1. Why I Chose This Topic
The topic I chose for this post was deviance which we covered in
chapter 6. Deviance interests me because it is the act of breaking social norms
or rules which is usually frowned upon in society. It is interesting to
research how these norms were created and how they change over time. Deviance is also relatable because we are all deviant in one way or another. There is definitely not one person who could say that they haven't done one deviant act in their life because their are acts one can do that won't have terrible consequences but are still deviant. Also, as one grows up, we learn more and more what is deviant and what isn't, so before we realize what is considered frowned upon in society, we all did some things because we didn't know any better. When asked on one of the discussions we did a few weeks ago whether or not I consider myself a deviant, it got me thinking and that is why I chose this topic. I think I am a deviant, as is everyone a little bit, but I try not to do anything that will make people look down upon me or directly harm someone else.
2. Scholarly Journal Link
This is a link to a PDF of a study I found very interesting. It is an excerpt from the British Journal of Psychology titled "Predicting Road Traffic Accidents: The Role of Social Deviance and Violations." A study by West, Elander, and French examined the relationship between mild social deviance and accident rates on the road was due to fast driving speed. It is an interesting thing to study and their results are somewhat surprising.
3. Visual Aid
(Source: Wikibooks)
Sorry, I know this is gross, but it represents deviance well because picking your nose is considered deviant pretty much anywhere and by anyone.
4. Video Clip
Here is a video clip that shows an example of deviance in terms of
breaking social norms. For my sociology class in high school, we were told to
make a video of us breaking a social norm and show it to the class. This is a
link to my group's video. We decided to have one group member pretend to be in
a wheelchair and have the other group member push him awkwardly close to people
in Wal-Mart to see how they react.
Obviously, it's not a professionally made video. I was filming and
having a hard time not laughing. But, it shows an example of deviance because doing what we did is not widely acceptable in society. Personal space is something we studied a little bit this past unit also and breaking other people's personal space is considered deviant behavior.
5. Links to two internet sites
This link will take you to a PDF that describes the different theories of deviance. They describe the Structural Perspective, Cultural Perspective, and Interactionist perspective. I chose this site because I thought they broke down each perspective in a way that is easy to understand.
This link will take you to a site that explains many different topics within deviance including types of deviance, deviance and crime, deviance and social control, and more. I chose this site because someone who knew nothing of deviance would be able to learn more than they needed to just with this website because it covers a variety of topics relating to deviance. They do a good job explaining things well and breaking down each topic.
6. Quote
"The deviant and the conformist...are creatures of the same culture, inventions of the same imagination."
-Kai Theodor Erikson
http://www.people.vcu.edu/~jmahoney/deviance.htm.
Erikson, Kai Theodor. [quotation] Retrieved March 2013 from http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/deviance.
Manstead, Antony S. R. (1997). Predicting road traffic accidents: The role of
social deviance and violations. Retrieved March 3, 2013 from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.2044-8295.1997.tb02633.x/pdf.
Ms. Bean Gave My Legs Temporary Paralysis. [video] Retrieved February 23, 2013 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hZIobwWuZdM.
Nose-Picking. [figure] Retrieved March 3, 2013 from http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Social_Deviance.
Theories of Deviance. Retrieved March 3, 2013 from http://fasnafan.tripod.com/theoriesofdeviance.pdf.
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