Deviance, Obedience and Social CONTROL

“We must keep tabs on the masses, for they are many and we are few”

-Joseph Stalin

Interpret the Quote…

Notes… on your own…I recommend you write what is in RED.

What is deviance?

Recognized violation of cultural norms.Something that makes the person seem like

an outsider to other members of society. There are extremes of deviance… Graffitti=mild. Arson=major

Deviant= different. We are socialized at a young age not to be deviant… goes with our unit on norms. Can you think of an example?

Deviance becomes crime when…

It hurts a person. It harms property.The majority of

members of a society deem it a “problem”… in other words>>>> too many people are doing it.

Then what does society do?????

Social Control is the answer.

The Law and Society– Some norms are so important to a society that they

are formalized into laws•Law: governmental social control

– Creation of laws a social process– Legal order reflects the values (at the time)

of those in position to exercise authority– Many laws become outdated (lemonade at

Marietta Courthouse) OR a new trend develops and it takes awhile for the law to “catch up” (LSD in the 1960’s)

Social Control

Techniques and strategies for preventing deviant behavior in any society

– Done using sanctions…

Sanctions: penalties and rewards for conduct, concerning a social norm

Mechanisms of Social Control

Social control mechanisms are means by which society can influence people’s behavior to conform to expectations. (Write one from each category on the following slide)

There are positive sanctions, negative sanctions

AND these can be formal or informal.

A Typology of Sanctions

Positive Negative

Informal

Smiles

Pats on the back

Thumbs up

Encouraging word

Frowns

Avoidance

Obscene gesture

Gossip

Formal

Awards

Promotion in job

Recognition ceremony

“Teacher of the year”

Fines

Fired from job

Imprisonment

Demotion

Death

Social Control

Conformity and Obedience

– Conformity: going along with peers who have no special right to direct behavior. Put simply, you want to fit into the group.

– Obedience: compliance with higher authorities in an hierarchical structure. Put simply, you don’t want to receive a negative sanction.

Obedience = control.

Obedience is derived from obey. It is societies way of getting us to follow the

rules. Must have an authority figure to enforce

obedience… if there is no authority… there is no obedience.

Everyone… you will fail this class if you do not…

PUNCH THE PERSON NEXT TO YOU IN THE FACE… HARD… SUPER HARD… GIVE THEM A BLACK EYE…

JUST KIDDING… please do not!!!!! This is what is called EXTREME OBEIDENCE you

do something just because an authority figure tells you to with out asking questions or using your moral judgment…

Examples of extreme obedience include…– Cults– Hitler’s Nazi Germany– North Korea under Kim Jong Il– Street gangs such as MS13

WOULD HUMANS DO SOMETHING TOTALLY INHUMANE, JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE TOLD TO???

COULD SOMEONE BE SO AFRAID OF AUTHORITY THAT THEY WOULD KILL OR HURT SOMEONE BECAUSE THEY WERE TOLD TO?

You bet they would….

The Nazi party had 5 million active members.

Nazi soldiers murdered 6 million human beings because “they were told to”.

http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=8CC552F9-A69E-4B6E-AC94-271EB478B0D1&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=US

Obedience and Stanley Milgram

Obedience– compliance of person is due to perceived

authority of asker– ****request is perceived as a command not a

question

Milgram interested in unquestioning obedience to orders.

Milgram said… in the modern industrial world, we are accustomed to submitting to impersonal authority figures, whose status is indicated by a title or uniform

******We view authority as more important than the individual.

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=milgram&hl=en&emb=0&aq=f#

In-groups

Three characteristics– Separate themselves from other

groups (symbols, clothing, etc)– View themselves as positive and

other “out-groups” as negative– Compete with out-group's,

sometimes to the point of conflict.