Jennifer Nieto-Robinson
Professor McBroom
Sociology of Deviance Midterm 326

1) What do sociologists mean when they describe deviance as being relative? Provide an example of a deviant behavior and identify how it is relative.
Deviance is behavior that a considerable number of people in a society view as reprehensible and beyond the limits of tolerance. In most cases it is both negatively valued and provokes hostile reactions. Deviance does not exist independently of norms. Without norms, and without the application of norms in interpreting behavior, there is no deviance. Society bases their views on what is considered appropriate by the majority of people within that society or culture. So in rural Utah seeing two men hold hands
The psychoanalytic theory of deviance defined by Freud is based on his belief that we are comprised of three parts; The Id, the ego, and the super ego. Each of the different aspects of the human psyche helps formulate our personalities as well as our internal motivation. The Id is comprised of all the irrational drives, instincts and desires that bubble under the surface. It is the epitome of our rawest form. The id is based in desires, wants, and pleasure seeking. This part of our personality is the most deviant because it is pure lust. Lust for power, for status, for physical pleasure and more. What Freud is saying with the Id is that all of us have a propensity for deviance, but socialization helps us control those impulses and push the id into the unconscious. Because we are able to control that we are able to function appropriately in society. For other people socialization did not happen at the proper time and they are not under the control of either the ego or the super ego. This is when the Id regains control and self-control goes by the wayside. But my belief is more of a behaviorist approach. As a behavior intervention specialist it is my job to identify deviant behavior and assist in modifying the behavior to suit the classroom. The behaviorist approach based on Bandura’s work is that “people will adjust and modify their behavior based on the rewards and punishments their actions elicit.”(Bandura, 1969) “If we do something that leads to a