"Tramping as a form of deviant behavior and its psychological and pedagogical correction"

November 15, 2020

Hello, dear readers of the KtoNaNovenkogo.ru blog. There are a lot of borrowed words in the Russian language that are often used, but their meaning is not always clear from the context (for example, carsharing or showroom).

Today I just want to devote an article to another borrowed term - deviation. We'll talk about what it is and where it's used. After which we will dwell in detail on its use in sociology, namely on deviant behavior, its examples and those who are identified as deviants in society.

Deviation, deviant behavior and deviants - what is it?

First, let's understand the terms.

Deviation is a deviation literally translated from the Latin word deviatio.

This word is used in various fields of human activity. For example, in science, this is a deviation of some indicators from the accepted norm. In shipping, this is the deviation of a ship from its intended course. And, finally, in sociology, it is the behavior of an individual or group that goes beyond accepted norms.

It is from the point of view of sociology and psychology that we will consider this phenomenon. By deviation in this case we mean the discrepancy between an individual’s manifestations and the norms and rules established in society.

If deviation is a deviation, then deviant behavior is the actions and actions of a person that are perceived by society as abnormal or unnatural.

Moreover, such behavior is a sustainable way of existence. For example, a man who constantly becomes a participant in fights: wherever he goes - to visit or to work, he always finds a reason to loosen his hands in relation to others. Or a difficult child who causes a lot of trouble for both parents and teachers at school.

A deviant is a person who demonstrates the deviations described above.

Absolutely any person can be a deviant, regardless of his age and gender - man and woman, old man and child. Isolated cases of manifestations of deviations are studied and investigated by psychologists and physicians; mass deviation is the subject of sociological study.

Thus, there are three contexts for defining and studying deviance:

1. from the point of view of psychology , this is a deviation from social and moral norms, which manifests itself in violation of social rules of interaction, causing moral and physical harm to oneself and others;
2. in the medical aspect, deviation is considered within the framework of the individual’s mental health: unnatural behavior may signal a mental disorder requiring pharmacological intervention;
3. sociology considers the phenomenon of mass manifestations of deviant behavior as a threat to the survival of the human species. Namely: it studies how the processes of assimilation and transmission of morality and ethics are disrupted, foundations and values ​​are transformed in the social environment.

Types of deviant behavior and their examples

In modern society, there are 3 types of deviant behavior. As a rule, they are interconnected: one follows from the other or is reinforced by it. It is not difficult to recognize them; even a child can do this, since such deviations always strike the eye of a “normal” person.

So, 3 types of deviation:

1. Addictions are all kinds of dependencies, which are usually divided into chemical and mental.
2. To chemical Addictions include alcoholism, drug addiction, and smoking. Addiction occurs in a person due to the lack of something valuable in his life. It is compensation for something that does not exist.
   For example, a person is in constant tension due to the situation in the family: by drinking alcohol, she thus seeks moral and physical relaxation and runs away from unbearable reality.

   In fact, this is an illusion: tension goes away only as long as alcohol takes effect, problems remain unresolved, and the emotional state becomes dependent on the chemicals.

Psychological addictions are dependencies on other people: their opinions, behavior and mood. For example, a situation in which a girl is unrequitedly in love and suffers about this: she does not eat, dreams of dying (death is better than living without a loved one!), and engages in self-destruction in order to at least slightly ease the mental torment due to the absence of the object of desire nearby. Addictions also include sectarianism, fanaticism, dependence on psychotropics, food, etc. Any deviant behavior of this form leads to complete destruction of the personality, and therefore requires mandatory correction.

Delinquent behavior is illegal behavior that can be dangerous not only for the offender, but also for society. A violator is a delinquent - a person who has lost or does not have a priori moral values ​​and acts for the purposes of his own base needs. He wanted money - he went and stole, sexual desire arose - he raped him, he needed to get out of problems - he does this in any way, even at the cost of the happiness of his loved ones. Such people are more like animals - they live instinctively, without thinking about their surroundings.

Psychopathological manifestations are the behavior of a mentally unhealthy person. As a rule, such people are isolated from society and undergo compulsory treatment.

Addiction as destructive (destructive) behavior manifests itself in the individual’s persistent negativism, constant clashes with others, conflict, and aggressiveness. A person lives on negative energy, destroying himself and everything around him.

Typical manifestations of deviant behavior are the behavior of adolescents during puberty (when is this?). Difficult children behave defiantly, are rude to their parents, annoy their teachers, begin to use chemicals, and unknowingly harm their own body in the form of tattoos and scarring.

Positive aspects of deviation.

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Deviation from the norm can contribute to increased efficiency in the functioning of society.

1. Deviations can increase compliance with norms

. One effective method of ensuring that most people follow norms is to label some people as norm violators. This allows you to keep others in line and at the same time in fear of being in the place of violators. By showing hostility towards people who are not good or right enough, a majority or a powerful group of people can reinforce the idea of ​​what is good and right, and thus create a society of individuals that will be more obedient and loyal to the rules of behavior.

2. many norms are not expressed in firm rules or codes of law. Whenever group members condemn deviance, they outline the contours of the norm more clearly

. Their negative reaction indicates what behavior is unacceptable to society. Once upon a time, lawbreakers were punished in the market square in front of a crowd of people. Now the same results are achieved with the help of the media, which widely cover criminal trials and court verdicts. The violator seems to show the difference between the norm and deviation.

3. By calling attention to norm violators, the group can strengthen itself. A common enemy evokes common feelings. In this sense, deviation strengthens group solidarity

. At the same time, the emotions that arise ignite passions and strengthen connections between people of “our type.” Frictions and antagonisms between ingroups and outgroups help to emphasize boundaries between groups and group affiliation. In the same way, campaigns against witches, traitors, perverts, and criminals consolidate social ties between “good people” and redraw group boundaries.

4. Deviation is a catalyst for social change

. Each violation of a rule serves as a warning that the social system is not functioning correctly.

In a broad sense a deviant is any person who deviates from the norm

.
And by extreme forms of deviation we mean criminality, alcoholism, drug addiction, prostitution, and suicide.
In a narrow sense, deviation is understood as deviant behavior, but which does not entail criminal punishment. And illegal actions, i.e. crimes, in sociology are called delinquent

(literally criminal) behavior.

Deviation is considered as natural as conformity. Moreover, deviation from norms is not always a negative phenomenon. Deviant behavior can be talked about in a positive way when it serves the progressive development of society. An example of this can be, in particular, social creativity in its various manifestations. The mechanism of turning deviations into the norm (or vice versa) underlies all changes of both evolutionary and revolutionary nature.

Social deviations are divided on a number of grounds:

1) depending on the type of violation of the norm (law, morality, etiquette, etc.);

2) by target orientation (selfish, aggressive, etc.;

3) by subject, individuals, groups, social organizations.

Social researchers have proposed many theories to explain the causes of deviant behavior. None of the theories provides a comprehensive explanation of deviations from norms; rather, they complement each other and only together make it possible to obtain a fairly broad understanding of the causes and types of deviant behavior.

Biological explanation

.
The Italian criminologist C. Lombroso at the end of the 19th century came to the conclusion that some people are born with criminal tendencies and can be identified by a number of physical traits that indicate degradation to earlier stages of human evolution.
The “criminal type,” according to Lombroso, is a more primitive human type, characterized by a certain shape of the skull, a protruding lower jaw, a short neck, a sparse beard, reduced sensitivity to pain, etc. He did not deny the influence of social experience on the development of criminal behavior, but he believed that most criminals are biologically degenerate or defective. Subsequently, these ideas were refuted, but the biological approach to explaining deviant behavior itself emerges in various theories in the form of the influence of biological heredity, the structure of the brain or body on behavior. More recently, biological explanations have focused on abnormalities in the deviant's chromosome complement, although research in this direction has yielded conflicting results. Psychological explanation

.
Psychological theories associate deviant behavior with a certain mental personality type.
S. Freud, for example, introduced the concept of the “guilty criminal,” characterizing with it people who want to be punished for their “destroying drive,” which they can overcome through imprisonment. Based on Freud's ideas, a number of researchers believe that due to the special nature of the relationship with their parents, some children develop a psychopathic personality with a characteristic self-isolation. Such psychopaths find pleasure in violence as such and are prone to serious crimes. A number of explanations link deviant behavior to “mental defects,” “degeneracy,” “feeble-mindedness,” and other general mental conditions. Such approaches show that deviation cannot be explained solely on the basis of psychological factors. Sociological explanations

.
Sociological explanations of deviant behavior do not try to deny the role of biological and psychological factors in determining people’s behavior, but associate deviance with social factors, with causes generated by relationships and processes in social systems, in society as a whole.
In recent years, several new approaches to explaining the causes of deviant behavior have emerged . Cultural theories

explain deviant behavior by the existence of subcultures within the dominant culture, the norms of which differ significantly from generally accepted norms.
The theory of stigmatization
(labeling, branding) explains the generation of deviant behavior by the ability of influential social groups to label members of less influential groups as deviants.
Conflict theories
proceed from the fact that deviant behavior is part of the conflicts occurring in society between different social groups.

One of the most dangerous types of deviant behavior for society is organized crime.

Organized crime is an illegal, powerful business comparable to the largest areas of economic activity.

. Criminal organizations cover such areas of activity as large-scale thefts, racketeering, gambling, prostitution, drug trafficking, terrorist attacks, contract killings, hostage kidnappings, arms trafficking, etc. Criminal structures are an example of an anomalous social order maintained by bribery, violence and official corruption.

One of the first sociological explanations of deviance was proposed by E. Durkheim, who put forward the concept of anomie .

Anomie (literally translated as lack of norms, deregulation) was understood as a state of society characterized by the absence of normative regulation of individual behavior due to the fact that old norms and values ​​no longer correspond to real relations, and new ones have not yet been established. The lack of clear standards of behavior gives many people anxiety, fear of uncertainty and leads to social disorganization, manifested in various forms of deviant behavior. The state of anomie, according to Durkheim, arises during the transition of society from mechanical to organic solidarity, when the social division of labor progresses faster than it finds moral support in the collective consciousness. A necessary condition for anomie is the discrepancy between people's needs and the possibilities of satisfying them.

Durkheim used the concept of anomie in his study of the causes of suicide. The phenomenon of suicide, according to Durkheim, is of exceptional interest for identifying the social causes of deviant behavior, because there is nothing more individual than the fact of taking one’s own life. If it turns out that this phenomenon is provoked by society, then the social conditioning of all other types of deviant behavior can be considered proven. As a result of the study, four types of suicides were developed, explained by purely social reasons:

• egoistic suicides, the cause of which is a severance of ties with society, extreme individualism of a person when he is not integrated into a social group;

• altruistic suicides are a consequence of the complete dissolution of the individual in the group, when personal interests are completely absorbed by social ones and the individual goes to his death in accordance with social demands;

• fatalistic suicides, which are associated with excess control and regulation in the social system;

• anomic suicides associated with periods of crises and major social changes, i.e. with the anomie state of society.

Thus, suicide, according to Durkheim, are acts of deviant behavior of individuals who may have been predisposed to this due to their psychological make-up, weakness or diseases of the nervous system, but the causes of suicide are mainly social, associated “with violations of the collective order” and come from they are from relationships in social groups and society, not from individuals. Durkheim extended this explanation of the causes of deviations to all types of deviant behavior.

R.K. Merton modified the concept of anomie to denote the tension that arises in an individual's behavior in a situation where generally accepted norms and goals conflict with the means of achieving them. Merton identified five possible types of behavior

as reactions to the tension arising from the discrepancy between socially approved goals and the limited means of achieving them:

• conformity

– a type of behavior that corresponds to culturally determined goals and institutionalized means of achieving them;

• innovation

– a type of behavior in which socially accepted goals are supported, but illegal means of achieving them are used;

• ritualism

– continuing to follow accepted standards for their own sake, although the meaning of values ​​and goals has already been lost;

• retreatism

– not accepting either dominant values ​​or sanctioned means of achieving them;

• riot

– rejection of existing values ​​and normative means with the simultaneous affirmation of new values ​​and new means of achieving them.

The basis of social order, according to Merton, is created by the coordination of goals and means of achieving them. Separation and mismatch between goals and means leads to various types of deviant behavior. “In the extreme case, society becomes almost unpredictable, and a phenomenon arises that, in fact, can be called anomie or cultural chaos.”

Let us briefly characterize the content of the most dangerous forms of deviant behavior for society.

Violence

means the use by one or another entity of various forms of coercion (up to armed force) in relation to other entities (classes, social and other groups, individuals) in order to acquire or maintain economic and political dominance, gain rights and privileges, and achieve other goals.

The forms of violence are different.

Physical violence

means deliberately causing physical harm to the victim.

Mental abuse

is defined as the mental impact of the rapist on the victim, leading to psychological breakdowns, the formation of pathological character traits in the victim, or inhibiting personality development.

Sexual violence

interpreted as involving the victim in sexual activities (without her consent) in order to obtain gratification or benefit from the rapist.
Among these forms, extreme ones are distinguished. Sadism
(described by the French writer de Sade) is the desire for cruelty, enjoying the suffering of others.
Masochism
is violence directed at oneself. It manifests itself in obtaining pleasure from causing oneself suffering (described by the Austrian novelist L. Sacher-Masoch).

Drug addiction
is a painful addiction to the systematic use of drugs, leading to severe impairment of mental and physical functions.
The term comes from the Greek words (in Latin spelling) narke - numbness and mania - rage, madness. As a result of drug use, a person develops mental and physical dependence, which he strives to satisfy at all costs. Without this, the drug addict develops anxiety, weakness, dizziness, joint pain, palpitations, chills or, conversely, body heat, sweating. The International Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1977 designated 240 types of substances of plant and chemical origin as drugs. Currently the list is only growing. These include substances that cause dependence (addiction) based on stimulation or depression of the central nervous system. This may be accompanied by disturbances in motor functions, thinking, and perception (the appearance of hallucinations).

Drunkenness and alcoholism

They are closely related, but they also have differences. Drunkenness is interpreted as excessive consumption of alcohol. Along with a threat to the health of the individual, it disrupts social adaptation. Alcoholism is a pathological attraction to alcohol, accompanied by moral degradation of the individual. Alcohol addiction develops gradually. It is accompanied by complex changes that take place in the body of a drinker and become irreversible: alcohol becomes necessary to maintain metabolic processes.

Prostitution

means the practice of sexual intercourse outside marriage, carried out for remuneration (in one form or another), which serves as the main or additional source of livelihood.

Suicide

(suicide) is the intentional taking of one's own life. It can be individual or group. The taking of one's own life by a person who is not aware of the meaning of his actions or their consequences is not recognized as suicide. Such persons include the insane and children under 5 years of age.

In different eras and in different cultures, suicide was assessed differently. More often, suicide is condemned (in Christianity), sometimes considered acceptable, and sometimes obligatory (self-immolation of widows in India, hara-kiri of samurai in Japan).

Suicides are more common in highly developed countries. They have certain time cycles. It is believed that the peak of suicides occurs in the spring. Most often, these attempts are made before the age of 20 and after 55 years. Suicidal behavior in men more often leads to death. World statistics show that suicides occur more often in cities, among lonely people and at the extreme poles of social stratification.

Almost all considered (and unexamined) types of social deviations are also deviations in the sphere of morality. The fact is that every act, every action can be assessed from both a legal and moral point of view.

The role of moral norms in modern society is so important that they are reflected in one form or another in legal and other regulatory documents of both individual countries and the international community.

is considered one of the forms of moral deviation .

It means an antisocial lifestyle, it is living on other people's money, at the expense of other people's labor, parasitism. The generic word parasitism in biology is interpreted as a form of relationship between organisms of different species, of which one (the parasite) uses the other (the host) as a habitat and source of nutrition, causing harm to it. Social parasitism manifests itself, in particular, in the form of begging, vagrancy, etc.

In sociology, more and more attention has recently been paid to the problem of addiction.

Addiction is a harmful tendency to do something.

. The essence of this behavior is the desire to change one’s mental state by taking certain substances or fixating attention on some activity. These are drugs, alcohol, tobacco, gambling (including computer games), listening to rhythmic music and other activities that allow you to completely “disconnect” from the world around you. Difficult life situations and states of psychological discomfort provoke an addictive reaction. Gradually, this behavior becomes a habit, i.e. a new personality trait is formed.

Review questions:

1. what does a structural approach to viewing society mean?

2. What does a functional approach to viewing society mean? What models of social development exist within the framework of the functional approach?

3. what is the essence of social action?

4. what are the types of social influence?

5. what is the essence of conflict as a social interaction and what are its types?

6. What is the content of the concept of “social control”?

7. What does the concept of “social norm” mean?

8. What is the meaning of self-control? what are the forms of social control?

9. What does deviant and delinquent behavior mean?

Topic 6.6. Social conflicts.

Social heterogeneity of society, differences in income levels, property, power, prestige, horizontal and vertical mobility naturally lead to an aggravation of social contradictions and conflicts.

Conflicts are a special type of social interaction, the subjects of which are communities, organizations and individuals with actually or supposedly incompatible goals.

There are various theories regarding the causes and essence of conflicts that arise in society.

Founder of the conflictology tradition

In sociology, Herbert Spencer is considered to be the creator of the organic school. Spencer believed that conflicts in society are a manifestation of the process of natural selection and the universal struggle for survival. Competition and inequality lead to the selection of the strongest, dooming the weaker to death. Spencer considered it possible to avoid the revolutionary path of conflict resolution and gave preference to the evolutionary development of humanity.

Unlike Spencer, sociologists of Marxist orientation

were of the opinion that conflict is just a temporary condition that periodically arises in society, and that this condition can be overcome as a result of a revolutionary change in the type of social system. They argued that different socio-economic formations correspond to different conflicting types of class structure of society; There is a struggle between the exploiting and exploited classes for the redistribution of ownership of the means of production. This class struggle, which takes place in a capitalist society between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, inevitably leads to the dictatorship of the proletariat, which represents the transition to a classless (i.e., socially conflict-free) society.

Great emphasis on social conflict theory

paid attention to in his research by the German sociologist Georg Simmel. He proved the thesis that conflicts in society are inevitable, since they are predetermined both by the biological nature of man and by the social structure of society, which is characterized by processes of association (unification) and dissociation (separation), domination and subordination. Simmel believed that frequent and not too long conflicts are even useful, since they help various social groups and individual members of society get rid of hostility towards each other.

Modern Western sociologists explain the nature of social conflicts by socio-psychological factors

. They believe that the inherent inequality of society gives rise to stable psychological dissatisfaction among its members. This sensory-emotional anxiety and irritability periodically develops into conflict clashes between subjects of social relations.

The conflicting behavior of the parties itself consists of oppositely directed actions of opponents. All of them can be divided into main

and
auxiliary
.
Sociologists include those that are directly aimed at the subject of conflict as the main ones. Auxiliary actions ensure the implementation of the main ones. Also, all conflict actions are divided into offensive
and
defensive
. Offensive means attacking the enemy, seizing his property, etc. Defensive means retaining a disputed object or protecting it from destruction. Another possible option is retreat, surrender of positions, refusal to protect one’s interests.

If neither side tries to make concessions and avoid the conflict, then the latter moves into an acute stage. It can end immediately after the exchange of conflicting actions, but it can last quite a long time, changing its form (war, truce, war again, etc.) and growing. The growth of a conflict is called escalation .

The escalation of a conflict is usually accompanied by an increase in the number of participants.

Ending a conflict does not always mean resolving it.

Conflict resolution is the decision of its participants to end the confrontation.

The conflict may end with the parties reconciling, one of them winning, gradually fading, or escalating into another conflict.

Sociologists consider reaching consensus to be the most optimal solution to conflict.

Consensus is the agreement of a significant majority of representatives of a certain community regarding important aspects of its functioning, expressed in assessments and actions.

Consensus does not mean unanimity, since it is almost impossible to achieve a complete coincidence of the positions of the parties, and it is not necessary. The main thing is that neither side expresses direct objections; Also, when resolving a conflict, a neutral position of the parties, abstention from voting, etc. are allowed.

Depending on the basis on which the typology is carried out, sociologists identify the following types of conflicts :

a) by duration

: long-term, short-term, one-time, protracted and recurring;

b) by source of occurrence

: objective, subjective and false;

c) according to form

: internal and external;

d) by the nature of development

: deliberate and spontaneous;

d) by volume

: global, local, regional, group and personal;

e) according to the means used

: violent and non-violent;

g) by influence on the course of development of society

: progressive and regressive;

h) by spheres of public life

: economic (or production), political, ethnic, family and everyday life.

Social policy pursued by the state plays an important role in the prevention and timely resolution of social conflicts. Its essence is the regulation of the socio-economic conditions of society and concern for the well-being of all its citizens.

One of the causes of conflicts is the sharp stratification of society.

Lumpens and outcasts.

These two groups of the population, each in its own way, seem to fall out of the stable social structure of society.

The word lumpen

comes from the German Lumpen - “rags”. The lumpen include people who have sunk to the bottom of public life - tramps, beggars, homeless people. As a rule, these come from different social strata and classes. An increase in the number of this group (lumpenization of the population) is dangerous for society, since it serves as a breeding ground for various kinds of extremist organizations.

A different position and a different social role for marginalized strata

(from Latin marginalis - “located on the edge”). These include groups that occupy an intermediate position between stable communities.

Different societies have different principles of income distribution :

1. equalizing

– receipt by members of society (or a significant part of it) of equal income;

2. market

or distributive based on personal contribution - the owner of one or another factor of production receives income in accordance with economic efficiency;

3. distribution by accumulated property

– additional income is received by those people who accumulate and inherit any property;

4. preferred distribution

– redistribution of public goods in favor of certain segments of society.

The task of any society is to create the widest possible middle class. This is what domestic demand is designed for. The larger the percentage of the middle class in a country, the more stable the society.

Review questions:

1. What is social conflict?

2. How are the concepts of “social stratification” and “social inequality” related?

3. List three types of social stratification.

4. What are the differences between the marginalized and the lumpen?

Topic 6.7. Ethnic communities and interethnic relations.

Everything valuable that a society has, especially income, wealth, prestige and power, is distributed unevenly. We can say that social stratification is fixed inequality in the distribution of social benefits and responsibilities. Below we will present two additional stratification systems - ethnic and demographic. The named stratifications are characteristic to one degree or another of all societies - both traditional and modern, and therefore represent an important subject of sociological study.

Ethnic stratification.

Societies around the world include people of different skin colors, speaking different languages, practicing different religions and following different traditions. These physical and cultural traits, clearly expressed socially, serve as identifying marks that define group membership. In turn, individuals receive statuses in their social system based on their membership in a particular group.

Races . People in different parts of the world differ in certain hereditary characteristics, including skin color, hair texture, facial features, body type and head shape. Of course, there are many more common features that unite all people, and these common features are much more important than the differences. But still, for example, Norwegians, Chinese and Nigerians are distinguishable by their physical parameters. This is explained by their race. Races are groups of people distinguished by external hereditary traits

.

Ethnic communities are identified mainly on a cultural basis - on the basis of language, folk customs, clothing, gestures, behavioral characteristics or religion. In Russia, examples of ethnic groups are Jews, Yakuts, Buryats, etc. Ethnic groups often have a sense of "blood kinship" and to varying degrees, many of them consider themselves nations.

Ethnic groups were formed gradually in the process of historical development. There was a time when each large group - family was a separate ethnic group. Several families that entered into an alliance formed a clan. The clans were united into clans. A clan is a group of blood relatives bearing the name of an alleged ancestor

. The clans maintained common ownership of land, blood feuds, and mutual responsibility. Several clans united to form a tribe.

The tribe already fully corresponds to the concept of “ethnic community”. A tribe includes a significant number of clans and clans, has its own language or dialect, territory, elements of formal organization, and general components of culture (customs, rituals, religious beliefs, etc.). The number of individual tribes reached several tens of thousands of people. In the process of historical development, some tribes were transformed into larger ethnic communities (nationalities and nations), others dissolved (assimilated) into larger ethnic communities, and still others (usually isolated by natural conditions) remained at the tribal stage of development. Being an ethnic group, the tribe still retains some features of a consanguineous group (traces its ancestry from one mythical ancestor, retains the custom of blood feud, etc.).

Nationalities as forms of ethnic communities began to emerge as the first states emerged. The tribes, which reinforced their linguistic, territorial, economic and cultural community by creating a state apparatus, were formalized into nationalities. The destinies of the nationalities developed differently. Some of them turned into nations. Most of the nationalities, having entered (usually as a result of military capture) into the states created by other nationalities, assimilated with them. However, some of the nationalities survived within the framework of states created by stronger ethnic communities. Within a nationality, the traits of a consanguineous group become obsolete or lose their importance.

The highest manifestation of ethnic unity is a nation - an autonomous community not limited by territorial boundaries, whose members are committed to common values ​​and institutions

. Representatives of one nation no longer have any signs of consanguinity, but they are united by one developed, literary language, a single national culture, a common historical destiny, giving rise to historical memory of events that evoke strong emotions: from national pride to national sorrow and humiliation. Thus, on the basis of a single territory, language, culture and history, a single national character and mental makeup are formed. There is a strong feeling of solidarity with one's nation.

Most often in everyday speech the concepts “ethnic group” and “nation” are used as synonyms, as equivalent concepts. Today, a nation refers to the citizens of a state. This interpretation of the nation is consistent with international practice and the official language of modern states, which use the word “nation” to mean a civil community.

In the political practice of Russia, the word “nation” and its derivative “ nationality”

“were used most often in an ethnic sense, not determined by the presence or absence of statehood, which became part of the mentality of millions of people.
This point of view implies a distinction between socio-historical organisms, such as an ethnos and a nation. These concepts relate to different social spheres and reflect different processes. “Ethnicity”
is a social category that characterizes one of the signs
of social stratification
.
Ethnic groups arose in ancient times, during the period of decomposition of primitive society. “Nation”
is
a political category
designating the population of a particular country.

Ethnic diversity is a phenomenon characteristic of most modern societies. Historically, such diversity is the result of conquests that brought together different peoples under the rule of the dominant ethnic group. Thus, interethnic relations

.

In theory, the nation-state and ethnic diversity are diametrically opposed, and in many cases attempts have been made by nation-states to solve the problem of ethnic diversity by eliminating or expelling ethnic groups. Prominent examples of such decisions are the expulsion of Muslims and Jews from Spain in the 15th century or the deportation of Arabs from several newly independent African countries in the 1960s and 1970s.

More often than not, the solution is assimilation.

Assimilation is an ethnic group with another people through the assimilation of its culture and, accordingly, the loss of its language, customs, and national identity

. This process can be forced, directed or voluntary. Forced assimilation was carried out by the English conquerors in Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Directed assimilation (acculturation) in Thailand and Indonesia, when the Chinese population was encouraged to accept the culture and religion of the colonialists. A variant of this process was more or less voluntary assimilation, achieved in the United States under the slogan of “Americanization.” It was largely the result of extraordinary economic opportunity and social mobility in the United States and the fact that for Europeans, unlike racial minorities, American citizenship became a matter of personal or family choice rather than conquest or slavery. Politics and public opinion also played a role in the process of assimilation of foreigners into the American social system.

As for minorities , sociologists identify five main properties inherent in these groups.

1. A minority is characterized by physical or cultural characteristics that distinguish it from the dominant group.

2. A minority is a social group whose members may be discriminated against, oppressed or persecuted by another social group - the dominant one.

3. A minority is a group characterized by awareness of its own integrity. This consciousness of unity is exacerbated by the oppression suffered by members of the minority.

4. In general, membership in a minority social group is not voluntary. Usually the individual is already born with this status.

5. Members of a minority group, by choice or necessity, usually marry members of their own group (endogamy). The dominant group generally disapproves of its members marrying minorities and usually severely condemns “apostates.” A minority may encourage intra-group marriages for reasons of preserving their unique cultural heritage.

So, we can define a minority as a group of people with a racial or cultural identity, with a hereditary principle of membership, subject to oppression or discrimination by the dominant group of the nation-state

.

Discrimination is the unreasonable denial of privilege, prestige, and power to members of a minority group who are equal in abilities and skills to members of the dominant group.

.

The dominant group always uses a number of strategies in dealing with minorities. There are six main types of dominant group strategies: assimilation, pluralism, legal protection of minorities, population transfer, permanent oppression and destruction.

Assimilation . It was noted above that this is a process of cultural and social mixing of various kinds of minorities with other members of society. Sometimes minorities may view this strategy as preferable. However, dominant groups and minorities often approach assimilation differently. Historically, there have been two approaches to assimilation. The first approach, the "melting pot" tradition, views assimilation as the process by which groups and cultures merge within a nation into one, forming a new people and a new civilization. The second approach is associated with the assessment of the culture of the dominant group as superior, which should completely displace the own culture of the assimilating minority.

Pluralism . Some minorities show no desire to assimilate. They highly value their individual cultural characteristics and traditions and prefer political

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How to recognize a deviant

To better understand what deviant behavior is, you need to familiarize yourself with its manifestations or symptoms, which will tell you that this is a deviant. Even if you don’t know a person well, you just met him recently, deviations will be visible even in small things.

For example, with delinquent behavior, the individual has little idea of ​​what laws, norms and rules are. In a comic form, he can steal chewing gum at the checkout of a hypermarket, get angry at a person who accidentally stepped on his foot, and verbally demonstrate disagreement and rebellion.

Addictive behavior is often accompanied by delinquent behavior, but can also exist independently. Such people are very vulnerable, do not tolerate loneliness well and are easily influenced. In this case, an example of deviant behavior is street groups of teenagers who use drugs and engage in robbery.

Signs of psychopathological manifestations are delusional thoughts, hallucinations, idefix, illusory perception of reality. And the destructive form of deviations is manifested by various types of aggression, directed both inward and outward.

All manifestations can be identified in a separate list:

1. problem in adaptation , frequent conflicts, belonging to “bad” companies”;
2. scattered attention , leaving things halfway, lack of responsibility;
3. infantilism, untidiness in clothing and household activities;
4. mental disorders in the form of phobias, anxieties and other neurotic manifestations;
5. Typical manifestations of deviant behavior are also low self-esteem and lack of self-confidence;
6. poor health, pain, psychosomatic symptoms, sleep problems;
7. isolating oneself from society, frequently leaving home in order to be alone ;
8. impulsive behavior, stubbornness, negativism, aggression;
9. atypical inclinations and interests (for example, passion for extreme sports).

Joint symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is characterized by articular and non-articular manifestations. The nature of the clinical picture depends on the number of affected interphalangeal joints (monoarthritis, oligoarthritis, polyarthritis) and the state of immunity.

Joint symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis:

• “Tight gloves” – morning stiffness of the affected parts of the hand;
• “Sausage fingers” – when swelling spreads along the tendon fascia;
• “Corset” is a limitation of mobility due to inflammation.

The disease is characterized by constant clinical signs. So if a person’s pain lasts about 30 minutes, then this interval persists for a long time. A similar picture is characteristic of edema and inflammation.

Articular syndrome in rheumatoid arthritis rarely lasts less than 30 minutes. It typically lasts several hours. Often, increased pain is observed under “climatic conditions”: many patients with this pathology feel changes in atmospheric pressure.

In rheumatoid arthritis, it is rational to divide joints into those that are damaged by inflammation and articular formations without pathology: “exceptions” and “lesions.” This gradation is used to determine areas of localization of pathology.

Causes of personal deviation

The reasons for this phenomenon can be very different, but each of them completely subjugates a person, transforming his personality at the behavioral and cognitive level.

The main reasons are:

1. Environment, in which the child grew and developed. Immature parents cannot organize a healthy psychological climate in the family and give their children a good, proper upbringing. These are dysfunctional families where adults drink, fight, and show disrespect towards each other and others.
   A family where one of the parents is absent also contributes to a distortion of the child’s picture of the world and causes problems in communicating with the opposite sex. If children are humiliated and physically harmed at home, they become angry and take out their anger in society.

   A child whose parents behave coldly and distantly towards him, unconsciously use deviant behavior as a way to attract attention (negative attention in the form of punishment is also inherently attention);

2. Psychological character traits can also provoke manifestations of deviation. The characteristic features of an individual in combination with the environment sometimes lead to the development of psycho- and sociopathy, which, in turn, give rise to behavioral deviations;
3. From a biological standpoint, a deviant becomes such due to congenital or acquired diseases (physical, physiological). For example, if a child has brain disorders that lead to suppression of intellectual functions, then he is simply not able to understand that hitting others is bad and punishable - he simply does not have the resources for this.

Causes

The reasons for sexual deviations from the norms of sexual relations established in society have not been fully studied. It is believed that the following factors play a role in the formation of all sexual deviations:

• heredity;
• hormonal abnormalities;
• brain changes due to birth trauma;
• intoxication;
• various distortions of psychosexual development, including those caused by sex education and the specifics of contact with peers;
• mental disorders.

Correction of deviant behavior

We studied the phenomenon of deviant behavior: what it is and where it comes from. Let's move on to what to do about it.

If deviations have already been detected, then one of two correction methods is used, or both at once:

1. The medical approach is used where mental disorders and physical illnesses occur as a result. For example, neurotic manifestations in the form of anxiety or asthenic symptoms are relieved with sedatives, tranquilizers and antidepressants. Treatment of addiction to alcohol or drugs is also impossible without medications to relieve withdrawal symptoms and make it easier for a person to overcome addiction.
2. The method of psychotherapy includes the work of a psychologist with the thoughts and behavior of a deviant, as well as therapeutic activities in his immediate environment. With the help of a specialist, the individual develops new thinking strategies and lines of behavior, and a transformation of moral values ​​and character traits occurs. Such work can be carried out with a person in two contexts: personal and group therapy. The second method is more suitable for deviants who have impaired communication function, which is often one of the causes of behavioral deviations.

In a number of cases, when such behavior poses a danger to society or the individual himself, the latter can be forcibly isolated - placed in an appropriate institution: prison, psychiatric clinic or closed educational institutions (for children).

Auxiliary tools in the treatment of behavioral disorders are yoga, meditation, breathing exercises and various corrective programs. For example, for alcohol addicts there is a 12-step program that supports a person on the path to recovery.

Author of the article: Liliya Sergeevna Kovalenko (psychologist)

Diagnosis and treatment

Numerous observations of people who turned to doctors, concerned about the presence of certain sexual deviations, show that in the vast majority of cases they do not even need to provide any medical assistance. The help of a sexologist may be needed only when sexual deviations interfere with the patient’s life or work.

To treat psychological discomfort associated with sexual deviations, various methods of psychotherapy are used, which, according to modern psychology and psychiatry, should be aimed not at gradually reducing pathological desire and correcting sexual behavior, but at developing in a person the ability to accept his individual characteristics. Doctors who offer normalization of sexual behavior are considered charlatans by the world sexological community. True, with one condition: if the matter does not concern forms of sexual deviation that are dangerous to others. In this case, not only compulsory treatment is provided (aimed at weakening sexual deviation), but also criminal liability.