Deviance Behavior is a Direct Product of Societal Pressure

Deviance behavior is a direct product of societal pressure on individual. In actual terms, there is nothing like deviance behavior. Deviance originated from undue societal intimidation. While definition of crime from sociological perspective means any deviation from the general norms of the society, it does not explain the underlining factor that gives birth to the unfortunate condition. Merton argues that deviance results not from ‘pathological personalities’ but from the culture and structure of society itself. He started his argument from standard societal values consensus. He stated that all members of the society share the same values but not with the same social structure. It is due to the fact that humans are placed under different structure that gives rise to the problem. However, since member of the society are placed in different positions in the social structure, they do not have the same opportunity of realizing the shared values.  It is this situation that generates deviance behavior. Merton used United States to illustrate his theory. According to him, American citizens share the same value of American culture. The ‘American Dream’ states that all members of society have an equal opportunity of achieving success. According to him, “great importance is attached to success and relatively less importance is given to the acceptable ways of achieving success. As such American society is unbalanced”. Thereby many people that do not have the oppournity to actualize the dream will take to crime. This theory is called social structure theory.

Three sociologists Edwin M. Lemert (1951, 1972), Howard S. Becker (1963), and Kai T. Erikson (1962, 1968) propounded a theory they called labeling theory. They contend that no act by itself is inherently criminal or non-criminal, deviant or not deviant. The “badness” of an act does not stem from its intrinsic content but from the way other people define and react to it. Deviance is always a matter of social definition. Thus, Howard Becker stated that, “deviance is not a quality that lies in behavior itself, but in the interaction between the person who commit an act and those who respond to it”. From this point of view, deviance is produced by a process of interaction between the potential deviant and the agents of social control.

Sociologist such as William Chambliss, Milton Mankoff, Frank Pearce and Jock Young argue that only Marxian perspectives can deal adequately with the relationship between power and deviance in society. From their view point, power is held by those who control the forces of production.  They argue that superstructure reflects the relationship between the powerful and relatively powerless.  According to their observation, the superstructure includes the security agencies, the ruling class etc.   As an instrument of the ruling class, the state passes law which supports ruling class interests maintains its power and control the powerless group. According to the sociologists, laws are made by state which acts as tools in the hand of the ruling class.  William Chambliss argues that the greed, self-interest and hostility generated by the capitalist system motivate many crimes in all levels of society. Members of each stratum use whatever means and opportunities their class position provided to commit crime.

Deviant behavior originated from illogical learning that the deviant acquire from environmental factors, culture and norms of a particular society.  For instance, individuals who have experience physical violence use to cultivate revengeful thoughts. Such thoughts stick to the mind, playing and replay until the thought become internalized. The internalized thought may change the individual’s behavior probably making him to react to similar situation with strange attitude. The individual may scripted to defensive and protective response or into believing that life centered on intimidation and hostility. This internalized paradigm can be produced regularly which may be inconsistent with societal norms and values.  It is obvious that the society produces the stimulus while the deviant produces the strange response. Nothing makes the response strange except the perception of the society on the behavior.