?

3. Reveal the causes of deviance among young people.

4. Name the social institutions that perform the functions of social control.

5. How is social control related to the norms and values ​​of society?

6. Define the difference between tolerance and conformity.

GLOSSARY

A group is a social entity that is characterized by the same conditions and characteristic features of functioning.

Deviation – (from Latin deviatio – deviation) deviation of individual behavior from generally accepted norms and rules.

Conformism - (from Latin confornis - similar, similar) - opportunism, passive acceptance of the existing order, prevailing opinions, lack of one’s own position.

Ritual is a type of ritual, a historically established form of symbolic behavior, a certain system of actions.

Tolerance - (from Latin tolerantia - patience) - a tolerant, condescending attitude towards someone or something.

Charisma - (chanisma (Greek) - gift, divine gift) - endowing a person with properties that cause admiration for her and unconditional faith in her capabilities.

A social group is “a set of people who have a common social characteristic and perform a socially necessary function in the general structure of the social division of labor and activity.”

Theories of deviations

There are several scientific theories of deviation:

1. Biological. The tendency to deviate behavior is inherent at the genetic level (alcoholic parents, drug addicts, thieves, etc.). This theory has been criticized because it is not able to explain illegal behavior as a consequence of an individual’s conscious choice.
2. Socio-psychological. It arises as a result of disasters, shocks, and economic transformations. A person behaves incorrectly or illegally due to any serious reasons (loss of job, death of a loved one, war).
3. Stigma. Groups of people who appear in society and initially cause condemnation receive a “label” in the form of an established belief or the opinions of other people. A group or individual behaves in accordance with the expectations of society. This puts a “stigma” on his actions, which are a secondary consequence of bad behavior.

Deviations from behavior are not always for the worse. Thanks to deviations, national heroes, sports champions, leaders in production, and parliamentary leaders appear.

Thus, deviant behavior is always deviated from social norms, is of a collective or individual nature, and can be positive or negative. Only negative deviant behavior is dangerous to society. Therefore, for such people they open help homes, crisis centers, helplines, and offer ways of adaptation and socialization.