Alex Thio\'s \"Deviant Behavior\" (2009),

¶ … Alex Thio's "Deviant Behavior" (2009), Tenth Ed.

The first chapter of Thio's book (2009) deals with defining deviant behavior. While this definition is subjective and depends on the norms, values, and rules of a certain culture or society, it is not uncommon for people to question this definition. The author also goes into detail in this first chapter in outlining some of the major perspectives that social scientists hold regarding deviance. The author gives six different perspectives, all differing on their belief as to what causes deviance and the role of deviance in a society. The first perspective is absolutism, which defines deviance as absolute and real. It uses black and white distinctions to help make the definition quite clear. Secondly the author gives the reader objectivism as a perspective. In this perspective, deviance is objectively viewed as such, and the idea of subjectivity, while relevant, is discredited. Objectivism holds that some deviant behaviors are deviant in all societies and cultures, regardless of differences in norms or values. The third perspective the author talks about in the first chapter is determinism. This states that deviant behavior is a determined aspect of human nature and that all societies will, at one time or another, experience it. These first three perspectives represent the positivist perspectives. This overarching perspective says that deviance is an absolute, and its definition is not governed by any societal or cultural contexts.

The constructivist perspectives show that deviant behavior and the definition of deviance itself is a socially constructed entity. The first of these perspectives is relativism, which says that deviance, and the definition of deviance is a constructed label that is put on a specific type of behavior. The second perspective in this group is subjectivism, which states that deviance is defined differently according to different cultural contexts. Finally author Thio offers the last perspective, voluntarism, which states that deviant behavior, while it is socially defined and constructed, is a voluntary reaction to another outside stimuli. The first chapter is devoted to helping to define and understand these six separate perspectives and helps give the reader the necessary background information with which to evaluate the rest of the book.

The second chapter in Thio's book examines the positivist theories. These theories attempt to explain why deviance occurs. These theories include strain theory, social learning theory, and control theory. The first of these theories is governed by the notion that there is societal strain in different cultures and that these strains push people to act in deviant ways, even though they may get punished for their actions. The other two theories, while independent of each other, explain deviance through a different set of lenses. Social learning theory posits that deviance is often associated with a certain type of person and that if that person builds their identity around deviant acts or attitudes, then they are merely self-actualizing. Control theory states that people will engage in deviant behavior as long as it is regarded as such, and that enforcement of the laws and norms of a society allow for deviance to be both defined and remain in existence.

The third chapter of Thio's book deals with the set of constructionist theories that are briefly discussed in the first chapter. In the third chapter there is an examination of labeling theory, which states that people are labeled deviant and therefore accept a certain identity or reality; phenomenological theory, which talks about the defining of deviance through the prescribed ways in which people perceive the world; and conflict theory, which posits that human beings are in a constant state of conflict and that at any given point in time, some conflicting idea or morality may win over another within an individual and their actions. All of these theories represent an idea that deviance is a socially constructed phenomenon, not an objectively defined part of reality.

The fourth chapter of Thio's work talks about specific forms of violence. These forms, killing, assault, and terrorism, are all examined under the microscope of different theories to help explain their existence and popularity among certain groups of people and individuals. This chapter is quite intriguing because it gives the reader certain insights into the deviants' minds when it comes to these acts. Each of these acts, for the most part, has been labeled as deviant by all cultures and society, and as such, are interesting and worthwhile examples to examine.

The Fifth chapter of Thio's book deals with rape and molestations. It talks about some of the more widely accepted reasons why these behaviors occur, and what people can do to try to re-tune their own perspective so as to better understand these behaviors relative to the definition of deviance and cultural norms. In some cultures, rape or molestation mean different things, and they have different definitions. Thio presents an excellent case that these behaviors, while usually regarded as deviant in all cultures, have certain cultural contexts and differing definitions worldwide.

Chapter six deals with family violence. This topic has interested social scientists for quite some time because it is a contradiction of values in most cultures. People don't generally kill or hurt their own family, and the special set of circumstances surrounding these behaviors is examined. Thio shed light on subjects that are often not talked about in academic circles by examining them from a sociological perspective. Thio also asks the question of why man rape and how rape is defined and dealt with in different cultures. It is refreshing to see Thio help to reorient the readers' perspectives relative to these subjects through the use of cultural contexts.

Chapter seven deals specifically with suicide. This subject is a sensitive on for many people, but Thio takes a comprehensive look at the motives, thoughts, and reasons for this phenomenon. He urges the reader to take a closer look at the situational contexts as well as the mental illness implications that this subject often has. He also takes a look at different groups and their respective suicide rates and posits some explanations as to why some groups had such high rates. They way in which different cultures and societies perceive the world around them and their own social safety nets has a lot to do with that group's perception of suicide as an alternative to dealing with problems or situations.