Drugs Case

Deviance refers to behavior that is banned, censured, stigmatized or penalized or describes an actions or behaviors that violate social norms. Deviance exists in all societies and is found in simple, complex, industrialized, agrarian, urban and rural regions. It is universal and anthropologist claim that no society or culture, large or small, rural or urban, has complete behavioral conformity. There are types of deviation, the primary and secondary deviation and the individual and group deviation. There are causes and theories that the social scientist developed to explain deviance. These are biological theory, psychological theory, sociological theory, conflict theory, cultural transmission theory, social learning theory and the labeling theory.

Based on what I read, deviance exists in all societies and depends upon the status and role one holds. It is behavior that some people in our society find it offensive. There are groups or personal beliefs about how members or people should behave in a given situation. Every culture has norms that expect particular people in a certain situations on how they should act or behave. Deviant behavior is not always negative but it is how people judge or see what others did or how others behave. It is the failure to conform to the standards set by society, failure to follow rules or committing crimes.

For me deviance is a behavior based on one’s actions but it can also exist as an expression of an unusual belief system. People may sometimes be classified or viewed as deviant because of their characteristics they possess or some specific conditions. It is important to recognize that deviance is not simply based on behavior alone. It concludes about how others judge others. Deviance is relative to time and place. It is not possible to find something that is absolutely condemned by all societies’ behavior that is deviant in one society may not be in another. Even within one society, what is deviant today may not