9 Deviance and Social Control
Sean Ashley
What, exactly, is deviance? And what is the relationship between deviance and crime? According to sociologist William Graham Sumner (1906), deviance is a violation of established contextual, cultural, or social norms, whether folkways, mores, or codified law. It can be as minor as picking your nose in public or as major as committing murder. Although the word “deviance” has a negative connotation in everyday language, sociologists recognize that deviance is not necessarily bad. In fact, from a structural functionalist perspective, one of the positive contributions of deviance is that it maintains the boundaries of the community and can even foster positive social change.
For example, Kai Erikson argues that we can understand panics around witchcraft, such as the witch trials that happened in Salem Massachusetts in 1692, in terms of boundary maintenance. In this case, accusations of witchcraft arose in the wake of perceived threats to the puritanical mission that had defined the strict Protestant Christian community of Salem. These threats included the arrival of less religious migrants into the area and infighting within the community over land. The subsequent witchcraft trials served to symbolically reinforce the boundaries of their cultural universe and reestablish the moral community overall. As Erikson explained, “deviance makes people more alert to the interests they share in common and draws attention to those values which constitute the ‘collective conscience’ of the community. Unless the rhythm of group life is punctuated by occasional moments of deviant behavior, presumably, social organization would be impossible” (1966: 4).
Witchcraft accusations still take place across the world today and can lead to devastating consequences (Fererri, 2018). However, witchcraft and magic are also recognized as part of a legitimate modern religion, that of Wicca (Luhrmann, 1989). The variety of ways societies react to witchcraft remind us that “what is deviant behaviour?” cannot be answered in a straightforward manner. Whether an act is labeled deviant or not depends on many factors, including location, audience, and the individual committing the act (Becker 1963). Listening to music on your phone on the way to class is considered acceptable behaviour. Listening to music during your 2 p.m. sociology lecture is considered rude. Listening to music when on the witness stand before a judge may cause you to be held in contempt of court and consequently fined or jailed.
Social Control
When a person violates a social norm, what happens? A driver caught speeding can receive a speeding ticket. A student who texts in class gets a warning from a professor. A flatulent adult is avoided. All societies practice social control, the regulation and enforcement of norms. Social control can be defined broadly as an organized action intended to change people’s behaviour (Innes, 2003). The underlying goal of social control is to ma