Deviant behavior is any behavior that contradicts the prevailing norms of society. There are many different theories that explain deviations from generally accepted rules from a biological, psychological, and sociological point of view. A recognized violation of cultural norms is not exclusively negative. What is positive deflection behavior?
Deviation from the norm
When most of us think of deviant behavior, associations can immediately arise related to breaking the law, illegal and asocial actions. There is both negative and positive deviant behavior. Deviation, like norms, is shaped by society. In general, there are three social foundations of deviation: structural functionalism, symbolic interaction, and social conflicts.
Structural functionalism
What might illustrate positive deviant behavior? Emil Durkheim is considered the “father” of a structurally functional perspective in which society is seen as a complex system in which stability is supported by the joint work of complex parts. Durkheim made a surprising statement that rejection has many positive functions for society. For example, he believed that it could actually unite people in society and clarify cultural norms and values.
The second structural functionalist, Robert C. Merton, developed the theory of deformations. He believed that the theory of wealth orientation and the limited ability to get rich leads to theft, drug sales and other street crimes. Positive deviant behavior, however, can lead to innovative ideas for solving various problems in atypical ways.
Symbolic interaction
This approach explains how people define deviations in everyday situations. Labeling theory argues that deviation and norm are not the result of what we do, but rather the reaction of other people. Within this theory, there is a primary and secondary deviation. The primary deviation refers to episodes of deviant behavior in which most people participate. The second is when someone does something inappropriate and gets a negative social label that changes the person’s self-esteem and social identity .
To demonstrate the theory of labeling, imagine two 16-year-old girls. Both are good students, athletes and have never encountered a violation of the law. Suppose both girls decide to drink some alcohol with their friends on weekends or during school breaks. This will be the primary deviation.
Let's assume that one of the girls is caught. She is registered with an educational institution, expelled from sports, sent for a consultation on alcohol, called with parents to school, and so on. Both girls committed the deviant action, the difference is that one of them was caught, and the second was lucky. Secondary deviation is the same as primary, only in the second case, bad behavior was not noticed.
Social conflict
The social conflict approach connects deviation with social inequality. Which behavior is considered abnormal, and which is not, depends on which categories of people hold power in society. Why are some things illegal and others not? A social conflict theorist will argue that many actions are considered deviant because the authorities have the resources to make these actions deviant. In addition, the norms of any society as a whole reflect the interests of the rich and powerful, and powerful people have the resources to withstand deviant labeling.
Deviant behavior: positive and negative
There is a diverse style of behavior in society that runs counter to expectations and cultural norms. Consider the following situations:
- Yesterday Maxim entered a 24-hour shop and robbed a cashier.
- Anne was fined for speeding, 15 km above the permissible value.
- Maria, who had just married, decided to keep her maiden name instead of taking her husband’s surname.
Which of these three people will be considered "deviant"? The correct answer is all three. Both negative and positive deviant behavior are any action that is perceived as a violation of the cultural norms of a society or group. It is the norms that dictate what is considered acceptable and unacceptable in different cultures.
One of the categories of rejection is a crime that occurs when someone violates the formal laws of society. Criminal deviation covers a wide range of behaviors, from minor traffic violations to arson or murder.
Maxim, who robbed the supermarket, and Anna, who ignored the speed limit, fit into this category. However, laws make up just one complex complex system of countless rules - formal, informal, written, implied, etc., which we are expected to comply with. Any act of non-compliance with these rules is considered deviant.
Small violations are committed by absolutely everyone: someone forgot to return the library book on time, someone crossed the road to a red light, someone skipped several lessons at school, someone did not give way to his grandmother on the bus. Non-compliance is not always a negative example of a rule violation.
Whatever the deviant actions, negative or positive, they have a common feature - the difference from the norm. What does positive deviant behavior look like? Maria’s example shows that even if a girl does not commit a crime, deciding to keep her maiden name, she still performs a deviant action, since taking the husband’s surname is the norm in our society.
Positive deviant behavior: Durkheim theory
Deviation is a natural and even necessary part of society; in fact, it cannot be such that there are no violations at all. What might illustrate positive deviant behavior? Durkheim used the monastery as an example: for outsiders, the monks are extremely peaceful and therefore live in an almost utopian society. However, even there there are cases of deviant behavior. For ordinary people, a missed morning prayer is not considered deviant behavior, but in a monastery it contradicts the rules that were created to restore order in this society. Their violation leads to negative social reactions.
4 main functions of deviant behavior
Since deviation can seriously disrupt the social order, it may seem paradoxical that in fact it can have positive consequences. According to Durkheim, deviation performs four main functions:
- It confirms cultural norms and values.
- It clarifies moral boundaries and teaches us to distinguish between right and wrong.
- It brings people together. People become united in their joint response to deviant actions, for example, when patriotism begins to go off scale during the appearance of an external threat, for example, terrorism.
- Some examples of positive deviant behavior contribute to social change. The history is full of people who, through their non-standard thinking and behavior, pushed society forward.
Merton strain theory
Deviant behavior involves both positive and negative consequences. Although Merton agreed that a certain deviation was necessary for the functioning of society, he argued that the culture and structure of society itself exerted pressure on individuals.
In other words, due to certain cultural values and goals, those who are unable to legally cope with these goals feel a certain tension. So there are criminals, people with negative deviant behavior, who use non-traditional means, such as crimes, to achieve these goals.
Positive deviation
Norms are rules and expectations that guide members of society. Deviation is the lack of compliance with these standards. For example, a deviant act may occur in one society, which violates a social norm there, but may be normal for another society. Social norms differ from culture to culture. It is understandable about negative deviation - this is when deviant behavior harms the whole society or individuals. But with a positive deviation is worth sorting out.
Positive deviation refers to behavioral and social change. In any context, some people who face similar problems, limitations and deprivation of the resources of their peers will nevertheless use unusual but successful behaviors or strategies that will allow them to find better solutions. Through the study of these subject individuals called “positive deviants”, innovative solutions to such problems can be identified and improved due to their behavioral response.
Perception features
Causes of positive deviant behavior may be certain events occurring in society or in people's lives. It may also be the perception of individual individuals who have always sought to create something incredible, and which at first everyone thought was a little crazy and "not like everyone else."
Isn't it like everyone else is bad?
Here are some examples of positive deviant behavior. Grigory Perelman, being a Russian genius in the field of mathematics, was the first to prove the Poincare theorem, for which he was nominated for several prizes at once. The entire scientific world was shocked when an extraordinary scientist refused three extremely prestigious awards, and this is a really vivid situation illustrating positive deviant behavior.
He explained this by the fact that he was not interested in awards, and the contribution of other mathematicians did not exceed his merits. An example of positive deviant behavior is the large number of ingenious individuals who, thanks to their unconventional approaches, have managed to leave their mark on the world and change it for the better.
Brilliant people who think outside the box and are not like everyone else move forward social and technological progress. The first computers appeared in 1969 and were the size of an entire room. Famous personalities such as Steve Jobs and Bill Gates have contributed in many ways to making these digital devices not just personal, but even mobile.
Albert Einstein destroyed past stereotypes about physical reality and became the first to discover the law of relativity. Thus, we can conclude that all scientific minds and inventors are deviants. Gradually, society adopts new social norms, and some actions not previously allowed are taken for granted. The boundaries between positive and negative deviant behavior are very blurry and mobile, both in time and in space.