Violation of Social Norms - Essay Example

The acquired historical sources were applied for life course perspective which has been a very valuable asset in modern criminology. It helps to find out whether the offenders have suffered from stigma / criminal label through an examination of four demographic events a) relocation b) matrimony c) career growth and d) death. Yes, the label had its own repercussions in changing the course of life of a criminal dramatically. “Deviance Is Not A Quality Of The Act The Person Commits But Rather A Consequence Of The Application By Others Of Rules And Sanctions To An Offender” (Becker, 1963: 9).

Introduction It is a matter of fact that the offenders upon release from incarceration found limited opportunities for them to grab lucrative jobs. The available data does not disclose how offenders experienced their life in prisons and how other people around them viewed it. There is every reason to believe that the laws have chosen their own path which of course was not similar to that path of non-criminals. Whatever study conducted so far, indicates the difficult lives of the criminals in and outside the prison.

The most difficult phase in their life is the indifferent attitude of society1. We cite here a case example of lawbreaker Jonas Petter Wedin, who was born and brought up in a farmer’s home. His father was died of a natural death leaving behind a widow and five children with no source of income to live on. His mother and five brothers and sisters were made to live on the goodwill of others. That compelled him to join the criminals to earn livelihood for him and for other family members. Discussion Deviance In sociological terms, deviance is the behaviour of the offender against the accepted norms of a society.

Hence, it is the area of sociologists, psychologists and criminologists to study and find out the causes of abnormal behaviour of the offenders against the society’s norms and why they insist to follow their own rules and regulations2. Violation of Social Norms In fact norms, rules, regulations and expectations are the guiding principals to live in society peacefully. Deviations of mentioned norms reflect the failure of an offender to comply with the set standards of life. They do not believe in “live and let live others”.

However, social norms vary from culture to culture (e.g. in the USA, one has to see eye to eye while having a word with each other whereas in Asia averting eyes is a symbol of politeness and respect. However, direct eye contact in Asia during conversation is considered rude), location to location and country to country e.g., a deviant act if committed in one culture, location or country may not necessarily be considered as abnormal attitude in other cultures, locations and the country3. Reactive construction We observed in day to day life that specific condition compels minority of society to keep them aloof.

We all agree on this point that the killing of a human being is neither permissible nor appreciable in any society unless it is specifically permitted by the government in times of war or in self defence4. Component of Social Deviant Behaviour Review of the deviant behaviour indicates three broad social segments i.e. structural, symbolic and conflict. The names Tannenbaum and Howard S. Becker are familiar because of the creation and development of labelling theory which is known as "a dramatization of evil." Becker has firm believes that social groups have created deviances by introducing rules and regulations.
Labelling is the process of judging someone's attitude against the deviation of a set path. It has been considered to define an individual’s otherwise conduct. The sociologist considers deviation from the approved norms of an individual or an offender as morally bankrupt. It leads the individual to follow his own norms. Under the mentioned scenario it is the dominant group to decide what deviation is or what the acceptable norm is during the course of labelling. Take the example of a prison system where a thief starts to view himself by the given definition, hence found incapable of changing the acquired title.