White Collar Crime 13. Overview Understanding the relationship between deviant behavior and social control can help you. Deviant behavior and social control are opposite sides of the same coin. Deviant behavior is behavior which tends to elicit, on discovery, disapproval, punishment or condemnation of an actor by an audience. Conversely, social control is any way that people try to ensure conformity to laws, rules or norms.
Social control includes all of the processes by which people define and discipline deviant behavior.
Identifying the behaviors that tend to elicit the most criticism and comprehending how people seek to control those behaviors can help in many ways, ranging from avoiding trouble to finding peace. To get along with other people, you must know which behaviors are acceptable and unacceptable, and you can often predict how other people will react to infractions of laws, rules, or social norms. However, most people lack a systematic understanding of how deviance and social control interact. This class will provide you with a systematic understanding of deviant behavior and social control. Instead of accepting your current perceptions of deviance and social control as truthful, this course teaches you to expand your horizons by studying multiple perspectives.