Have you heard the phrase “Society doesn’t understand me, but neither do I understand it”? Or maybe you think so yourself? Then it is possible that you are a deviant, that is, a person with behavior deviating from generally accepted norms. Read more about this below.
The phenomenon of deviant behavior is not new. This phenomenon has always been present in society, is present and, perhaps, will be present. Deviants, that is, people who do not want or do not have the opportunity to live according to the norms of society, have always been and will be. However, each society has its own framework of behavior and concept of norm, which means that the number of individuals with such behavior may be different, just as the average level of deviation from the social norms of one society may differ from another.
Theories about the phenomenon of deviant behavior are primarily based on the search and assessment of its causes. I invite you to immerse yourself in history and take a tour of the development of society’s attitude towards deviations and understanding the essence of this phenomenon.
Deviation theories: history
People first began to think about the causes of deviant behavior and the peculiarities of its formation and development in the 19th century. In general, to this day, all theories can be divided into biologizing and sociologizing, psychoanalytic.
Biologization theories
The first theories arose from the standpoint of the biologization approach. They differed from each other in one way or another, but the general idea was the same - all deviations are innate.
- The initial one was the anthropological theory of crime, which belonged to C. Lombroso. In the USA, supporters of this theory were H. Sheldon, E. Kretschmer, A. Hooton, and in Russia - A. Drill. The main idea of this theory is that criminals are born. The occurrence of abnormalities at birth is due to somatic features, as well as features of the skull and face.
- This theory began to be developed, and as a result, in the 70s, along with the discovery of Klinefelter syndrome, a hypothesis arose about chromosomal abnormalities in criminals. That is, in this theory, the main explanation for the deviations was impaired genetics. However, after numerous experiments and studies conducted in the USSR and other countries, this hypothesis was officially refuted in 1972. But later, E. Wilson began to develop the idea of the decisive role of genetics in the formation of behavior.
- In the modern world, the biologization approach is not so relevant, but it still has its place. Walter Gove has a theory of gender and age factors, according to which difficult and serious crimes are more often committed by men. In addition, the scientist found that both men and women more often commit crimes in their youth (18-24 years old).
Modern proponents of the biologization approach call unfavorable individual characteristics the prerequisites for antisocial behavior. At the same time, the authors do not exclude the influence of social and psychological factors in addition to biological factors. As part of this, I. S. Noy and V. S. Ovchinsky talked about the need to study genetics, psychiatry, psychology and psychogenetics.
Sociologizing theories
Almost in parallel with the biologization approach, the sociologization approach is considered. Its representatives associate deviant behavior with the social conditions of people's lives. However, having identified the connection between behavioral deviations and the socio-economic conditions of society, scientists were unable to fully differentiate and explain the nature of deviant behavior.
Durkheim expressed the opinion that there is a certain level of crime in any society; it cannot but exist. And care must be taken to maintain this level and not allow it to grow, and not to eradicate it.
So, within the framework of the sociological approach, the following theories can be distinguished:
- Theory of functionality of deviations (anomie). Proponents of this theory were E. Durkheim, T. Parsons, J. Mead, R. Merton. These authors believe that the causes of deviations are the devaluation of behavioral norms. This phenomenon is characterized by anomie - destroyed solidarity in relation to basic values and norms. Individuals (groups) begin to look for deviant but effective ways of self-affirmation, provided that the approved methods do not work.
- The theory of stigmatization (“labeling”). M. Foucault, E. Hoffmann, E. Lammert, G. Becker studied this. Main idea: deviations arise as a result of imposing one’s opinions, definitions, and morals on an individual (group). Those with power can do this. In other words, for example, by calling a lagging student difficult and problematic instead of help and development, the teacher will get just such a child.
- Conflict theory and deviance. Deviation arises due to the conflict of social groups, the antinomy “negativism” - “positivism” appears. This opinion was shared by T. More, R. A. Saint-Simon, R. Owen, C. Fourier, F. Engels, G. Marcuse, R. Mills, R. Quinney, L. Coser.
- Cultural transfer theory. Identifying the identity between the methods of developing deviant behavior and any other behavior or activity. Russian and French sociologists N.K. Mikhailovsky and G. Tarde identified the mechanism of imitation.
- The theory of social disorganization. Many researchers (R. Park, E. Burgess, L. Wirth, R. McKenzie, P. Berger, T. Shibutani, E. Tiriakian) explained the emergence of deviant behavior by the influence of certain areas, places, environments that are comprehensively socially and personally disorganized.
- Theory of inclusion - exclusion (M. Foucault, J. Young). Deviations are explained by the differentiation of people into “excluded” and “included” in the political life of society.
Social psychological theories
From the middle of the 20th century, socio-psychological theories began to emerge. What they had in common was that researchers were looking for the causes of personality deviations among their immediate environment. That is, the relationship of the individual with the environment was analyzed.
- The basis of R. Merton’s theory of social anomaly was the hypothesis “about the withering away of moral norms during deviant behavior, which is caused by a mismatch between the goal and the means of achieving it among deviants.”
- From the theory of neutralization by D. Mate and T. Saik, it follows that a person understands moral standards and even accepts them, but justifies his behavior in different ways, most often by referring to other people and blaming others.
- E. Sutherland owns the theory of differentiated communication. This position explains the formation of deviations by the individual’s selective attitude towards the norms and values of his environment.
- The last theory in this approach is the theory of delinquent subculture, that is, a culture within a culture. The representative of the theory is A. Cohen. He believed that a subculture chooses for itself norms and values that are absolutely opposite to those established in the wider culture. R. Cloward and L. Oulin dealt with the same topic. They identified a criminal subculture, conflict and “withdrawal.” In Russia, I. A. Gorkova was actively involved in studying the influence of subculture on personality.
The Russian scientist Yu. A. Aleksandrovsky was also a representative of the socio-psychological approach. He said that in response to the socio-economic and political situation in the country, a person may develop social stress disorders. And this in turn affects behavior. I. I. Karpets and A. R. Ratinova put defects in the field of legal consciousness at the head of deviant behavior; N. F. Kuznetsova – defects in the psychology of individuals and social communities.
By the way, in Russia the first studies of deviant behavior began to be carried out in the 60s of the twentieth century (V.S. Afanasyev, A.G. Zdravomyslov, I.V. Matochkin and others). At the initial stage, these were studies of certain types of deviations. A significant theoretical contribution was made by V.N. Kudryavtsev, who was the first to consider social deviations as pathology, antisocial behavior. However, Ya. I. Gilinsky expressed an alternative opinion. From his point of view, deviations are a normal social phenomenon, a function of the social system.
Psychoanalytic theories
Another approach is psychoanalytic. Its main representative was S. Freud, later his ideas were continued by A. Adler, E. Fromm, K. Horney, W. Schutz. With this approach, researchers believe that the leading role in the formation of deviant behavior is occupied by certain qualities of the individual:
- feeling of increased anxiety;
- aggressiveness (this was considered the main quality);
- rigidity;
- inferiority complex;
- desire and desire to destroy everything.
Proponents of the theory said that all socially maladaptive forms of behavior arise due to:
- suppression of the individual’s true desires;
- strict blocking of their implementation;
- strict control over yourself and your emotions;
- low self-esteem.
Other scientists also gave the leading role to aggression - A. Bandura, A. Bass, L. Berkovts, S. Rosenzweig, among domestic scientists - S. N. Enikolopova, T. N. Kurbatova. But their rationale for the occurrence of aggression was different. The reasons, according to these authors, are not the inhibition of drives, but various social, lifelong factors.
Causes
Biological
Hereditary, genetically determined tendency to deviant behavior, manifested from a young age. Such problem children can be seen even in kindergarten. At school, deviations worsen and provoke the development of mental personality disorders.
Psychological
Sometimes a person from birth has a rebellious character that makes him go against the system. External factors and stimuli are also causes of deviation. The maladaptive development of the psyche due to certain character traits (aggressiveness, low self-esteem, helplessness) may be to blame. Psychologists often explain deviations by a psycho-emotional state that is stable over a long period of time (for example, with depression or the loss of a loved one).
Sociological
The socially determined causes of deviant behavior are well described and explained by the theory of anomie, created by the French sociologist and philosopher David Durkheim. According to his definition, anomie is the decomposition of established social values and norms due to inconsistency with new ideals. This is a kind of vacuum that provokes people to deviate. It is always accompanied by a sharp increase in the number of alcoholics, drug addicts, suicides, and criminals.
What is deviant behavior?
Thus, after analyzing a number of sources, we can conclude that there is no single concept of what deviant behavior is. The complexity of defining the concept being studied is due to its interdisciplinary nature. A number of sciences study the problem of deviations:
- psychology,
- pedagogy,
- criminology,
- sociology.
However, it is obvious that deviant behavior can be interpreted from the position of public opinion and from the position of the individual. Then, for society, within the framework of psychology, deviant behavior is a set of actions that, in their manifestations, contradict the generally accepted legal or moral-social norms of a particular society at a particular time.
But from the perspective of sociology, deviant behavior in relation to society can be interpreted as “a social phenomenon that is studied using special sociological methods jointly by criminologists, psychologists and other specialists. Any behavior that causes disapproval of public opinion is called deviant” (G. F. Kutsev).
Regarding personality, deviant behavior is a mismatch of mental processes associated with:
- insufficient adaptability;
- problems with self-determination;
- inadequate self-esteem;
- insufficient moral control over one’s behavior.
Manifestations
The main signs of deviant behavior that are used in pedagogy and psychology for diagnosis:
- non-compliance with generally accepted social norms;
- their violation;
- negative assessment from others, sanctions applied;
- causing real harm to others and oneself;
- sustainability - repeated or prolonged repetition of the same actions directed against the norms of society;
- the general orientation of the personality itself is destructive;
- social maladjustment.
In life, the manifestation of deviant behavior is not limited to this set of signs. It is too multifaceted to outline a circle of all its forms. In different situations this may include:
- aggressiveness;
- uncontrollability;
- secrecy;
- tendency to cruelty, lack of feeling of pity;
- sudden change of mood;
- desire for informal groups;
- deliberate non-compliance with the rules and restrictions in force in a given society at a given time;
- violation of laws.
You need to understand that these signs are not always on the surface. Sometimes outwardly a person does not reveal anything about himself as a deviant. He may have many friends, be successful in his studies or career, be well-behaved and quiet. But, going beyond the familiar environment, he can do terrible things (torture animals, attend meetings of extremist groups, and even hatch a murder plan).
Psychologists also focus on the fact that deviant behavior does not include eccentricity, which is characterized by oddities and eccentricities. It is based on a sense of heightened individuality, but almost never harms either others or the wearer. Therefore, it is not considered a deviation.
The concept of norm
When talking about deviations, it is important to define what is normal. I. A. Lipsky defines the concept of “social norm” as follows: rules of social behavior and human manifestations in the specific historical conditions of society that are officially established or developed under the influence of social practice.
That is, behavior that currently does not cause misunderstanding among other citizens is considered normal. Let me give you an example of the relativity of the concept “norm”. In the modern world, it is considered normal to modify your body (piercings, tattoos, colored hair), but in another era this was unacceptable and condemned. Now, of course, you can also find those who condemn, but in general body modifications are accepted.
Prevention
In many ways, prevention methods will depend on age. For example, for younger schoolchildren, conversations with the school psychologist, teachers and parents will be sufficient. In adolescence, this will no longer be enough - more serious measures will be required. It is important to instill in children moral values, rules of behavior in society, respect and observance of laws, and socialization skills. Such preventive work must be carried out constantly.
Sample prevention program
The goal is to create favorable conditions for the formation of knowledge and skills about social norms through the instillation of attitudes and skills of correct and responsible behavior.
Tasks:
- generalize knowledge about good and bad habits;
- maintain positive self-esteem;
- teach you to take responsibility for your own behavior and possible violations;
- develop adequate, effective skills of proper communication;
- develop the ability to provide assistance in difficult times;
- instill the rules of sanitary and hygienic culture;
- to form communicative, social and personal competences;
- develop the emotional sphere.
Age: teenagers 10-17 years old.
Implementation timeframe: 1 time per week for one academic semester (18 weeks).
I block of lessons
II block of classes
III block of classes
IV block of classes
