Question

For this assignment, you need to do the following:

Research a deviant act that was conducted in a public place.

Describe the act.

What were the reactions to the deviant act?

Analyze and discuss the act using the theoretical perspective(s) that you believe best explains the reactions to the deviant act.

Your paper should be a minimum of 3-5 pages in length.

Remember to submit an APA formatted reference page.

Answer 1

Deviant behaviors, or deviant acts in society refer to behavior that violate social norms and expectations.Each society has formal laws and rules, and informal social norms in place that aim to deter people from committing deviant acts.

Deviant acts are classified into two categories, namely formal and informal. Formal deviance relates to criminal acts as dictated by the law, while informal deviance is dictated by social norms.

Formal deviant acts such as robbery, rape and murder are punishable by the law. A person caught engaging in such acts is prosecuted in court and may go to jail, pay a fine or serve a community service sentence.

Informal deviant acts such as talking to yourself in public or picking one's nose in public, have fewer consequences and may not cause serious harm to the victims.

DEVIANT ACT IN PUBLIC AND ITS REACTIONS:

Nose picking is not a strange habit to the society since quite a number of people engage in it.  An individual goes to the extent of wiping the nasal mucus on the walls of a building, which might be a public utility building, then this behavior is considered as a deviation from the expectations of the society.

some of the people witnessing the act, which is also an unhygienic behavior. The offended might act by condemning the behavior ( to criticize someone strongly), since it does not conform to their expectation. An individual should be able to use a handkerchief to pick the nose, which is the culturally acceptable and hygienic behavior .

Theory explaining the reactions to deviant act :

we takes the constructionist approach to explain the above deviant act , it is vital to take into account the three assumptions of the approach. The assumptions include relativism, subjectivism and voluntarism. The relativist view of the constructionist approach holds that the deviant behavior does not exhibit intrinsic characteristics, unless there are thoughts that these characteristics exist . Consequently, when an individual picks his or her nose, then wipes the nasal mucus on the wall, the behavior is not inherent in the individual. This means that the individual’s action might appear deviant since other people refer to it as such. For this reason, people against such a behavior will assign a label to it, which discourages others from engaging in such behavior.

voluntarism holds that when a person engages in deviant behavior, he or she does so willingly. The factors that might influence the individual are neither from the internal nor external environment. It is through the will of the individual that he or she will behave in such a manner. Consequently, subjectivism portrays the action as subjective in nature. The aim of subjectivism is to have an understanding of the personal view of the deviant act. When the deviant picks his or her nose and wipes the mucus on the walls, it is necessary to have an understanding of how they view the action through getting their personal view on the act.