{"id":10695,"date":"2021-07-02T21:35:23","date_gmt":"2021-07-02T21:35:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/?p=10695"},"modified":"2024-06-17T22:00:25","modified_gmt":"2024-06-17T22:00:25","slug":"cultural-deviance-theory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/cultural-deviance-theory\/","title":{"rendered":"Cultural Deviance Theory &#8211; Definition, Examples, Pros &#038; Cons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"724\" src=\"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/cultural-deviance-theory-examples-definition-1024x724.jpg\" alt=\"cultural deviance theory examples definition\" class=\"wp-image-17800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/cultural-deviance-theory-examples-definition-1024x724.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/cultural-deviance-theory-examples-definition-300x212.jpg 300w, https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/cultural-deviance-theory-examples-definition-768x543.jpg 768w, https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/cultural-deviance-theory-examples-definition.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n<p><strong>Cultural Deviance Theory states that crime is correlated strongly to the cultural values and norms prevalent in a society.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In other words, individuals may turn to crime not on account of any innate character traits, but because they are influenced by:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The <strong>place<\/strong> they live in,<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>people<\/strong> they are surrounded by, and<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>socio-economic conditions<\/strong> of their micro-environment<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Those three elements come together to form a unique subculture influencing the individual and their chances to turn to crime.<\/p>\n<p>Usually, the theory is used to critique immigrant and working-class cultures, making it a highly controversial theory in the 21st Century!<\/p>\n\n<h2>Origins of Cultural Deviance Theory<\/h2>\n<p>The theory was born out of the work of University of Chicago sociologists Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay in the 1930s. Shaw and McKay were part of a larger theoretical project to understand <a href=\"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/deviance-examples-sociology\/\">social deviance<\/a> and crime in the rapidly burgeoning immigrant neighborhoods of Chicago during this period.<\/p>\n<p>The theory Shaw and McKay proposed came to be called the <a href=\"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/social-disorganization-theory\/\"><strong>Social Disorganization Theory<\/strong><\/a> as it attributed delinquency to a disorganization or rupture of traditional societal norms by forces such as immigration and poverty.<\/p>\n<p>The criminologist Walter B. Miller (1958) made significant additions to the work of Shaw, McKay and others. He added his own thesis that certain cultural values in lower-class societies (which were absent among the middle-classes) played a major role in contributing to social deviance or delinquent behavior.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Miller\u2019s thesis came to be known as the cultural deviance theory.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Here are some scholarly definitions of the cultural deviance theory that have been paraphrased and can be used as such:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Shaw and McKay (1969) proposed that the transmission of cultural norms that result in criminal or delinquent behavior is a cause of delinquent or criminal behavior.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Miller (1958) suggested that delinquent behavior arose as a result of \u201cfocal concerns\u201d or a set of issues that the subjects feel highly emotionally involved with, of \u201clower class culture\u201d.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/cultural-capital-in-education-examples\/\">Related Theory: The Theory of Cultural Capital<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Six Focal Concerns of Cultural Deviance Theory<\/h2>\n<p>Miller (1958) further identified six cornerstones of lower-class subculture that he called \u201cfocal concerns\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>According to Miller, a fixation of lower-class youths with these \u201cfocal concerns\u201d led to increased delinquency. These six focal concerns were:<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. Trouble<\/strong> \u2013 According to Miller, \u201cgetting in trouble\u201d and \u201cstaying out of trouble\u201d were major concerns of lower-class youth (with trouble here defined as encounters with the law). This pointed towards a key feature of lower-class subculture in which respect for the law came not out of a sense of morality but from a fear of punishment.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. Toughness<\/strong> \u2013 In lower class cultures, toughness, defined by a disregard for consequences, a contempt for literary, artistic, and scholarly pursuits including education, a pride in displays of unsentimentality, and an objectification of women, becomes a highly valued and desired attribute. Juveniles aspire to be \u201ctough\u201d in the sense described above to gain respect among their peers.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. Smartness<\/strong> \u2013 Smartness, defined as being manipulative and possessing cunning, was said to be another prized attribute among juveniles in a lower-class culture. A \u201csmart guy\u201d is one who gets others to do his bidding without the direct use of violence. Think of the various depictions of \u201csmart guys\u201d, \u201cwise guys\u201d, and \u201csmooth operators\u201d in gangster movies who are always flirting with the law.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4. Excitement<\/strong> \u2013 Juveniles in lower-class cultures seem to be chasing the next thrill to overcome the monotony of lower-class culture. This often leads them to activities such joining gangs or doing drugs.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5. Fate<\/strong> \u2013 Feeling disempowered, members of the lower-classes may place a greater reliance on fate or luck than those of the middle classes. This may lead to an attitude of recklessness, as actions and their consequences may come to be seen as preordained, and thus beyond the pale of morality. In other words, if what is to be, shall be, then why worry about consequences? For the proponents of the cultural deviance theory, such an attitude can act as an enabler for delinquency.<\/p>\n<p><strong>6. <a href=\"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/autonomy-examples\/\">Autonomy<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 According to Miller, lower classes may display a contempt towards authority, seeing institutions of the state as exerting undue control over their lives. They may seek to resist such control and assert their autonomy. Delinquency or crime can result as a direct result of this attempt to assert their autonomy against the system, manifesting itself through acts of vandalism or petty crime.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column withborder is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><strong>Good to Know Information<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>The cultural deviance theory is often viewed as a part of a larger theory called the <a href=\"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/social-disorganization-theory\/\">social disorganization theory.<\/a><\/strong> Social disorganization theory links crime and delinquency to cultural norms of particular locations or residential areas such as those of low-income groups or those with a heavy concentration of poor immigrants.<\/p>\n<p>However, a key difference between the two is that the cultural deviance theory fleshes out in much greater detail the processes that lead to the formation of a unique delinquent subculture and how this may in turn influence youth towards delinquency.<\/p>\n<p>The social disorganization theory on the other hand stresses on ruptures within systems or breakdown of traditional societal bonds as the reason for delinquency.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Another theory viewed within the same grouping is Sutherland\u2019s (1947) <a href=\"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/differential-association-theory\/\">differential association theory<\/a>. All such theories are further classified together under the broad label of Ecological or Socio-ecological theories that give primacy to the role of the social environment upon <a href=\"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/human-behavior-examples\/\">human behavioral patterns<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2>List of Real-Life Examples\u00a0<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><strong>1.<\/strong> <strong>Ethnic Gangs<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Much of the fieldwork that resulted in the formulation of the cultural divergence theory occurred among immigrant street corner gangs in Chicago and Boston in the first half of the twentieth century. Many tenets of the cultural deviance theory are applicable to gangs even in the twenty-first century.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.primetimecrime.com\/Recent\/Organized%20Crime\/VS20051001Indo.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Indo-Canadian gangs<\/a> in the Vancouver region of Canada composed of Punjabi Sikh migrants from India draw on cultural values of honour, violence, and revenge coupled with poverty to lure many young boys into joining these gangs. Frederick Thrasher, an early contributor to the cultural deviance theory wrote that \u201can immigrant colony&#8230;is itself an isolated social world&#8230;the gang boy moves only in his own universe and other regions are clothed in nebulous mystery&#8230;he knows little of the outside world.&#8221; (Thrasher 1927)<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><strong>2. The Chicago Area Project<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">In 1934, Clifford Shaw, one of the early proponents of the cultural deviance theory, set up the Chicago Area Project in the Russell Square Park neighborhood of South Chicago. This neighborhood was then inhabited by newly arrived immigrants from rural Poland who worked in steel factories and clung tenaciously to their traditional way of life while struggling to cope up with life in an industrialized society.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The Russell Square Park neighborhood had a very high rate of <a href=\"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/juvenile-delinquency\/\">petty crime such as theft and vandalism committed by juveniles<\/a> who had organized themselves into a number of gangs.<\/p>\n<p>Conventional \u201ctop-down\u201d approaches to control delinquency such as punitive policing did not seem to work. So Shaw suggested a \u201cbottom-up\u201d approach based on his theory that the cause of the delinquency was cultural norms that were being adopted and transmitted by the gangs in an environment of deprivation, poverty, and isolation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Shaw suggested a three-pronged approach to tackle the problems of crime, theft, and vandalism. This included: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Advocacy,<\/li>\n<li>Organizing the community, and<\/li>\n<li>Providing services to the neighborhood through volunteers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>With these three approaches, Shaw attempted to alter the culture of the gangs and change the perception of gang members about which cultural values were to sought and pursued. The idea was to promote productive values (e.g. getting a job, being a law-abiding citizen), and make others undesirable (e.g. committing acts of vandalism).<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><strong>3. Honor Killings<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Honor killings among <\/span><a style=\"font-size: 1rem;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gc.ca\/eng\/rp-pr\/cj-jp\/fv-vf\/hk-ch\/p2.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">immigrants from South Asia <\/a><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">and West Asia are a form of violence in which a female, usually a sister or a daughter, is murdered by men of her own family for the perceived act of bringing dishonor to her family. It usually occurs when she is accused of associating with a man outside of her community. Such killings in the West have been documented mostly among newly arrived immigrants working <a href=\"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/blue-collar-jobs-examples\/\">blue collar jobs<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The motivation for such crimes is cultural notions of honor, masculinity, and ethnic\/tribal pride coupled with a lack of access to education. Additionally, perpetrators of such acts see their own cultural code as being above the law of the land.<\/p>\n<p>Further, as in Walter Miller\u2019s classic formulation of the cultural deviance theory, notions of toughness in some cultures result in an objectification of women, and in turn, violence against them.<\/p>\n<p>Miller (1958) argued that these supposed <a href=\"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/cultural-traits-examples\/\">cultural traits<\/a> of the working classes represented the formulation of a unique working-class subculture. This was due primarily to an absence of strong male figures during childhood, and was the cause of high rates of delinquency among lower class youth.<\/p>\n<h2>Advantages of Cultural Deviance Theory<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><strong>1. It&#8217;s Comprehensive<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The cultural deviance theory combines elements of the social disorganization theory of Shaw and McKay and the <a href=\"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/strain-theory-examples-criticisms\/\">strain theory<\/a> of Robert Merton (1938) to present one of the most comprehensive analyses of delinquency.<\/p>\n<p>While the social disorganization theory focused only on the breakdown of institutions, the strain theory posited a strain or conflict between an individual\u2019s desires and their means as the reasons for crime. While the first misses one crucial step in explaining how disorganization leads to crime, the second focuses too much on individual reasons. The cultural deviance theory combines both.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><strong>2. It&#8217;s Portable<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Although designed initially to examine delinquency in American cities, the cultural deviance theory, with a few tweaks, can be applied to many other cultural settings. The \u201cfocal concerns\u201d identified by Miller were specific to the setting of his research but can be adapted to other cultures.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><strong>3. It&#8217;s Solution-Oriented<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Like the <a href=\"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/routine-activities-theory\/\">routine activities theory of crime<\/a>, the cultural deviance theory not only claims to explain the causes of delinquency, it also provides a blueprint for solving the problem. Many theoretical models of deviance (such as <a href=\"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/conflict-theory-of-deviance\/\">the conflict theory of deviance<\/a>) often remain limited to merely explaining a problem, without providing any actionable insights.<\/p>\n<p>With the cultural deviance theory however, once the \u201cfocal concerns\u201d of a culture have been identified, a solution can be devised based on reorienting the cultural norms of delinquents through community intervention, providing services, and community organization.<\/p>\n<h2>Criticisms and Disadvantages of Cultural Deviance Theory<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><strong>1. Stereotyping and Stigmatizing of Lower-class Culture<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The classic definition of the cultural deviance theory rests on the delineation of certain \u201cfocal concerns\u201d such as toughness, smartness, trouble, etc. that it attributes to a \u201clower class culture\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>However there is no definitive evidence to support that such attributes are limited only to lower (or working) class cultures. Middle-classes too might identify with such \u201cfocal concerns\u201d without having to face the scrutiny of academics and governments trying to \u2018fix\u2019 them.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><strong>2. Overemphasizing the Impact of Culture<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Cultural Deviance Theory relies a little too heavily on the impact of culture on the individual, without accounting for the individual\u2019s own agency in negotiating their way through the structural forces in their lives.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><strong>3. Applicable only to Explanations of Certain Kinds of Crimes<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The cultural deviance theory can only be used to explain certain classes of crimes such as theft, vandalism, etc. that have a higher rate of prevalence among the working classes. It does not apply to white collar crimes such as fraud, money-laundering etc that are carried out by highly educated individuals or groups of people from the middle or the upper-middle classes who may not belong to working-class and immigrant communities.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly it does not apply to acts of sexual violence that cross class and ethnic barriers. The cultural deviation theory\u2019s assumptions such as a fear of punitive action rather than a sense of morality being the driver of the lower classes fail to hold in such cases as white-collar criminals too show little regard for precepts of morality.<\/p>\n<h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>Personally, I find cultural deviance theory creates a \u2018deficit\u2019 mindset toward the working-classes and ignores the enormous damage to society caused by the capitalist class. Similarly, it fails to see the positive aspects of the working-classes (such as resilience and their remarkable storytelling traditions).<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, this is a sober reflection on the relationship between culture and crime. It remains a worthwhile theoretical lens to examine social problems. But for me, it\u2019s also a learning opportunity to learn how to look critically at a theory and examine its blindspots and biases, of which Cultural Deviance Theory has many.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><strong>Reference List<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Merton, R. K. (1938). Social structure and <a href=\"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/anomie-examples\/\">anomie<\/a>. <em>American Sociological Review<\/em> 3(5), pp. 672-682. Doi: <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.2307\/2084686\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.2307\/2084686<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Miller, W. B. (1958) Lower class culture as a generating milieu of gang culture. <em>Journal of Social Issues <\/em>14(3), pp. 5-19. Doi: <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/j.1540-4560.1958.tb01413.x\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/j.1540-4560.1958.tb01413.x<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Shaw, C. R. and McKay, H.D. (1969). <em>Juvenile delinquency and urban areas.<\/em> Chicago: University of Chicago Press.<\/p>\n<p>Sutherland, E. (1947) <em>Principles of criminolog<\/em>y Philadelphia: Lippincott,\u00a0 Williams and Wilkins.<\/p>\n<p>Thrasher, F. (1927) <em>The gang: A study of 1313 gangs in Chicago<\/em> Chicago: University of Chicago Press.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cultural Deviance Theory states that crime is correlated strongly to the cultural values and norms prevalent in a society. In other words, individuals may turn to crime not on account of any innate character traits, but because they are influenced by: The place they live in, The people they are surrounded by, and The socio-economic [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[96,143],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sociology","category-sociology-101-course-module-7"],"acf":[],"modified_by":"Kamalpreet Gill Singh (PhD)","uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false,"authorship-box-avatar":false,"authorship-box-related":false,"authorship-post-flat":false,"authorship-post-cards":false,"authorship-post-thumbs":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Kamalpreet Gill Singh (PhD)","author_link":"#molongui-disabled-link"},"uagb_comment_info":1,"uagb_excerpt":"Cultural Deviance Theory states that crime is correlated strongly to the cultural values and norms prevalent in a society. In other words, individuals may turn to crime not on account of any innate character traits, but because they are influenced by: The place they live in, The people they are surrounded by, and The socio-economic&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10695"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10695\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39139,"href":"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10695\/revisions\/39139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}