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Deviance And Social Control Deviance Term Paper

Some examples of deviance that might be used to describe this type of challenge to the social order would be events like the Boston Tea Party, or the multitude of Vietnam War protests, one resulted in the development of the independence of the U.S. And the other ended compulsory military service in the U.S. (O'Neill, 1986, p. 350) Social control is defined as the ways in which our companions in culture (parents, friends, teachers or even strangers) attempt to redirect our behaviors toward behaviors that are more acceptable. Children are especially susceptible to social control and such control serves a serious purpose, with regard to the development of "normal" or non-deviant behaviors in the future. Social control can be something as simple as a parent giving a child a certain disapproving look when he or she reaches out to touch an item for sale in a store to an individual being ostracized from his or her former group of friends because he or she no longer dresses or acts as a "normal" member of said group. There are of course also much more extreme forms of social control, such as denial of rights or opportunities in accordance with race, gender, sexual preference, marital status or any number of other personal characteristics. (O'Neill, 1986, p. 354) Social control can take an infinite number of forms and is an expression of the culture, attempting to keep its members in line with acceptable behavior and/or acceptable ways of being.

Sociology generally describes deviance or criminal...

(O'Neill, 1986, p. 350) Functionalists especially contend that social deviance and crime is a symptom of something that has gone wrong within the functional society and/or individual. Social deviance and social control to a conflict theorist would be natural outgrowths of change and balance as individuals and groups in society challenge the standards and practices of what is "normal" and deviant in any given society. Interactionists contend that social deviance is a product of social reaction and may in fact be precipitated by attempts at social control on both a macro and micro level. Sociological explanations vary but most contend that a certain amount of social deviance is healthy while some simply go to far and must be objected to social control, hence allowable social control through criminal prosecution and incarceration.
References

Bridges, G.S. & Myers, M.A. (Eds.). (1994). Inequality, Crime, and Social Control. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

Harper, C.L., & Le Beau, B.F. (1993). The Social Adaptation of Marginal Religious Movements in America. Sociology of Religion, 54(2), 171-192.

Hewitt, K. (1997). Mutilating the Body: Identity in Blood and Ink. Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University Popular Press.

O'Neill, J. (1986). The Medicalization of Social Control. Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, 23(3), 350-364.

Sources used in this document:
References

Bridges, G.S. & Myers, M.A. (Eds.). (1994). Inequality, Crime, and Social Control. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

Harper, C.L., & Le Beau, B.F. (1993). The Social Adaptation of Marginal Religious Movements in America. Sociology of Religion, 54(2), 171-192.

Hewitt, K. (1997). Mutilating the Body: Identity in Blood and Ink. Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University Popular Press.

O'Neill, J. (1986). The Medicalization of Social Control. Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, 23(3), 350-364.
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