CULTURAL DEVIANCE THEORY

Cultural Deviance Theory

Cultural Deviance Theory

Introduction

Normative theories treat deviance and norm violation as synonymous, view social control as responding to deviance, and attempt to identify the social, economic, and environmental factors that create pressure for individuals to engage in deviance. Robert Merton set out to identify the processes through which social structures generate the circumstances in which infringement of social codes constitutes a “normal” response. He sought to explain how “some social structures exert a definite pressure on certain persons in the society to engage in nonconforming rather than conforming conduct” ((Merton, 1968), emphasis in original).

Research Question

Can latent trait ...