What is deviance? Deviance, deviant behavior

G. V. Apinyan

ABOUT THE CONCEPTS OF “DEVIATION”, “DEVIANCE”, “DEVIANT BEHAVIOR”

The work was presented by the Department of Philosophy of the Russian State Pedagogical University named after. A. I. Herzen.

Scientific supervisor - Doctor of Philosophy, Professor A. A. Gryakalov

The concept of “deviation” should be considered as a category, that is, the most general concept that captures the phenomenon itself, and the term “deviance” denotes the state of the subject of deviation, and the term “deviant behavior” - a behavioral manifestation. Deviation has many types and forms: from collective to individual, from sacred and sacralized to gaming.

Key words: deviation, deviance, deviant behavior, ex-trim.

NOTIONS OF "DEVIATION", "DEVIANCE", "DEVIANT BEHAVIOUR"

The concept of "deviation" should be viewed as a category, i. e. the most general notion fixing the phenomenon itself. The term "deviance" denotes the state of a subject of deviation; the term "deviant behavior" means behavioral manifestation. Deviation has many types and forms: from collective to individual one, from sacred and sacralised to game ones.

Key words: deviation, deviance, deviant behavior, extreme.

The problem of deviation (deviant behavior) is one of the central ones in modern psychology, sociology, adolescent pedagogy, political science, etc. Deviation has many forms and types. Collective, sacred in its essence, or being a game relic of such: religious and ritual events, traditional holidays, carnival, state and “folk” holidays.

Deviant behavior in extreme conditions: from pogrom, riot and revolution to vital situations during an earthquake or terrorist attack. This type of deviation has its own internal stages and forms of manifestation.

Deviation of the collective type is directly related to the deviant situation. Depending on the prevailing reference, the phenomenon acquires the character of control (including magic) or destructive

reactions. One of the options for deviant behavior is youth movements: from the “student revolution of ’68” to modern “extreme sports”.

A special form of deviation is represented by deviant communities: institutionalized (pirate “brotherhood”, mafia clans, etc.) and hierarchically structured (hooligan communities, criminal group, “gang”).

Individual deviance can have a sacred character, its carriers are a shaman, a holy fool, or a saint. Has a secular version: dandy, philosopher, artistic or social bohemian, beggar or “clown”.

Among the types and forms of deviation, the personality of the creative (artistic, scientific) underground stands out - opposing itself to society and traditions, coming into conflict with them. Deviance and

Destructiveness are essential features of the psychology of the underground (bohemia).

A number of concepts are used in the research literature to characterize the phenomenon of deviation we are considering. We believe it is necessary to “separate” these concepts.

In our opinion, the concept of “deviation” should be considered as a category, that is, the most general concept that captures the phenomenon itself.

The term “deviance” denotes the state of the subject of deviation, and the term “deviant behavior” denotes a behavioral manifestation.

The categorical nature of the term “deviation” is confirmed by the fact that it has an expanding nature, includes in the subject of designation a wide variety of phenomena, the characteristics of which in this aspect are also contextual and specific in nature. For example, modern youth movements and subcultures can be considered forms of deviation, although these phenomena have a specific nature and functioning in society. Another example is the artistic underground and the behavior of creative individuals.

The uncertainty of the conceptual apparatus observed in deviantology is due to the fact that deviantology is a relatively young science, the conceptual apparatus of which is in development.

Deviant, or deviant (from the Latin éeu1ayo - deviation), behavior is always associated with some kind of discrepancy between human actions, actions, and activities with the values, rules (norms) and stereotypes of behavior, expectations, and attitudes common in society or its groups. This may be a violation of formal (legal) or informal (morality, customs, traditions, fashion) norms, as well as a “deviant” lifestyle, “deviant” style of behavior that does not correspond to those accepted in a given society, environment, or group.

The development of more or less stable and uniform definitions of deviant behavior is complicated by the multiplicity and ambiguity of its manifestations, as well as the dependence

assessing behavior as “normal” or “deviating” from the values, norms, expectations (expectations) of society, group, subculture; variability of assessments over time, conflict of assessments of different groups that include people, and finally, subjective perceptions of researchers (deviantologists).

Deviant behavior is behavior that does not conform to norms and roles. At the same time, some sociologists use expectations (expectations) of appropriate behavior as a reference point (“norms”), while others use standards and patterns of behavior. Some believe that not only actions, but also ideas and views can be deviant.

Deviant behavior is often associated with society's reaction to it and then deviance is defined as a deviation from the group norm, which entails isolation, treatment, imprisonment or other punishment for the offender.

Based on the most general ideas, we can give the following definition: deviant behavior is an act, an action of a person (a group of people) that does not correspond to officially established or actually established norms and expectations in a given society (culture, subculture, group).

At the same time, by “officially established” we mean formal, legal norms, and by actually established ones we mean moral norms, customs, and traditions.

In deviantological studies, it was initially specified (or understood from the context) in what sense the expression “deviant behavior” was used - as a characteristic of an individual behavioral act or as a social phenomenon. Later, the terms “deviation” (“deviation”), “deviance” or “social deviation” (“social deviation”) began to be used to denote the latter. As a complex social phenomenon, deviation is defined as “those violations of social norms that are characterized by a certain mass, stability and prevalence under similar social conditions.”

In English, in which most of the world's deviantology literature is written, the word deviance is usually used to characterize the corresponding social phenomenon, the ability of society to generate “deviations.”

The following definitions of deviance are more common than others: difference from norms or from acceptable (permissible, accepted) standards of society; some behavior or physical manifestation that is socially offensive and frowned upon because it deviates from the norms and expectations of the group.

The modern “Encyclopedia of Criminology and Deviant Behavior” (2001) distinguishes three main approaches in defining deviance: deviance as behavior that violates norms (R. Akers, M. Clinard, R. Meier, A. Liska, A. Thio); deviance as a “responsive construct” (D. Black, N. Becker, K. Erickson, E. Goode); deviance as a violation of human rights (N. Schwendinger, J. Schwendinger).

According to criminologists (N. Hess, S. Scheerer), crime (a type of deviation, but what has been said can be applied to its other forms) is not an ontological phenomenon, but a mental construct that has a historical and changeable nature.

Crime is almost entirely constructed by controlling institutions that set norms and assign specific meanings to actions. Crime is a social and linguistic construct.

Public or state assessment of manifestations of deviance, the very classification of certain forms of activity as deviant is the result of the conscious work of power, ideological institutions that shape public consciousness. A huge role in such “design” activities belongs to the political regime.

When defining deviation, the conjugate concepts “pathology” and “norm” are most often used.

The term “pathology” (“social pathology”), it seems to us, is unfortunate. The word “pathology” comes from the Greek “suffering” and “word, doctrine” and literally means the science of disease processes in the body of living beings (humans and animals). In a figurative, etymologically inaccurate sense, pathology is a painful disorder in the structure, functioning or development of any organs or manifestations of living organisms (heart pathology, stomach pathology, mental development pathology). The transfer of a medical (anatomical, physiological) term into the social sphere is ambiguous and carries a “biological” load, “biologizing” a social and cultural problem. In addition, even in medicine, where this term came from, the concepts of normality and pathology are debatable. I. P. Pavlov, I. V. Davydovsky considered disease as a variant of the norm, and the so-called pathological processes and diseases as features of adaptive processes.

Finally, deviations can be useful and progressive, while the term “pathology” is perceived as something negative and undesirable.

The starting point for understanding deviations is the concept of norm. In the theory of organization, the most common understanding of norms as limits, measures of what is permissible has developed - for the natural and social sciences. These are characteristics, “boundaries” of properties, parameters of a system under which it is preserved (not destroyed) and can develop. For physical and biological systems, these are the permissible limits of structural and functional changes that ensure the safety and development of the system. This is a natural, adaptive norm that reflects the laws of the system’s existence. Thus, the biological system exists at certain “standards” of body temperature (for a person from +36 to +37 ° C), blood pressure (for a person 120/80 mm Hg), water balance, etc.

Social and cultural norms express historically developed in specific

In a given society, the limits, measure, interval of permissible (permissible or obligatory) behavior, activities of individuals, social groups, social organizations.

In contrast to the natural norms of the course of physical and biological processes, social and cultural norms are formed (constructed) as a result of the reflection (adequate or distorted) in the consciousness and actions of people of the laws of the functioning of society. Therefore, these norms can either correspond to the laws of social development (and then they are “natural”), or reflect them incompletely, inadequately, being the product of a distorted (ideologized, politicized, mythologized) reflection of objective laws. And then the “norm” itself turns out to be abnormal, while deviations from it are “normal” (adaptive).

It should be noted that there are many classifications of social norms for various reasons. So one of the possible classifications is proposed and justified by T. Shipunova.

Certain types, forms, patterns of behavior are “normal” or “deviant” only from the point of view of established (established) social norms in a given society at a given time (“here and now”). What counts as a deviation depends on the time and place. Behavior that is “normal” under one set of cultural attitudes will be regarded as “deviant” under another.

And finally, organization and disorganization, “norm” and “anomaly” (deviation), entropy (a measure of chaos, disorder) and non-gentropy (a measure of organization, ordering) are complementary (in the understanding of N. Bohr). Their coexistence is inevitable, they are inextricably linked, and only their joint study can explain the processes under study. “Order and disorder coexist as two aspects of one whole and give us a different vision of the world.”

It is deviations, as a general form of change, that provide “mobile equilibrium” (A. le Chatelier) or “stable

great disequilibrium” (E. Bauer) of the system, its preservation, stability through changes. Another thing is that the change itself can be evolutionary (promote development, improvement, increasing the degree of organization, adaptability) and involutionary. But since everything that exists is finite (mortal), involutionary and entropic processes are also natural and, alas, inevitable. In this sense, deviation is a breakthrough of total life activity through (through) social form.

The problem of the functions of deviance, admissibility and boundaries of use of the term is the subject of scientific discussion. Thus, A. M. Yakovlev defines the functions of organized economic crime as the desire to provide illegally an objective need that is not adequately satisfied by normal social institutions. It is no coincidence that the discussion of these topics in Russia took place in the pre- and “perestroika” times, in conditions of destruction of the socio-economic system and the activation of deviant forms in economic and social life. Criminal connections and relationships, elements of economic crime arise where and to the extent that the objective need for organization and coordination of economic activity is not adequately reflected in the organizational and normative structure of the economy as a social institution.

The functionality of the “shadow economy”, including illegal business and corruption, is studied in detail in the works of I. Klyamkin, L. Timofeev, T. Shanin and others. The works of V. Reisman, L. Timofeev are devoted to the analysis of the function of bribes and corruption.

With the advent of "glasnost" and the lifting of the taboo on the study of the negative aspects of Russian reality, it became possible to analyze deviant facts, in particular those occurring in the army. In 2001, A. G. Tyurikov’s book “Military deviantology: theory, methodology, bibliography” was published, and in October 2003 a scientific conference was held in Tyumen

conference on the topic “Deviantology in Russia: history and modernity.”

The book by S. Palmer and J. Humphery provides a list of latent functions of deviant behavior: group integration; influence on the formation of the moral code (rules) of society; an “outlet” for aggressive tendencies; "escape" or safety "valve"; a warning signal of imminent social change; an effective means of social change; a means of achieving and growing (strengthening) self-identification; A

also other functions. The functionality of organized crime was discussed in the book “Criminology” (St. Petersburg, 2002).

In conclusion, let's make a hypothesis. The category “deviation” is applicable not only to social and cultural phenomena, but can also be considered from an anthropological and biological perspective, as a designation of a phenomenon outside of conformist existence and behavior with results and consequences. Deviation is a form of emergence of the vitality of man and society.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Cohen A. Study of problems of social disorganization and deviant behavior // Sociology today. M., 1965.

2. Klyamkin I, Timofeev L. Shadow lifestyle: a sociological self-portrait of post-Soviet society. M., 2000; Informal economy. Russia and the world / ed. T. Shanina. M., 1999; Reisman V. M. Hidden lies: bribes: “crusades” and reforms. M., 1988; Timofeev L. Institutional corruption: essays on history. M., 2000.

3. Youth movements and subcultures of St. Petersburg / ed. V. V. Kostyusheva. St. Petersburg,

4. Prigozhim I. Philosophy of instability // Questions of philosophy. 1991. No. 6. P. 46-52.

5. Shipunova T.V. Introduction to the synthetic theory of crime and deviance. St. Petersburg, 2003. pp. 20-35.

6. Yakovlev A. M. Sociology of economic crime. M., 1988.

7. McCaghy Ch, Carpon T. Deviant Behavior: Crime, Conflict, and Interest Groups. Third edition. Macmillan College Publishing Company, Inc., 1994; McCaghy Ch, Carpon T, Jamicson J. Deviant Behavior: Crime, Conflict, and Interest Groups. Fifth Edition. Allyn and Bacon, 2000.

1. Koen A. Issledovaniye problem sotsial "noy dezorganizatsii i otklonyayushchegosya po-vedeniya // Sotsiologiya segodnya. M., 1965.

2. Klyamkin I., Timofeyev L. Tenevoy obraz zhizni: sotsiologicheskiy avtoportret postsovetskogo ob-shchestva. M., 2000; Informal "naya ekonomika. Rossiya i mir / pod red. T. Shanina. M., 1999; Reysmen V. M. Skrytaya lozh": vzyatki: "krestovye pokhody" i reformy. M., 1988; Timofeyev L. Institutsional "naya korruptsiya: ocherki istorii. M., 2000.

3. Molodezhnye dvizheniya i subkul "tury Sankt-Petersburga / pod red. V. V. Kostyusheva. SPb., 1999.

4. Prigozhim I. Filosofiya nestabil "nosti // Voprosy filosofii. 1991. N 6. S. 46-52.

5. Shipunova T. V. Vvedeniye v sinteticheskuyu teoriyu prestupnosti i deviantnosti. SPb., 2003. S. 20-35.

6. Yakovlev A. M. Sotsiologiya economic prestupnosti. M., 1988.

7. McCaghy Ch., Carpon T. Deviant Behavior: Crime, Conflict, and Interest Groups. Third edition. Macmillan College Publishing Company, Inc., 1994; McCaghy Ch., Carpon T., Jamicson J. Deviant Behavior: Crime, Conflict, and Interest Groups. Fifth Edition. Allyn and Bacon, 2000.

Hello, dear readers! You can read about what deviant behavior is in my article, and in this work we will talk about such features of this phenomenon as causes, types and forms, and the specifics of their manifestations. The article presents several classifications of deviant behavior, examines all-Russian and private factors, and briefly examines adolescent and childhood deviations.

Researchers such as E. S. Tatarinova, N. A. Melnikova, T. I. Akatova, N. V. Vorobyova, O. Yu. Kraev and others studied the causes of deviant behavior. Summarizing the authors’ research, we can identify the following reasons for the formation of deviant behavior.

1. Errors in family education that destroy family education styles.
2. Negative influence of spontaneous group communication (“bad company”).
3. Abnormal personality development, crisis and difficult life situations.
4. Accentuations of character (you can read more about this in the articles “Accentuations of character in psychology: norms or pathology”, “Accentuations of character in adolescence”).
5. Psychosomatic disorders.
6. Anomalies of psychophysical development.
7. Lifestyle and risk factors (external circumstances).

Among the negative factors, two groups can be generally distinguished: public and private factors. The first includes the political, economic, social state of the country, and the general level of morality. Private factors mean personal motives, beliefs, goals. It is noted that personal factors are the basis of deviant behavior, and external factors are the guiding element, that is, they dictate the variant of deviation.

If we consider deviant behavior from the perspective of clinical psychology, we can distinguish two groups of factors: biological and social.

• The first include age-related crises, as well as congenital and acquired brain lesions.
• The second group includes the specifics of the environment, training and upbringing. Moreover, a stable connection between these factors has been noted, but it has not yet been determined exactly how they are interconnected.

All-Russian negative factors

After analyzing a number of scientific works and reports, I was able to identify several leading all-Russian factors contributing to the development of deviant behavior as a mass social phenomenon. So, the negative factors include:

• growing commerce;
• cultivating physical strength and success;
• abundance of advertising;
• availability of digital materials, alcohol, cigarettes and drugs;
• uncertainty in life guidelines;
• the ever-evolving entertainment industry;
• shortcomings in the system for preventing deviations;
• sickness of the population (increase in socially dangerous diseases);
• information progress in Russia, transition to virtual technologies.

The media play a major role in the formation and development of deviant behavior. They promote various forms of deviations and antisocial behavior, affecting mainly the unformed consciousness (children, adolescents). Accordingly, thereby forming a personality with behavior that goes beyond accepted norms.

A striking example of the impact on consciousness is the Internet, or in a narrower sense, computer games. Often the virtual world is transferred to reality, which causes maladaptation of the individual.

Another option for the negative impact of the Internet is the desire to “hype” (gain popularity). And here we find echoes of Merton’s theory (I’ll describe it below). People strive to achieve their goal (popularity) in any way. And, unfortunately, as practice shows, it is easier to do this by killing someone (or beating them) and posting the video online, having sex in a public place, and so on. In pursuit of fame and “likes,” people forget about all standards of decency.

Types and forms of deviant behavior

To date, there is no single classification of deviant behavior. There are several different interpretations for one feature or another. The choice of reference classification depends on the sphere within which deviant behavior is analyzed and its main characteristics.

Classification by N.V. Baranovsky

• The first ensures the progress of the entire society. We are talking about explorers, artists, generals, rulers. It is these people who doubt the established order of things, see the world differently and try to change it. That is, this is a productive type of deviant behavior.
• Socially negative deviant behavior is destructive in nature and ensures regression of the entire society. We are talking about criminals, addicts, terrorists.

This is the main primary classification. She explains what I talked about in the article “Theories of Deviant Behavior.” Everything is clear with productive: its type is the only possible one. While deviations in behavior with a minus sign have multiple guises. The classifications presented below interpret destructive behavior.

Classification by V. D. Mendelevich (domestic psychiatrist, narcologist, clinical psychologist)

• crime;
• alcoholism;
• addiction;
• suicidal behavior;
• vandalism;
• prostitution;
• sexual deviations.

In addition, V.D. Mendelevich notes that the type of behavior (deviant or normal) is determined by how the individual interacts with the world around him. He identifies five main styles of human interaction with society, that is, five styles of behavior, four of which are types of deviant behavior:

1. Delinquent (criminal) behavior. This behavior arises when the individual is convinced that reality must be actively fought, that is, counteracted.
2. Psychopathological and pathocharacterological type of deviant behavior. It manifests itself in a painful confrontation with reality. This is due to changes in the psyche, in which a person sees the world exclusively as hostile to him.
3. Addictive behavior. Characterized by withdrawal from reality (use of psychoactive substances, passion for computer games, etc.). With this type of interaction, a person does not want to adapt to the world, believing that it is impossible to accept its realities.
4. Ignoring reality. This is usually typical for a person engaged in some narrow professional focus. He seems to be adapted to the world, but at the same time he ignores anything other than his craft. This is the most common type of behavior, the most acceptable by society. This is normal behavior. The individual adapts to reality. It is important for him to find and realize himself in real life, among real people.

It has been experimentally proven that there is a relationship between all types of deviant behavior, as well as the dependence of deviations on the relationship of the individual with society.

There are other classifications, but I want to introduce you to them briefly. If something interests you, you can find additional material by authorship.

R. Merton's classification

The sociologist identified five types of deviations:

• subordination;
• innovation (achieving a goal by any means, even criminal);
• ritualism (observance of rules by self-infringement);
• retreatism (withdrawal from reality);
• rebellion (rebellion, revolutions, antisocial behavior).

That is, the classification is based on the relationship between the individual’s goal and the means to achieve it.

Classification by A. I. Dolgova

Divides deviations into two groups:

• deviant behavior;
• crime.

This division is often used when interpreting the behavior of children and adolescents. That is, a line is drawn between disobedience and serious offenses.

Classification by O. V. Polikashina

Identifies the following forms of deviations:

• committing offenses;
• drunkenness;
• addiction;
• substance abuse;
• use of psychotropic substances;
• early sexual promiscuity.

Generally accepted classification in clinical psychology

Clinical psychology has its own concepts and types of deviant behavior. According to the DSM IV classification, in conduct disorder (as deviant behavior is called in the medical field of psychology), four types of behavior problems can occur:

• aggression towards others;
• destruction of property;
• theft;
• other serious violations of the rules.

The International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision (ICD-10) identifies several types of behavioral disorders (hereinafter referred to as BD):

• PD limited to the family (antisocial or aggressive behavior manifested at home or towards close people);
• unsocialized RP (dissocial or aggressive behavior towards other children);
• socialized RP (dissocial or aggressive behavior in children who are well integrated into the peer group);
• oppositional defiant disorder (outbursts of anger, bickering, defiant behavior).

I will try to explain the meaning of multiple classifications and the possibilities of their application. For example, if it is established that the cause of deviations lies in pathological changes in the brain, then you need to focus on ICD-10 and DSM IV. If behavior was influenced by a social (psychological) factor rather than a biological one, then it is better to pay attention to the classification of V. D. Mendelevich.

Types and forms of deviant behavior in children and adolescents

• risky sexual behavior;
• self-destructive behavior;
• vagrancy;
• new forms of deviant behavior (involvement in totalitarian destructive sects and other public organizations that manipulate consciousness, terrorism, deviations using the Internet and computer).

According to the direction of deviation, they can be divided into:

• deviations of selfish orientation;
• aggressive deviations directed against the individual (self-destruction);
• socially passive deviations (various kinds of departure from reality).

Within the framework of self-destructive behavior, several more forms can be distinguished:

• hidden and direct suicide;
• disorders of habits and desires;
• eating disorders;
• substance use disorders;
• Personality behavioral disorders in the sexual sphere.

Thus, in adolescence and childhood, deviant behavior is more often manifested by aggression, evasion from school, running away from home, drug addiction and drunkenness, suicidal attempts, and antisocial behavior.

• The most popular deviation of adolescence is dependent behavior.
• It is not uncommon for a person who has not yet formed a desire to escape from reality, from problems and misunderstandings. Perhaps this is the easiest way.
• In addition, addictions can be formed based on the teenager’s desire for adulthood. And the simplest form of adulthood is external copying.
• Another common cause of addiction is the teenager’s desire to establish himself among his peers, gain authority and trust. After all, peers at this age are the main “judges” and “audience”.

Girls in adolescence are more likely to develop sexual deviations. Active puberty is directly related to the development of secondary sexual characteristics, which can lead to ridicule from peers or unwanted sexual advances. In addition, girls often begin relationships with older young men, which promotes sexual activity and various risky and antisocial behaviors.

It is worth noting that deviant behavior of adolescents is not always negative. Sometimes teenagers want to find something new, to overcome stagnation and conservatism. On this basis arise:

• music bands;
• theater companies;
• athletes;
• young artists.

You can read more about the characteristics of deviant behavior in children and adolescents in my work.

Results

Thus, behavior deviating from generally accepted norms (deviant) can arise against the background of biological, social and socio-psychological problems. Deviation factors are internal and external in nature. As a rule, several factors have an influence at once, which makes it difficult to classify and plan for correcting deviant behavior.

Deviations differ in scale (within a family or country), the strength of the impact on the individual, the specificity of the impact (destroy or develop) and the area of ​​personality deformation.

There is no single correction scheme; the plan is selected according to the individual characteristics of the individual, existing negative factors and the root causes of deviations. You can read more about diagnostic methods in my work

Video: life as a doll: self-expression, deviation, escape from reality or business?

Thank you for your time! I hope the material is useful to you!

Different people behave differently in the same situations, depending on their personal characteristics. Man is social in essence - he functions in society and is guided by social motives. Therefore, it is important to understand that any deviant behavior, for example, the deviant behavior of adolescents, in each individual case is caused by different stimuli (family upbringing, mental disorders, pedagogical neglect).

Abnormal behavior

Human behavioral reactions are always the result of the interaction of different systems: a specific situation, the social environment and one’s own personality. The easiest way to reflect the compliance of a person’s behavioral reactions with general standards is such a characteristic as “abnormal and normal behavior.” “Normal” behavior is considered to be behavior that fully corresponds to the expectations of society, without obvious signs of mental illness.

“Abnormal” is behavior that deviates from social norms or has clear signs of mental illness. Abnormal behavioral reactions have many forms: behavior can be pathological, delinquent, non-standard, retreatant, creative, marginal, deviant, deviant.

Methods for determining the norm are called criteria. Negative criteria consider the norm as the complete absence of symptoms of pathology, and positive ones - as the presence of “healthy” signs. Therefore, deviant behavior as a separate concept has its own characteristics.

Social psychology believes that antisocial behavior is a way of behaving without paying attention to the norms of society. This formulation connects deviations with the process of adaptation to society. Thus, deviant behavior of adolescents usually comes down to one of the forms of unsuccessful or incomplete adaptation.

Sociology uses a different definition. A symptom is considered normal if its prevalence is more than 50 percent. “Normal behavioral reactions” are the average reactions characteristic of most people. Deviant behavior is a deviation from the “average”, manifesting itself only in a certain number of children, adolescents, young people, or people of mature age.

The medical classification does not classify deviant behavior either as a medical concept or as a form of pathology. Its structure consists of: reactions to situations, character accentuations, mental illness, developmental disorders. However, not every mental disorder (all kinds of psychopathy, psychosis, neuroses) is accompanied by deviant symptoms.

Pedagogy and psychology have defined deviant behavior as a method of action that causes harm to an individual, complicating its self-realization and development. This way of reacting in children has its own age restrictions, and the term itself is applied only to children over 7-9 years old. A preschool child cannot yet understand or control his actions and reactions.

Various theories agree on one thing: the essence of deviance lies in a confident way of acting that deviates from the standards of society, causes damage, is marked by social maladaptation, and also brings some benefit.

Typology

The typology of deviant behavior is constructed in such a way that, along with deviant behavior, you can safely use other terms: delinquent, asocial, antisocial, maladaptive, addictive, inadequate, destructive, non-standard, accentuated, psychopathic, self-destructive, socially maladaptive, as well as behavioral pathology.

Types of deviations are divided into 2 large categories:

1. Deviation of behavioral reactions from mental standards and norms: obvious or hidden psychopathologies (including asthenics, epileptoids, schizoids, accentuants).
2. Actions that violate social, legal, cultural standards: they are expressed in the form of misdemeanors or crimes. In such cases, they speak of a delinquent or criminal (criminal) method of action.

In addition to these two types, there are other types of deviant behavior:

Classification

There is currently no single classification of deviant behavior. The leading typologies of behavioral deviations include legal, medical, sociological, pedagogical, and psychological classification.

Sociological considers any deviations as separate phenomena. In relation to society, there are such deviations: individual or mass, positive and negative, deviations among individuals, official groups and structures, as well as various conditional groups. The sociological classification identifies such types of deviations as hooliganism, alcoholism, drug addiction, suicide, immoral behavior, crime, vagrancy, corruption of minors, prostitution.

Legal: everything that contradicts current legal norms or is prohibited under penalty of punishment. The main criterion is the level of public danger. Deviations are divided into torts, crimes, and disciplinary offenses.

Pedagogical. The concept of “behavioral deviations” in pedagogy is often equated with the concept of “maladjustment,” and such a child is called a “difficult student.” Deviant behavior in schoolchildren has the character of social or school maladjustment. Deviations of school maladjustment: hyperactivity, violations of discipline, smoking, aggression, theft, hooliganism, lying. Signs of social maladaptation at this age: abuse of various psychoactive substances, other addictions (for example, computer addiction), prostitution, various sexual pathological deviations, incurable vagrancy, various crimes.

Clinical is based on age and pathological criteria that have already reached the level of the disease. Criteria for adults: mental disorders from the use of various psychoactive substances, syndromes of mental disorders associated with physiological factors, disorders of desires, habits, sexual preferences.

When comparing all these classifications, the conclusion arises that they all complement each other perfectly. One type of behavioral reaction can have various forms: a bad habit - deviant behavior - a disorder or disease.

Signs of deviation

The main signs of various behavioral deviations are: constant violation of social norms, negative evaluation with stigmatization.

The first sign is deviation from social standards. Such deviations include any actions that do not comply with the current rules, laws and guidelines of society. However, you need to be aware that social norms can change over time. As an example, we can mention the constantly changing attitude towards homosexuals in society.

The second sign is mandatory censure from the public. A person exhibiting such behavioral deviation always causes negative evaluations from other people, as well as severe stigmatization. Such well-known social labels as “drunk”, “bandit”, “prostitute” have long become abusive in society. Many people are well aware of the problems of resocialization of criminals who have just been released.

However, for quick diagnosis and correct correction of any behavioral deviations, these two characteristics are not enough. There are several other special signs of deviant behavior:

• Destructiveness. It is expressed in the ability to cause significant damage to the individual or to surrounding people. Deviant behavior is always very destructive - depending on its form - destructive or self-destructive;
• Regularly repeated actions (multiple). For example, the conscious, regular theft of money by a child from the parents’ pocket is a form of deviation - delinquent behavior. But a single attempt at suicide is not considered a deviation. Deviation is always formed gradually, over a certain time, gradually moving from not very destructive actions to more and more destructive ones;
• Medical norm. Deviations are always considered within the clinical norm. In the case of a mental disorder, we are not talking about deviant, but about pathological behavioral reactions of a person. However, sometimes deviant behavior turns into pathology (domestic drunkenness usually develops into alcoholism);
• Social maladjustment. Any human behavior that deviates from the norm always causes or intensifies a state of maladjustment in society. And also vice versa;
• Pronounced age and gender diversity. One type of deviation manifests itself differently in people of different genders and ages.

Negative and positive deviations

Social deviations can be positive or negative.

Positive ones help social progress and personal development. Examples: social activity to improve society, giftedness.

Negative ones disrupt the development or existence of society. Examples: deviant behavior of adolescents, suicide, vagrancy.

Deviant behavior can be expressed in a wide range of social phenomena, and the criterion of its positivity or negativity is subjective. The same deviation can be assessed positively or negatively.

Causes

Numerous concepts of deviance are known: from biogenetic to cultural-historical theories. One of the main reasons for social deviations is the discrepancy between the norms of society and the requirements put forward by life, the second is the discrepancy between life itself and the interests of a particular individual. In addition, deviant behavior can be caused by: heredity, upbringing errors, family problems, deformation of character, personality, needs; mental illness, deviations of mental and physiological development, negative influence of mass information, inconsistency of action correction with individual needs.

Deviance and delinquency

The concept of deviance is acquiring new nuances, depending on whether this phenomenon is considered by pedagogy, psychiatry or medical psychology. Pathological variants of deviant actions include various forms of deviance: suicides, crimes, various forms of drug addiction, all kinds of sexual deviations, incl. prostitution, inappropriate behavior in mental disorders.

Sometimes antisocial action is defined as “violation of accepted social norms,” “achieving goals through all sorts of illegal means,” “any deviation from the standards accepted in society.” Often the concept of “deviant behavior” includes the manifestation of any violations of social regulation of behavior, as well as defective self-regulation of the psyche. Therefore, people often equate deviant behavior with delinquent behavior.

Deviant (abnormal) is a whole system of actions, or individual actions, that in no way correspond to the moral or legal norms of society.

Delinquent (from the English “guilt”) is a psychological tendency to commit crimes. This is criminal behavior.

No matter how different the types of deviant behavior may be, they are always interconnected. The commission of many crimes is often preceded by some immoral actions. A person's involvement in any type of deviation increases the overall likelihood of delinquent acts. The difference between delinquent behavior and deviant behavior is that it is less associated with a violation of mental norms. Of course, delinquents are much more dangerous to society than deviants.

Prevention and therapy

Since behavioral deviations belong to the group of the most persistent phenomena, the prevention of deviant behavior is always relevant. This is a whole system of all kinds of events.

There are several types of deviance prevention:

The primary goal is to eliminate negative factors and increase a person’s resistance to the influence of such factors. Initial prevention focuses on children and adolescents.

Secondary - identification and subsequent correction of negative conditions and factors causing deviant behavior. This is a special work with different groups of adolescents and children living in socially difficult conditions.

Late - aimed at solving highly specialized problems, preventing relapses, as well as the harmful consequences of already formed deviant behavior. This is an effective and active influence on a close circle of people with persistent behavioral deviations.

Prevention plan:

1. Work in hospitals and clinics;
2. Prevention in universities and schools;
3. Working with disadvantaged families;
4. Organization of public youth groups;
5. Prevention through all kinds of media;
6. Working with street children on the street;
7. Training of qualified prevention specialists.

Psychoprophylactic work is effective at the initial stages of the emergence of deviations. Most of all, it should be aimed at adolescents and young people, since these are periods of intense socialization.

deviance) The study of D. is based on two different perspectives. The first considers D. as an unusual, but at the same time stable deviation from statistical norms. Dr. In other words, a stable pattern of action, behavior or thinking that is not typical of the general population is considered deviant. This definition played a significant role in psychology. study D. According to other distributions. position, D. is determined through single critical events. Cases of unusual and extremely active behavior, characterized by madness and violence, serve as an example. this t.zr. The view of D. as a critical event is the basis of legal definitions. D. constituted the main content of the plural. important aspects of personality theory, clinical and social. psychology. Research D. can be classified according to four main principles. positions. The first assumes a view of D. as a function of internal factors. D. is considered in terms of differences between individuals. From view Individual differences suggest that individuals or groups of people who possess a certain level of specificity are more likely to become deviants. It is also assumed that individual differences and deviance are related by cause-and-effect relationships. The second important explanation of D. postulates as its basis. prerequisites for differences in social structure. Officially classified forms of D. are characterized by a disproportionately high representation among the population occupying a lower socio-economic position in our society. From view differences in social structure, in access to legal opportunities, in access to illegal opportunities, alienation or hostility are those critical ingredients that often become the cause of Disability. According to this position, Discretion has individual components that are the result of exposure to various social networks. structures, and environmental aspects. The third important explanation of D. is based on the interactionist point of view. According to the formal name “labeling theory,” D. is generated by the reaction of critically minded individuals to a certain act. Psychol. disorders, crime, and underachievement are formally and informally labeled as deviant. From the standpoint of the “labeling theory,” D. represents the interaction between the actions of an individual and society’s reactions to them. The fourth important point is expressed by learning theory. According to it, all actions, deviant or normal, are acquired in accordance with the laws of modeling, reinforcement and punishment. Those people who exhibit deviant patterns of behavior previously received corresponding punishments for such actions. reward. From view learning theory, there are no innate differences between deviant and normal behavior. Criminal behavior, deviant behavior and learning disabilities are acquired through the learning process. See also Alienation (Political), Labeling Theory, Personality Types W. S. Davidson, II

- this, on the one hand, is an act, the actions of a person, that do not correspond to officially established or actually developed norms or standards in a given society, and on the other hand, a social phenomenon expressed in mass forms of human activity that do not correspond to those officially established or actually developed in a given society norms or standards. Social control is a mechanism of social regulation, a set of means and methods of social influence, as well as social practice of their use.

Concept of deviant behavior

Under deviant(from Latin deviatio - deviation) behavior in modern sociology it is meant, on the one hand, an act, human actions that do not correspond to officially established or actually established norms or standards in a given society, and on the other hand, a social phenomenon expressed in mass forms of human activity that do not correspond to officially established or actually established norms or standards in a given society.

The starting point for understanding deviant behavior is the concept of a social norm, which is understood as a limit, a measure of what is permissible (permissible or obligatory) in the behavior or activities of people, ensuring the preservation of the social system. Deviations from social norms can be:

• positive, aimed at overcoming outdated norms or standards and associated with social creativity, contributing to qualitative changes in the social system;
• negative - dysfunctional, disorganizing the social system and leading to its destruction, leading to deviant behavior.

Deviant behavior is a kind of social choice: when the goals of social behavior are incommensurate with the real possibilities of achieving them, individuals can use other means to achieve their goals. For example, some individuals, in pursuit of illusory success, wealth or power, choose socially prohibited and sometimes illegal means and become either delinquents or criminals. Another type of deviation from norms is open disobedience and protest, demonstrative rejection of the values ​​and standards accepted in society, characteristic of revolutionaries, terrorists, religious extremists and other similar groups of people actively fighting against the society within which they are located.

In all these cases, deviation is the result of the inability or unwillingness of individuals to adapt to society and its requirements, in other words, it indicates a complete or relative failure of socialization.

Forms of deviant behavior

Deviant behavior is relative because it is measured only by the cultural norms of a given group. For example, criminals consider extortion to be a normal way of earning money, but the majority of the population considers such behavior deviant. This also applies to certain types of social behavior: in some societies they are considered deviant, in others not. In general, forms of deviant behavior usually include criminality, alcoholism, drug addiction, prostitution, gambling, mental disorder, and suicide.

One of the typologies of deviant behavior recognized in modern sociology, developed by R. Merton in line with the idea of ​​deviance as a result of anomie, i.e. the process of destruction of the basic elements of culture, primarily in terms of ethical standards.

Typology of deviant behavior Merton is based on the idea of ​​deviance as a gap between cultural goals and socially approved ways of achieving them. In accordance with this, he identifies four possible types of deviation:

• innovation, which presupposes agreement with the goals of society and the rejection of generally accepted methods of achieving them (“innovators” include prostitutes, blackmailers, creators of “financial pyramids”, great scientists);
• ritualism associated with the denial of the goals of a given society and an absurd exaggeration of the importance of ways to achieve them, for example, a bureaucrat demands that each document be carefully filled out, double-checked, filed in four copies, but the main thing is forgotten - the goal;
• retreatism(or escape from reality), expressed in the rejection of both socially approved goals and methods of achieving them (drunks, drug addicts, homeless people, etc.);
• riot, denying both goals and methods, but striving to replace them with new ones (revolutionaries striving for a radical breakdown of all social relations).

Merton considers the only type of non-deviant behavior to be conformal, expressed in agreement with the goals and means of achieving them. Merton's typology focuses on the fact that deviation is not a product of an absolutely negative attitude towards generally accepted norms and standards. For example, a thief does not reject a socially approved goal - material well-being; he can strive for it with the same zeal as a young man concerned about his career. The bureaucrat does not abandon the generally accepted rules of work, but he follows them too literally, reaching the point of absurdity. At the same time, both the thief and the bureaucrat are deviants.

Some reasons for deviant behavior are not social in nature, but biopsychic. For example, a tendency towards alcoholism, drug addiction, and mental disorders can be transmitted from parents to children. In the sociology of deviant behavior, there are several directions that explain the reasons for its occurrence. Thus, Merton, using the concept of “anomie” (a state of society in which old norms and values ​​no longer correspond to real relations, and new ones have not yet been established), considered the cause of deviant behavior to be the inconsistency of the goals put forward by society and the means that it offers for their achievements. Within the framework of the direction based on conflict theory, it is argued that social patterns of behavior are deviant if they are based on the norms of another culture. For example, a criminal is considered as a bearer of a certain subculture that is in conflict with the dominant type of culture in a given society. A number of modern domestic sociologists believe that the sources of deviation are social inequality in society, differences in the ability to satisfy the needs of different social groups.

There are relationships between various forms of deviant behavior, with one negative phenomenon strengthening the other. For example, alcoholism contributes to increased hooliganism.

Marginalization is one of the causes of deviations. The main sign of marginalization is the breakdown of social ties, and in the “classical” version, economic and social ties are broken first, and then spiritual ones. A characteristic feature of the social behavior of marginalized people is a decrease in the level of social expectations and social needs. The consequence of marginalization is the primitivization of certain segments of society, manifested in production, everyday life, and spiritual life.

Another group of causes of deviant behavior is associated with the spread of various types of social pathologies, in particular, the increase in mental illness, alcoholism, drug addiction, and the deterioration of the genetic fund of the population.

Vagrancy and begging, representing a special way of life (refusal to participate in socially useful work, focusing only on unearned income), have recently become widespread among various types of social deviations. The social danger of social deviations of this kind is that tramps and beggars often act as intermediaries in the distribution of drugs, commit thefts and other crimes.

Deviant behavior in modern society has some characteristics. This behavior is increasingly becoming risky and rational. The main difference between deviants who consciously take risks and adventurers is their reliance on professionalism, faith not in fate and chance, but in knowledge and conscious choice. Deviant risk behavior contributes to self-actualization, self-realization and self-affirmation of the individual.

Often deviant behavior is associated with addiction, i.e. with the desire to avoid internal socio-psychological discomfort, to change one’s socio-psychological state, characterized by internal struggle, intrapersonal conflict. Therefore, the deviant path is chosen primarily by those who do not have a legal opportunity for self-realization in the conditions of the existing social hierarchy, whose individuality is suppressed and personal aspirations are blocked. Such people cannot make a career or change their social status using legitimate channels of social mobility, due to which they consider generally accepted norms of order unnatural and unfair.

If one or another type of deviation acquires a stable character and becomes the norm of behavior for many, society is obliged to reconsider the principles that stimulate deviant behavior, or to reassess social norms. Otherwise, behavior that was considered deviant may become normal. To prevent destructive deviation from becoming widespread, it is necessary:

• increase access to legitimate ways to achieve success and move up the social ladder;
• observe social equality before the law;
• improve legislation, bringing it into line with new social realities;
• strive for adequacy of crime and punishment.

Deviant and delinquent behavior

In social life, as in real traffic, people often deviate from the rules they are supposed to follow.

Behavior that does not conform to requirements is called deviant(or deviant).

Illegal actions, misdeeds and offenses are usually called delinquent behavior. For example, hooliganism, obscene language in a public place, participation in a fight and other actions that violate legal norms, but are not yet a serious criminal offense, can be considered delinquent. Delinquent behavior is a type of deviant behavior.

Positive and negative deviations

Deviations (deviations), as a rule, are negative. For example, crime, alcoholism, drug addiction, suicide, prostitution, terrorism, etc. However, in some cases it is possible positive deviations, for example, sharply individualized behavior, characteristic of original creative thinking, which can be assessed by society as “eccentricity”, a deviation from the norm, but at the same time be socially useful. Asceticism, holiness, genius, innovation are signs of positive deviations.

Negative deviations are divided into two types:

• deviations that are aimed at causing harm to others (a variety of aggressive, illegal, criminal actions);
• deviations that cause harm to the individual (alcoholism, suicide, drug addiction, etc.).

Reasons for deviant behavior

Previously, attempts were made to explain the causes of deviant behavior based on the biological characteristics of norm violators - specific physical features, genetic deviations; based on psychological characteristics - mental retardation, various mental problems. At the same time, the psychological mechanism for the formation of most deviations was declared to be addictive behavior ( addiction- addiction), when a person seeks to escape from the difficulties of real life, using alcohol, drugs, and gambling. The result of addiction is the destruction of personality.

Biological and psychological interpretations of the causes of deviation have not found unambiguous confirmation in science. More reliable conclusions sociological theories that consider the origin of deviation in a broad social context.

According to the concept disorientation, proposed by the French sociologist Emile Durkheim (1858-1917), the breeding ground for deviation is social crises, when there is a mismatch between accepted norms and a person’s life experience and a state of anomie—the absence of norms—occurs.

American sociologist Robert Merton (1910-2003) believed that the cause of deviation is not the absence of norms, but the inability to follow them. Anomie - it is the gap between culturally prescribed goals and the availability of socially approved means to achieve them.

In modern culture, success and wealth are considered the leading goals. But society does not provide all people with legitimate means to achieve these goals. Therefore, a person has to either choose illegal means, or abandon the goal, replacing it with illusions of well-being (drugs, alcohol, etc.). Another option for deviant behavior in such a situation is rebellion against established goals and means.

According to the theory stigmatization(or labeling) all people are prone to violating norms, but those who are labeled as deviants become deviants. For example, a former criminal may renounce his criminal past, but others will perceive him as a criminal, avoid communicating with him, refuse to hire him, etc. As a result, he has only one option left - to return to the criminal path.

Note that in the modern world, deviant behavior is most characteristic of both the unstable and the most vulnerable. In our country, youth alcoholism, drug addiction, and crime are of particular concern. Comprehensive measures are required to combat these and other deviations.

Reasons for explaining deviant behavior

Deviance arises already in the process of primary socialization of a person. It is associated with the formation of motivation, social roles and statuses of a person in the past and present, which contradict each other. For example, the role of a schoolchild does not coincide with the role of a child. The motivational structure of a person is ambivalent in nature; it contains both positive (conformal) and negative (deviant) motives for action.

Social roles constantly change during a person’s life, strengthening either conformist or deviant motivations. The reason for this is the development of society, its values ​​and norms. What was deviant becomes normal (conformal), and vice versa. For example, socialism, revolution, Bolsheviks, etc. motives and norms were deviant for Tsarist Russia, and their bearers were punished with exile and prison. After the Bolshevik victory, the previous deviant norms were recognized as normal. The collapse of Soviet society turned its norms and values ​​back into deviant ones, which became the reason for new deviant behavior of people in post-Soviet Russia.

Several versions are offered to explain deviant behavior. At the end of the 19th century, the theory of the Italian physician Lambroso arose about genetic prerequisites for deviant behavior. The “criminal type,” in his opinion, is the result of the degradation of people in the early stages of development. External signs of a deviant person: protruding lower jaw, decreased sensitivity to pain, etc. Nowadays, the biological causes of deviant behavior include abnormalities of sex chromosomes or additional chromosomes.

Psychological The causes of deviation are called “dementia,” “degeneracy,” “psychopathy,” etc. For example, Freud discovered a type of person with an innate mental attraction to destruction. Sexual deviation is supposedly associated with a deep-seated fear of castration, etc.

Infestation The “bad” norms of spiritual culture of representatives of the middle and upper strata from the lower strata are also considered the cause of deviant behavior. “Infection” occurs during communication “on the street”, as a result of casual acquaintances. Some sociologists (Miller, Sellin) believe that lower social strata have an increased willingness to take risks, thrills, etc.

Simultaneously influential groups They treat people of the lower class as deviants, extending to them isolated cases of their deviant behavior. For example, in modern Russia, “persons of Caucasian nationality” are considered potential traders, thieves, and criminals. Here we can also mention the influence of television, the annoying demonstration of scenes of deviant behavior.

The vagueness of normative formulas of motivation, which guide people in difficult situations, is also the cause of deviant behavior. For example, the formulas “do the best you can”, “put the interests of society above your own”, etc. do not allow you to sufficiently adequately motivate your actions in a specific situation. An active conformist will strive for ambitious motives and action projects, a passive one will reduce his efforts to the limits of his own peace of mind, and a person with conformist-deviant motivation will always find a loophole to justify his deviant behavior.

Social inequality - another important reason for deviant behavior. People's fundamental needs are quite similar, but different social strata (rich and poor) have different opportunities to satisfy them. In such conditions, the poor receive a “moral right” to engage in deviant behavior towards the rich, expressed in various forms of expropriation of property. This theory, in particular, formed the ideological foundation of the revolutionary deviation of the Bolsheviks against the propertied classes: “rob the loot,” arrests of the propertied, forced labor, executions, the Gulag. In this deviation, there is a discrepancy between unjust goals (full social equality) and unjust means (total violence).

Conflict between cultural norms of a given social group and society is also the cause of deviant behavior. The subculture of a student or army group, a lower class, or a gang differ significantly from each other in their interests, goals, values, on the one hand, and the possible means of their implementation, on the other hand. If they collide in a given place and at a given time - for example, on vacation - deviant behavior arises in relation to the cultural norms accepted in society.

Class essence of the state, supposedly expressing the interests of the economically dominant class, is an important reason for the deviant behavior of both the state in relation to the oppressed classes and the latter in relation to it. From the point of view of this conflict theory, the laws issued in the state protect primarily not the workers, but the bourgeoisie. The communists justified their negative attitude towards the bourgeois state by its oppressive nature.

Anomie - the cause of deviation proposed by E. Durkheim when analyzing the causes of suicide. It represents the devaluation of a person’s cultural norms, his worldview, mentality, and conscience as a result of the revolutionary development of society. People, on the one hand, lose their orientation, and on the other hand, following previous cultural norms does not lead to the fulfillment of their needs. This happened with Soviet norms after the collapse of Soviet society. Overnight, millions of Soviet people became Russians, living in the “jungle of wild capitalism,” where “man is a wolf to man,” where competition operates, explained by social Darwinism. In such conditions, some (conformists) adapt, others become deviants, even criminals and suicides.

An important cause of deviant behavior is social (including warriors), man-made and natural disasters. They violate the psyche of people, increase social inequality, cause disorganization of law enforcement agencies, which becomes the objective reason for the deviant behavior of many people. For example, we can recall the consequences of our protracted armed conflict in Chechnya, Chernobyl, and the earthquake.