SOCIOLOGY OF DEVIANT BEHAVIOR

Instructor: Jeremy Don Kerr   E-mail address: jkerr0@uky.edu

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SOC 436: RESPONSE SHEET #1

YOU DO NOT NEED TO READ THE TEXT TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS

Instructions: Answer the following questions/address the following aspects of deviance using complete sentences. Type your answers using a 12-point Times New Roman Font, single-spaced, with 1" top, bottom, and side margins. Put your name on every sheet in the upper right hand corner in the format "Last name, First name." Put page numbers in the upper right hand corner beginning with your second page. Put SOC 436 and the date the assignment is due (September 2nd) in the upper left hand corner of the first sheet. Staple multiple pages together in the upper left hand corner. **This assignment is worth 20 points.**

1. Identify three behaviors that could be considered deviant. Next, for each behavior address each of the following aspects of the deviant behavior.

  1. For each behavior, identify three specific individuals, groups, and/or organizations who claim the behavior is deviant or describe the behavior as deviant. BE SPECIFIC rather than general in your answers. For example in the case of illicit drug use instead of saying "government" you could say the "Drug Enforcement Agency" or the "Lexington Police;" in the case of prostitution instead of saying "organized religion" you could say "Pat Robertson" or some other specific individual from religious or feminist quarters.
     
  2. For each behavior, identify three beliefs or ideas about why the 'deviant' behavior is harmful or undesirable that might be "tested" using reasoned inquiry. (For example, some individuals or groups may say prostitution is deviant because it spreads AIDS and/or that it breaks up marriages. Similarly, some people and organizations claim that drug use "causes" violence and/or "brain damage." -- All four claims can be "tested" by examining evidence from studies on these phenomenon or activities.)
     
  3. For each behavior, indicate whether or not it has always been deviant in the United States and if not, briefly indicate when it WAS NOT deviant.
     
  4. For each behavior, indicate whether believe the behavior should or should not be regarded as deviant. Provide three reasons/justifications to support your position.  

For your convenience, and for the sake of clarity, a sample response is provided below. Each of your three responses should look similar to the sample response. Avoid copying from the sample response or from the examples given above as you will not be given credit for a copied answer.

Illicit Drug Use is described as a deviant behavior by (1) the Drug Enforcement Agency, (2) the DARE program, and (3) the Partnership for a Drug Free America. People and groups who say illicit drug use should be deviant hold the beliefs that illicit drug use (1) leads to violence, (2)  makes the user stupid or damages their brain, and (3) tends to be highly addictive. The use of drugs such as cocaine, heroin, and marijuana has not always been considered deviant in the U.S. For example, in the United States the sale and use of cocaine, opium, marijuana and other drugs was not illegal and was not of much public concern during the 1800's and early 1900's.  I believe illicit drug use SHOULD NOT be regarded as deviant because (1) there is little scientific evidence that drug use typically leads to violence, (2) because most illicit drug users graduate high school and/or are employed, and (3) because the vast majority of people who have ever used an illicit substance ARE NOT current users--suggesting that illicit drug use isn't as addictive as groups such as the DEA often claim.

 

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