Social Identity and the Social Psychology of Deviance - Essay Example

Social Identity and the Social Psychology of Deviance What are the limits of a Social Identity approach to the Social Psychology of Deviance? Introduction The idea of deviance within society is certainly connected to the notion of the norms as well as the values which a society adheres to and a social identity of the individual. The idea of a personal identity and a social identity has been studied extensively by many sociologists and psychologists in terms of how the social identification of an individual can lead to deviant behaviour. However, despite the usefulness of having an understanding of a social identity, it seems that it is not the only way in which deviance can be understood and there are certain limitations to the social identity approach. In this context, we can look at deviances which are obvious such as taking drugs which are prohibited in society and we can examine deviant behaviour which is less commonly seen or discussed in polite society as such e.g. paying cash to avoid taxes and other white collar crimes. We can also try to understand the social identity process that takes place in the formation of groups that display socially deviant attitudes and even consider situations in which a person can be purposefully deviant within a given scenario. At the same time, an examination of other approaches to understanding deviance within society is also mandated. Other theories such as the strain/anomie theory and the social disorganization theory can be helpful in explaining parts or covering areas which are lacking in the social identity approach. However, the first step in the process remains an understanding of deviance and how the social identity approach is limited in clearly understanding the process as it occurs in society. The Usefulness of the Approach Henri Tajfel and John Turner have been credited with the creation of the Social Identity Theory which begins with how people categorise themselves and others using labels (Johnson & MacEachern, 1985). For example, an American may categorise all people coming from the Middle East as Muslims or a person in the Middle East may think that all Americans are Christians. Once a person has made categories, s/he can then identify and create an in-group identity for themselves as being part of a group which in turn helps in increasing that person’s self-esteem. Finally, the person can have and can even be taught to have and understand the differences between the in-group individuals and out-group others. These comparisons can be mostly favourable to the group the person belongs to but they can also be negative in certain cases. For example, a person living in an economically less developed country may accept that s/he belongs to a poor nation as compared to the other countries of the world. At the same time s/he may consider him/herself to have higher moral values than Europeans or Americans. This certainly limits the approach because deviant activity against the in-group is not fully explained. There is a complex mix of social and psychological elements in the approach which fail to clarify completely why a person associated with a group might do something against that group. The supporters of the approach suggest that social identity is different from personal identity and the personal identity of an individual may cause them to be deviant (Hammersley et. al., 2001). However, such an explanation would put both into an unresolved conflict where a person may need to have multiple identities given the social situation they have been placed in. With such an approach, each person is given a range of abilities and identities which they can select where each identity informs the individual on what they can or can not do. The social context therefore, guides a person to behave in a deviant manner or to simply accept the norms of society as they have been established for them (Hammersley et. al., 2001). The friction between social identities and personal identities is mitigated because the individual has control over his/her actions for the most part. Whenever the social identity of the person becomes stronger than personal identity group behaviour is seen. The theory is extremely useful when we apply it to the concept of things such as wars and fights against some outsider. For example, during a war, all enemies are seen as one and no differentiation is made between them as being neutral or non-combatants. The most famous example of this is the idea that either a person is our friend who is fighting with us, or s/he is an enemy who is completely against us. Clearly, it is useful in certain cases for society to ingrain this concept but when the deviance is against group members from within the same society, the explanation of the situation becomes more or less impossible. Simply put, it is acceptable under the theory to kill the enemy and to take violent actions against the enemy. The out-group members are not even considered to be human in the treatment given to them while the in-group members have to be respected (UNCHR, 2006). They may even be taken as ‘brothers’ and sacrifices might have to be made for them. In fact, very little differentiation is made between the self and the group since the group is the whole which gives a sense of identity to the individual. Violent behaviour towards out-group members becomes accepted, rational and in certain extreme cases, non-violence towards the outsider may be seen with suspicion of betrayal. The Limits of the Approach In terms of deviance from society, white collar crime is one area where the social identity theory fails to hold up in a significant way. While the law and the social order for the prevention of crime exists solely to ensure that people follow the straight and narrow, crime does occur and the social deviances of the powerful are often ignored even if they are not invisible (Hammersley et. al., 2001). The powerful themselves can have many interpretations; they can be the rich, the nobility, the ones who simply ignore the law and even those countries who can not be brought in line with international laws. It seems that the idea for the respect of the law is ingrained into the members of a society simply because without respect for the law society would completely fall apart. We might be told that our nation is a nation of law abiding citizens and we may see ourselves as such but then laws are broken all the time. Of course there is also the threat of punishment associated with breaking the law but if someone knows they can get away with it seems unlikely that they would continue to follow the law without incredible self restraint (Barak, 2005). A society where certain members play loose and fast with the laws of the collective can eventually get to a point where the law is totally meaningless and this idea is certainly applicable to the powerful in a society (McCarthy, 2006). In a civilised society, laws are created and formalised for the regulation of conduct between individuals and legal entities so a breach of law can be defined as a crime (Cornell Law School, 2006). The simplification of the definition can be understood as an act is a deviant if the law of the land or social norms and values define it as such. The ‘powerful’ are mostly involved in white collar crime which in effect is a burden on the taxpayer and that is a burden on them as a collective. In essence, the crime committed by the white collared individual is a crime against fellow white collars. They are people might have a highly respected social and economic status and the criminal activity usually has connections with his/her work or employment in the government or private sectors as the social situation of the deviance. White-collar crime has connections with corporate crime because the opportunities for deception, corruption, misappropriation, and technology related crimes are more readily present for people in these positions. Even though the members of the corporation have been indoctrinated with loyalty to the collective, they certain commit crimes against the corporate body. It seems that there are many socially deviant white collar criminals since nearly 2/3rd of the people surveyed in England and Wales confessed they had overstated an insurance claim, paid for goods with cash to avoid taxes and even kept the money when given too much change (BBC, 2003). Technically speaking, all of the actions mentioned above are crimes but since they are not detected or connected with visible individuals, they remain invisible to the law enforcement authorities. It must be noted that the individuals surveyed said that they did not think of themselves as criminals even though their actions cost nearly £14 billion a year to the British government. The predominantly middle class survey respondents also admitted to seeking tax refunds which were not entitled to them or taking things without permission from their place of work (BBC, 2003). They are nameless hardworking people living in our country but they are certainly not blameless. Quite logically, the social identity of a hardworking man should not include the identity of a thief but it certainly appears to be the case. Strangely enough, the crime of burglary, which comes with severe penalties and the cost of considerable government officials’ time, cost the country only £2.7bn in 2000. The cost of the crimes mentioned above was £13.8 billion (BBC, 2003). In this case, the crime may be detected and may even be confessed under the condition of anonymity, but nothing much can be done to bring the individuals to justice. Bank robbers and the like make interesting newspaper stories and get good media coverage, the ones who pay cash to avoid VAT can hardly ever hope to make the nine O’clock news. The second segment of the powerful criminals in society is the elite and the people who are in positions of great power. They could be members of corporate boards, high government officials and owners of rich companies. The situation for these criminals is changing rapidly since their crimes are now being detected, punished and publicised much more than in the past decades. While they have a lot to loose if their crimes are detected, they often get away with a lot as well. Again, it is not a part of the social identity given to them to steal from their shareholders or those who have trusted them with their money but it does happen quite often. For instance, Tyco International Ltd.s Dennis Kozlowski and WorldCom Inc.s Bernie Ebbers got into a lot of trouble for their misdeeds and lost nearly all of their worldly possessions. Yet at the same time, plenty of other corporate bosses at companies busy in illegal activities have come away with a lot of money left in their pockets. Michael Milken, who was charged with corporate theft, left prison in 1992 after serving a two year sentence and still kept the $500 million which he managed to steal from investors, a clear sign that theft can pay (Sasseen & Polek, 2006). Their social identity as rich and powerful individuals remains more or less untarnished even though they are convicted criminals. Other Theories Even in terms of very small deviances, a person who crosses the street incorrectly also breaks the law, a driver running the red light on a deserted road is also breaking the law but since there is no one there to enforce the law the crime becomes accepted by the individual without a high level of guilt or conflicting identities. It is therefore feasible to examine other theories in sociology to see how they explain crime and deviance within society. The central proposition made by the strain theory is the idea that social structures and individual situations within a society may be the causes of crimes since the strain put on the individual due to them encourages criminal behaviour. This theory emerges from the work of Émile Durkheim and has been further developed by many social scientists following in his footsteps (Cullen, & Agnew, 2006). With regard to the strain which causes crime, there are two possible sources i.e. social structures and individual experiences (Miller et. al., 2002). The first one comes from the social structures which define how the needs of an individual are to be satisfied. If the social structures are inadequate, especially with regard to satisfying the needs of the middle class, then more people from the middle class may turn to crime if they see a lack of opportunities and have limited means (Miller et. al., 2002). Therefore, in this respect, the blame for criminal activity or the increased rate of crime comes from a failure of social institutions rather than individual negligence. The second strain can come from the individual since the experience of a person within society can lead him/her to a life of crime. For example, if a middle class person sees enough things which lead him to desire more than his/her means then s/he may choose to do things which are illegal to attain those things (Miller et. al., 2002). Of course that person may not actually need those things for their basic survival but the creation of the need can come from their own experiences. Similar to the strain theory, the social disorganization theory also focuses on the relationship between the individual and the social setup. However, the primary focus of the theory is on the individual and how s/he internalizes the given culture over time. As per the theory, every person has certain desires which can be categorized as a desire to be recognized, the desire to be dominant, to be secure and to have new experiences. As the need to fulfill these desires grows in the middle class, individuals from this class may not worry too much about the means they use to get what they want. Instead of focusing on social institutions or social bodies, the social disorganization theory focuses on the idea of the city and how large cities would have higher crime rates than smaller towns. Additionally, the idea of competition between individuals and the Darwinian idea of survival of the fittest also helps this theory since it suggests that competition between individuals can also lead some people to crime because the resources they are sharing are scarce (Cullen, & Agnew, 2006). This condition might be worse in larger cities because the middle class may not have the resources to get everything they want and some of them may not agree with the fact that they can not have everything they desire. Conclusion In the final analysis, it seems that no single theory is sufficient to explain deviance within society and the psychology of deviance allows multiple theories to co-exist. I feel that although the social identity theory is limited by some factors and does not fully explain the process of deviance, the addition of theories such as the strain/anomie theory and the social disorganisation theory can help in bringing about a better understanding of social deviance and help in making a better society. Works Cited Barak, A. (2005). Begin and the Rule of Law. Israel Studies 10(3), 1-14. BBC. (2003). White collar crime sweeps Britain. [Online] Available at: BBC.co.uk website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3102800.stm Cornell Law School. (2006). White-collar crime. [Online] Available at: Cornell University website: http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/index.php/White-collar_crime Cullen, F. & Agnew, R. (2006). Criminological Theory: Past to Present Essential Readings. Roxbury Publishing Company. Hammersley, R. et. al. (2001). Cannabis use and Social Identity. Addiction Research & Theory, 9(2), 133-150. Johnson, R. & MacEachern, A. (1985). Tests of the Social Deviance and Social Identity Hypotheses. Journal of Social Psychology, 125(2), 221-233. McCarthy, A. (2006). International Law v. United States, Commentary, 121(2), 41-48. Miller, J., Schreck, C. & Tewksbury, R. (2002). Criminological Theory: A Brief Introduction. Allyn & Bacon. Sasseen, J and Polek, D. (2006). White-Collar Crime: Who Does Time? Business Week, 3970(1), 60-61. UNCHR. (2006). Does the Treatment of Prisoners at the Detention Facility in Guantánamo Bay Violate International Law? International Debates, 4(4), 106-109. Wikipedia, (2006). Identity (Social Science). [Online] Available at: Wikipedia.org website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identity_%28social_science%29 Read More