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Essence of Deviance according to Functionalism

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Essence of Deviance according to Functionalism

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Deviance is essential to societies as it introduces social change. Laws are the result of a "collective conscience" that people work together to diffuse right and wrong.

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Functionalists find that each part of a society works together to contribute to an overarching whole.

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Conflict Theorists find the different ways that social, political, and power differences create disparities and perpetuate power to an elite class.

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Symbolic Interactionists find meaning in items, behaviors, and interactions that are unique to one's experience.

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Since functionalism implies "circular nature" or "repetitive behavior," there cannot be an adequate explanation for how change occurs in a system where the same acts are performed (Conerly, Tonja R., Kathleen Holmes, and Asha Lal Tamang).

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Societies are generally considered to be stable, and are therefore unlikely to face abrupt change or revolt from a lower class.

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Due to the arbitrary nature of symbolism, it is difficult to conduct objective and replicable research.

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Conerly, Tonja R., Kathleen Holmes, and Asha Lal Tamang. n.d. “1.3 Theoretical
Perspectives in Sociology - Introduction to Sociology 3E.” OpenStax. Retrieved
April 28, 2024
(https://openstax.org/books/introduction-sociology-3e/pages/1-3-theoretical-persp
ectives-in-sociology).

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Conerly, Tonja R., Kathleen Holmes, and Asha Lal Tamang. n.d. “3.4 Theoretical
Perspectives on Culture - Introduction to Sociology 3E.” OpenStax. Retrieved
April 28, 2024b
(https://openstax.org/books/introduction-sociology-3e/pages/3-4-theoretical-persp
ectives-on-culture).

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Conerly, Tonja R., Kathleen Holmes, and Asha Lal Tamang. n.d. “7.2 Theoretical
Perspectives on Deviance and Crime - Introduction to Sociology 3E.” OpenStax.
Retrieved April 28, 2024c
(https://openstax.org/books/introduction-sociology-3e/pages/7-2-theoretical-persp
ectives-on-deviance-and-crime).

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Anon. 2019. “The Myth of Meritocracy: Why It’s Better to Be Born Rich than
Smart.” YouTube. Retrieved April 28, 2024
(https://youtu.be/KdBhFCEpZ80?si=GTgeR6d52zVNffKw).

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Morris, Aldon. 2024. “From Civil Rights to Black Lives Matter.” Scientific
American. Retrieved April 28, 2024
(https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/from-civil-rights-to-black-lives-matter1
/).

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There are factors that constrain an individual from achieving a level of success that is commonly accepted as success. According to sociologist Robert Merton (Conerly, Tonja R., Kathleen Holmes, and Asha Lal Tamang), the five ways in which one respond to these obstacles include "conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism, [and] rebellion."

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Social Disorganization Theory in Functionalism

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Social Disorganization Theory in Functionalism

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Individuals who commit crime were likely unsupervised from an absence of social control and or had weak social ties.

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Functionalists believe that cultures are important in order to keep a society running, as they "would see the purpose of culture—traditions, folkways, values—as helping individuals navigate through life and societies run smoothly" (Conerly, Tonja R., Kathleen Holmes, and Asha Lal Tamang). In the West, different cultures play into the whole of a larger culture that establishes social norms.

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Conflict Theorists believe that injustices are present at differing levels according to one's identity, "The historical experiences of certain groups— those based upon race, sex, or class, for instance, or those that portray a negative narrative about the dominant culture" (Conerly, Tonja R., Kathleen Holmes, and Asha Lal Tamang). Economic and materialist motivations solidify unequal distributions of power to an already oppressed group.

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Symbolic Interactionalists believe culture to be flexible because it is up to the individual to interpret interactions and meanings within a culture.

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Essence of Deviance According to Conflict Theory

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Essence of Deviance According to Conflict Theory

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In a society where the general population is divided between a working class and an elite class, "the bourgeois centralized their power and influence through government, laws, and other authority agencies...to maintain...their positions of power," (Conerly, Tonja R., Kathleen Holmes, and Asha Lal Tamang). As a result, the lower class, under so much tension and exhaust, will overthrow an oppressive rule.

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Social Classes According to Conflict Theory

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Social Classes According to Conflict Theory

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Upper class individuals are more likely to get away with crime because of the power they hold over lower class individuals. Cases revolving around drug use, domestic abuse, and more can have increased or decreased penalties depending on whether the group has access to the resource of social influence.

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Labeling Theory within Symbolic Interactionism

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Labeling Theory within Symbolic Interactionism

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According to Conerly, Tonja R., Kathleen Holmes, and Asha Lal Tamang, "what is considered deviant is determined not so much by the behaviors themselves or the people who commit them, but by the reactions of others to these behaviors." People either assign themselves the label of deviant, or they are ascribed to the label by people who deem others' acts as deviant.

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Perceived Deviancy within Labeling Theory

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Perceived Deviancy within Labeling Theory

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People who have been labelled as deviants have different ways of navigating their deviant behaviors. They may deny their responsibility, deny injury of their actions, deny the affected individuals of their actions, condemn those who ascribed the act as deviants, or appeal to a greater good.

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Some functionalists suppose the idea of a system that rewards those based on their refined skills or abilities. It suggests that everyone has the same opportunities and the same likelihood to lead successful lives, but only if they are willing to put in the work.

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Illusion of Equal Opportunity under Meritocracy

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Illusion of Equal Opportunity under Meritocracy

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In the United States, wealthy individuals are more likely to succeed. For instance, despite the equal abilities of poorer and wealthier students, "half of poor students with high test scores have fallen behind by eight grade compared to one in ten rich students with high scores," (American News Network 2019). Evidently, the idea that everyone is open to equal opportunity cannot be true where odds are in favor of wealthy people. To state that such availabilities is to ignore the reality that lesser fortunate groups face and still fight to change.

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A common critique for Conflict Theory has to do with its broad nature, generalizing complex issues to fit a two-box narrative between classes. Intersectionality is not a component of the original theory where there is the elite class and the working or lower class.

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The Stepping Stone that was Conflict Theory

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The Stepping Stone that was Conflict Theory

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Despite the simplification of issues from Conflict Theory, it was the basis for in-depth theories that rationalize social movements. The Civil Rights movement fought for the equal opportunity for people of color as a result of decades of systemic oppression, yet women of color had to fight their own battles almost independently from the movement (Morris 2021). We observe ways in which oppression is present not only in elite classes, but also perpetuated in disadvantaged groups that will revolt.

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The lack of objectivity from the Symbolic Interactionist theory draws people away, as its input only pertains to micro scaled analysis--or analysis specific to small groups of individuals over societies at large. However, Interactionists argue that the arbitrary applications fuel the theory's validity. (Conerly, Tonja R., Kathleen Holmes, and Asha Lal Tamang). Cultures are enriched by the differing behaviors that must stem at micro-levels before they can be valued at macro-levels, such as the justification of social Deviance.