Chapter Activities

  1. Over the course of several days, browse the print or online editions of a major U.S. newspaper (be sure to check each section of the paper, not just the front page). Identify and record the various types of criminal deviance reported in the news. Are certain types of criminal deviance represented more than others? Which ones? Overall, did it seem like criminal deviance was a major or minor part of news coverage?
  2. Marijuana use represents a type of contested deviant behavior. Some people feel that using marijuana is no more deviant than smoking cigarettes, while others feel it should be criminalized. The debate surrounding marijuana exemplifies how what is considered deviant can change over time and also how deviance varies based on the context. Pair up with another student and create two lists, one with reasons why marijuana use should not be considered deviant and another listing reasons why marijuana should remain a largely criminalized form of deviance. How many of the points you listed relate to ethical, moral, or religious convictions? What about economic or social concerns? Given the opportunity, which side of the debate would you choose to argue and on what basis?
  3. Form small groups of 3–4 people. Your instructor will assign to your group one of the following forms of deviance. Within your group, you must reach a consensus in order to construct an argument for why the deviant act you have been assigned should not be considered deviant. Prepare to argue your group’s perspective before the class:

                             - sex work;

                            - downloading movies from a free site instead of paying for it;

                            - cheating and plagiarism;

                            - hard drug use (cocaine, crack, heroin, methamphetamine);

                            - marijuana use;

                            - drinking alcohol under age 21;

                            - taking items from your workplace for use at home.
    Which of the types of deviance listed were easiest to argue should not be considered deviant? Which were the most challenging?

  4. Deviance is based on social judgments of how well a person’s attitudes, behaviors, or conditions follow cultural norms or social laws. The rise of social media such as Twitter, Facebook, and blogs gives people greater opportunity to publicly reveal their attitudes, behaviors, and conditions on a large, sometimes impersonal, scale. Comment boards on these forms of social media give people the opportunity to support or condemn the posted attitude, behavior, or condition. Examine a week of social media postings and comments from your own and other social media sites. What patterns do you see in the comments about deviance? Are some actions considered more or less deviance? Do all types of people see deviance in the same way? How do the posters respond to accusations that they are being deviant? Do you think social media encourages or inhibits deviance?