Deviance in Modern Complex Society

Summary
Deviance is a term used to refer to violation of social norms and used to understand human conduct. Deviance is expressed in various forms such as crime, mental disorders, suicide, and alcohol and drug addiction. the concept of deviant behavior is understood based on the sociological analysis of three dimensions of the social structure i.e. institutional, relational, and embodied structures. The modern society is characterized by numerous social changes due to rapid technological advancements and globalization. As a result, deviant behavior is multidimensional due to variance in cultural norms. This is supported by Structural Strain Theory, which suggests that cultural norms or goals shape institutional means, which in turn become the premise for determining human conduct and expected behavior. When people are prevented from realizing culturally-approved goals, they become frustrated and experience strain that results in deviant behavior.
There are two major problems relating to deviance in today’s society, which is identified as a major global problem. One of these issues is the imbalance between cultural goals and structurally available ways for achieving these goals generate and encourage deviance. This issue has emerged due to the new frontiers of discovery and social change through which people engage in some behaviors that may violate cultural norms as they seek to achieve their goals. This issue is supported by the Structural Strain Theory, which emphasize the role cultural norms play in defining deviance. Secondly, applying labels to individuals has become a major issue relating to deviant behavior. Based on labeling theory, categories of deviance are created by formulation and interpretation of laws. As law enforcement personnel implement these laws and uphold social control, they sometimes apply certain labels to certain groups of people, which influence understanding of deviance.
Deviant Behavior, Issues and Theories
Deviance is one of the most important concepts to understanding human conduct. This term is used to refer to behaviors that violate norms beyond what can be tolerated by a group (Meier, 2014). From a sociological perspective, deviance is a term used to refer to behaviors or actions that violate social norms. This implies that deviant behavior refers to behaviors that violate formally established rules and regulations as well as informal breach of social norms. As a result, deviance is expressed in various forms such as crime, mental disorders, suicide, and alcohol and drug addiction. Since deviant behavior is mostly regarded as a sociological concept, it evolves as the society evolves. In essence, the determination of what constitutes deviant behavior is shaped by current issues and events in the society. This paper discusses deviant behavior in a modern complex society. The discussion incorporates contemporary issues as well as theories of deviant behavior.
Deviant Behavior in a Modern Complex Society
Deviance is a sociological concept used in explaining and understanding human behavior or conduct. This term is primarily defined as obvious violation of societal or cultural norms. In essence, every society has rules and regulations on expected behaviors of its members. When these members violate these rules or do not model the expected behaviors, they are considered deviant. Since deviance is a sociological concept, it is defined in several different ways. The different definitions and considerations of what constitutes deviant behaviors is depended on societal norms. According to Mehrabi et al. (2016), the concept of deviant behavior is understood based on the sociological analysis of three dimensions of the social structure. Social structure plays a critical role in understanding deviant behaviors since it incorporates three major dimensions i.e. institutional, relational, and embodied structures. From an institutional perspective, every organization and facet of the society has established norms and expected behaviors, which in turn become the premise for determining what constitutes deviant behavior. From a relational viewpoint, deviant behavior is deermined based on how individuals or members of the society relate to each other. Embodied dimension of social structure relates to social support systems that provide emotional and social support to members of the society.
McIntosh (2018) supports the view that deviant behavior is multidimensional by arguing that deviance can vary significantly across cultures. The variance is attributable to the fact that cultural norms are relative, which implies that deviant behavior is relative as well. Given the variance in cultural norms, current sociological research on the concept of deviance takes different forms. Therefore, for an individual to study norms and deviance, he/she must contextualize the action or behavior in terms of its surrounding circumstances. One of the theories that support the variance in cultural norms and deviance is Robert K. Merton’s Social/Structural Strain Theory. This theory postulates that cultural norms or goals shape institutional means, which in turn become the premise for determining human conduct and expected behavior. Individuals make decisions on whether to accept or reject the cultural goals and institutionalized means. Conformity to the cultural norms constitutes positive behaviors while rejecting these norms constitute deviant behavior. Since cultures differ, these cultural norms and goals differ resulting in variance in deviance. Additionally, the theory states that when people are prevented from realizing culturally-approved goals, they become frustrated and experience strain that results in deviant behavior (McIntosh, 2018).
Salakhova et al. (2016) contends that deviant behavior as a social phenomenon generates a set of problems for contemporary society and issues linked to it. The modern society is becoming increasingly complex due to various factors. One of the factors that has generated complexities in the modern society is globalization through which people can easily interact with others from different national and cultural backgrounds. Since the modern society comprises of individuals from different national, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, complexities emerge especially those relating to what constitutes deviant behavior. The increased diversity of the modern society makes it difficult to define what actually constitutes deviant behavior. These difficulties are associated with the fact that what may be considered as deviant behavior in certain cultures may not be viewed as such in other cultures. To this extent, Salakhova et al. (2016) states that the search for answers on deviant behavior in today’s society has become more important. This is critical because deviant behavior in the modern complex society is increasingly multidimensional.
Han?mo?lu (2018) states that deviant behavior has become a daunting problem in contemporary society. The numerous changes in the society have contributed to the rise of deviance behavior in today’s society. The emergence of deviant behavior as a major global problem is partly attributable to the new frontiers of discovery and social change (Adler & Adler, 2006). As people continue to explore the new frontiers of discovery and social change, they engage in behaviors that may not conform to cultural norms or standards of expected behavior. Therefore, the new frontiers of discovery and social change, especially due to technology, have become major issues in defining deviance in the modern complex society. This issue is supported by the Structural Strain Theory, which is functionalist perspective on deviance. In this case, social change and new forms of discovery create imbalance between social structure and the means adopted by people to achieve goals. This imbalance has implied that people adopt measures that do not conform to cultural norms and social structures. As a result, the imbalance between cultural goals and structurally available ways for achieving these goals generate and encourage deviance (Crossman, 2018).
Apart from the imbalance, deviance in the modern complex society is also faced with labeling issues. On one hand, criminals have utilized social change and technological advancements to develop sophisticated means for carrying out crime. On the other hand, certain types of crimes have become associated with certain groups of people. For example, many Muslims are labeled terrorists because of previous incidents of terrorism that have been planned and conducted by some Muslims. Applying labels to people has become a major issue in descriptions and understanding of deviance. Through applying labels to people, categories of deviance are created while power structures and hierarchies of society are reinforced (Crossman, 2018). This issue is supported by labeling theory, which is regarded as one of the vital approaches to understanding deviant and criminal behavior. This theory postulates that deviance is categorized through formulation and interpretation of laws as well as application of labels. The criminal justice system sometimes apply labels to people as it focuses on upholding social control (“The Conflict Perspective on Deviance”, n.d.).
In conclusion, deviance is a term used to refer to violation of social norms and used to understand human conduct. This concept has gained considerable attention in the modern society, which is increasingly complex. The complexities are attributable to social change, globalization, and rapid technological advancements. Given the changes in today’s society and differences in cultural norms, deviance is a multidimensional concept. Therefore, what constitutes deviant behavior differs depending on the society and the existing cultural norms. In the modern complex society, some of the issues surrounding deviant behavior include imbalance between cultural goals and structurally available measures for achieving them as well as applying labels to certain groups of people.
References
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Salakhova, V.B., Bulgakov, A.V., Sokolovskaya, I.E., Khammatova, R.S. & Mikhaylovsky, M.N. (2016). Substantive (Content-Related) Characteristics of Deviant Behavior as a Social and Psychological Phenomenon. International Journal of Environment and Science Education, 11(17), 10609-10622.
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