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Deviance and Crime Essay

Deviance is any behavior that infringes social norm hence arousing negative social reactions. Deviance is referred as a socially constructed phenomenon because of its social context. In order to comprehend the reason behind some acts being deviant while others are not, it is necessary to know the context of the situation, rules that exist and the establishment of the rules (Downes, Rock, & McLaughlin 178). In a case where the rules change, the deviant also changes. The same way that norms and rules differ across time and cultures, is the same way that deviance do change.

Deviance is a culturally relative phenomenon since a cultural norm is relative to thinking and thus making the deviant behavior relative. Whether an act is deviant or not, it depends on the definition of the society about such an act (Downes, Rock, & McLaughlin 179). For instance, in the US, there are no restrictions on speech, which are time-based. Nevertheless, in Christ Desert Monastery, there exist rules that dictate when to speak and when not based on what time it is; speech between 7:30 pm and 4:00 am is banned. Such rules define the variations of rules from cultures.

Crime is conduct that violates norms hence a significant form of deviance that concerns the society. There are a number of theories, which explain reasons for crime. and Social control theory is one of the most convincing. It explains the reason behind certain types of social structures that lead to high deviance rates (Akers 13) .For instance for communities experiencing conflicts and poverty have high rates of crime. According to (Akers 13) deviant behaviors such as crime are avoidable by initiating social bonds that bind individuals to social institutions such as churches, schools and families.

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Work cited
Akers, Ronald. Social learning and social structure: A general theory of crime and deviance. Routledge, 2017. 12-14
Downes, David M., et al. Understanding Deviance a Guide to the Sociology of Crime and Rule- Breaking. Oxford Univ. Press, 2016.