Normative Deviance Research Articles

The Limits of Institutions as Social Systems of Control: What Leads Corporations to Bypass the Costs of Normative Deviance in Climate Change Action?

The Limits of Institutions as Social Systems of Control: What Leads Corporations to Bypass the Costs of Normative Deviance in Climate Change Action?

An Exploratory Study on factors contributing towards deviant behavior among adolescents in selected senior secondary schools of district Mohali, Punjab with a view to develop an information booklet

This study aimed to assess the level of deviant behavior and then explore the factors contributing towards deviant behavior among adolescents in selected senior secondary schools of district Mohali, Punjab with a view to develop an information booklet. A quantitative approach with exploratory design was adopted. By convenient sampling technique 200 adolescents were selected from selected senior secondary schools of district Mohali, Punjab. Modified Normative Deviance Scale (NDS) and structured checklist were used to collect the data from adolescents in selected senior secondary schools of district Mohali, Punjab. Findings of the study shows that shows that majority 70.5% of the adolescents were in the age group of 15-16years, 59% of adolescents were female, 57.5% of the adolescents were Hindu, 62% were living in nuclear family, 36% adolescents had more than 3 siblings, 40% had 30,001-50,000 family income per month (in rupees), 28.5% adolescents’ mother studied up to secondary level and 64.5% had non-working mothers, 32.5% adolescents’ father studied up to graduation level, 98.5% had working fathers, 52.5% adolescents had 71- 90% class attendance and 55.5% adolescents were using WhatsApp in their most of the leisure time. The majority of the adolescents i.e. 187(93.5%) fall into a category of mild level of deviant behavior, 12(6.0%) were having moderate level of deviant behavior and 1(0.5%) were having severe level of deviant behavior. there was significant association of level of deviant behavior with educational status of mother, working status of mother.

Masculinity, power and structural constraints: Men's conceptualization of emotional abuse in Mwanza, Tanzania

Intimate partner violence is a global problem with devastating social and health consequences to individuals and families. While some forms of intimate partner violence such as physical and sexual violence have been explored in depth, there is a lack of clarity on men's perspectives of emotional violence, particularly in low-income countries. Yet it is recognized that incorporating men's perspectives and participation is crucial for addressing intimate partner violence. We draw from in-depth interviews with 30 men and 1, 645 pictures collected through photo voice to explore men's conceptualization and experiences of emotional violence by female partners in Mwanza, Tanzania. A sub-sample of the men (n = 16) were interviewed for a second time about pictures showing different aspects of their lives. The fieldwork was conducted between April and December 2019, and the data were analyzed through a multistage inductive process. Participants described emotional violence through a narrative of ‘being hurt’ by some actions or words of their partners. These included: verbal complaints about failure to provide for family, partner's infidelity and flirting with other men, accusation of poor sexual performance, and perceived normative deviance characterized by coming home late and not carrying out domestic chores. Threatened masculinities drawing from negative communal normative ideals, and the underlying interpersonal power struggles with their partners for the control of economic provision, sexual intimacy and family matters framed men's definitions of emotional violence. Ongoing changes such as women's ownership and engagement in economic activities and the scarcity of employment opportunities for men challenges their household dominance. Multicomponent interventions should target men, couples and communal ideals reinforcing negative masculinity. Analysis of interpersonal power and structural dynamics influencing relationships must inform the design of interventions instead of the narrow focus on individual demographic attributes.

Pirates with psychopathic personalities? The role of sub-clinical and normative traits in illegal streaming and downloading of media

There is limited research on the individual differences that may contribute to engaging with digital media piracy. Previous research has primarily focused on music piracy, but more work is needed on contemporary issues in film and television piracy. Here we present two registered report studies exploring of the role of psychopathic, and in a second sample Five-Factor and Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory, trait dimensions in engagement with digital media piracy and normative deviance in an international (N = 351) and a US sample (N = 321). Overall, we find that traits associated with low self-control (Disinhibition, Conscientiousness) were important for explaining engagement with media piracy and identify themes in reasons for engaging with piracy or not that in Content Analysis.

NPT as an antifragile system: How contestation improves the nonproliferation regime

ABSTRACT We introduce “antifragility” as a conceptual framework to understand the impact of occasional violations of regime norms on the health of respective regimes. Contrary to the prevailing understanding of norm violation as a strictly negative phenomenon that leaves regimes damaged, we show that normative deviance is, under certain conditions, a stressor that helps predominantly antifragile systems learn, improve, and adapt to changes in both internal and external environments. We apply this conceptual framework to the case of the NPT regime and the prominent violations of its nonproliferation norms by India in the 1970s (as a “contestation from outside”) and Iraq in the 1990s (as a “contestation from within”). Our findings question the prevailing catastrophizing narrative about the strictly negative impact of norm violations on regime stability and contribute to contemporary scholarly debates about norm dynamics within the NPT.

Clinical negligence cases in the English NHS: uncertainty in evidence as a driver of settlement costs and societal outcomes.

The cost of clinical negligence claims continues to rise, despite efforts to reduce this now ageing burden to the National Health Service (NHS) in England. From a welfarist perspective, reforms are needed to reduce avoidable harm to patients and to settle claims fairly for both claimants and society. Uncertainty in the estimation of quanta of damages, better known as financial settlements, is an important yet poorly characterised driver of societal outcomes. This reflects wider limitations to evidence informing clinical negligence policy, which has been discussed in recent literature. There is an acute need for practicable, evidence-based solutions that address clinical negligence issues, and these should complement long-standing efforts to improve patient safety. Using 15 claim cases from one NHS Trust between 2004 and 2016, the quality of evidence informing claims was appraised using methods from evidence-based medicine. Most of the evidence informing clinical negligence claims was found to be the lowest quality possible (expert opinion). The extent to which the quality of evidence represents a normative deviance from scientific standards is discussed. To address concerns about the level of uncertainty involved in deriving quanta, we provide five recommendations for medico-legal stakeholders that are designed to reduce avoidable bias and correct potential market failures.

A Study of Self Control and Deviant Behavior of Secondary School Students of Mirpur, Azad Kashmir

This study aimed at finding the effect of self control (SC) on deviant behavior (DB) of Students. The approach of the study was quantitative. Causal comparative research design was used to investigate the effect of self control on students’ deviance. Students (8940) of grade 9th and 10th of all public schools of Mirpur, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) constituted the population of this study. Data were collected from 470 students of Mirpur, AJK. Out of them there were 291 males and 179 were females. Two scales, SC Scale originally developed by Grasmick et al., (1993) and Normative Deviance Scale by Vazsonyi et al., (2001) were adapted to measure the SC and DB of the students respectively. Descriptive statistics, t-test and linear regression were applied to analyze the data. Results of the study found a low level of SC and high level of DB among the secondary school students. Female were more SC led as compared to the males whereas male showed more DB than females. Regression analysis showed that SC has significant positive effect on the DB and it brings 49.8% variability in the DB of the secondary school students. It was recommended that SC related activities should be added into the curriculum at primary level as this is the best age for the development of SC into the students. Workshops and seminars should be held at Secondary Schools to bring awareness on the benefits of SC for the teachers and students.

“Me” versus “We” in moral dilemmas: Group composition and social influence effects on group utilitarianism

AbstractThe paper is one of the first empirical attempts that builds on the moral dilemmas and group rationality literature to explore the way in which group composition with respect to group members’ individual choices in moral dilemmas and social influence processes impact on group moral choices. First individually and then, in small groups, 221 participants were asked to decide on 10 moral dilemmas. Our results show that emergent group level utilitarianism is higher than the average individual utilitarianism, yet, lower than the highest individual utilitarianism within groups. We also show that average individual utilitarianism positively predicts group utilitarianism while group fragmentation in individual utilitarianism has a negative effect on group utilitarianism. Next to group composition, minority influence processes explain additional variance in group utilitarianism, cognitive dissent having a positive influence, while normative deviance a negative influence on group utilitarianism. Majority influence has no significant influence on group utilitarianism. Finally, our results show that the relationship between group fragmentation in individual utilitarianism and emergent group utilitarianism is mediated by the two forms of minority influence.

Accepting Muslim minority practices: A case of discriminatory or normative intolerance?

West European societies have seen strong debates about the acceptance of Muslim minority practices. In the current research we sought to better understand intolerance by examining whether people use a double standard in which the same practices are tolerated of Christians but not of Muslims (discriminatory intolerance), or rather reject the practices independently of the religious minority group because these are considered to contradict society's normative ways of life (normative intolerance). The results of two survey‐embedded experiments among native Dutch were most in agreement with an interpretation in terms of normative intolerance rather than discriminatory intolerance. This suggests that the rejection of Muslim practices has less to do with Muslims per se but rather with the perceived normative deviance of the practices, independently of the religious minority group. These findings broaden the research on anti‐Muslim sentiments and thereby the debate on the place of Islam within Western liberal societies.

Psychometric properties of the normative deviance scale in youths

Background: Antisocial behavior refers to a set of acts that violate the rules established for the coexistence of society. One of the self-report measures to assess this type of behavior is the normative deviance scale (NDS). Objective: Considering that in the Argentine context no studies on the psychometric properties of the scale were found, the present study aimed to analyze the psychometric properties of the scale in a sample of Argentine youths. Method: To this end, a sample of 794 participants aged between 18 and 25 years was collected. A confirmatory factor analysis was performed; the composite reliability was calculated; and the convergent, discriminant and concurrent validity was assessed (using a self-control scale). In addition, the invariance of the factorial structure of the scale was analyzed. Results: The results confirmed the original factorial structure of the scale with no factorial equivalence across the assessed groups regarding the sex. Also, the results showed adequate psychometric properties for most dimensions which make up the instrument. Conclusions: Findings, limitations and further lines of research are discussed.

Examining the Relationships Between the Triarchic Psychopathy Constructs and Behavioral Deviance in a Community Sample.

Few studies have examined the extent to which psychopathic traits relate to the commission of mild to moderate acts of deviance, such as vandalism and minor traffic violations. Given that psychopathy is now studied in community populations, the relationship between psychopathic traits and less severe deviant behaviors, which are more normative among noninstitutionalized samples, warrants investigation. The current study examined the relationships between the triarchic model of psychopathy (Patrick, Fowles & Krueger, 2009) and seven forms of deviant behavior (drug use, alcohol use, theft, vandalism, school misconduct, assault, and general deviance) in a nationally representative sample. Triarchic disinhibition positively predicted each form of normative deviance. Boldness positively predicted drug and alcohol use as well as general deviance, while meanness negatively predicted school misconduct. Boldness and disinhibition also positively predicted overall lifetime engagement in deviant behavior. Implications are discussed, including support of the role of boldness within the psychopathy construct.

THE CxP TYPOLOGY

Structured interviews with community newspaper editors and publishers build on current theoretical understandings of normative deviance and gatekeeping theory. Editors and publishers encounter a great deal of audience interaction and a clear emphasis on news about “regular people and routine events,” which offers a topical rebuttal to gatekeeping theory's assertion that journalists are attracted to news about conflict and celebrity due to a lack of dialogue with media consumers. A deeper reading of the text, however, demonstrates that “regular people” and “routine events” remain rooted in conflict and celebrity. This study suggests a theoretical broadening of normative deviance and a new model, the “CxP Typology,” to aid the theoretical expression of normative deviance.

Photographic Depiction of Normative Deviance and Informational Utility as Predictors of Protest News Exposure, Related Perceptions, and Story Comprehension

News stories about protests are often accompanied by footage or photos depicting dramatic or violent acts that occur during the protest, even though such acts may be rare or insignificant. Although the assumption is that visual depiction of normative deviance draws the attention of audience members, thus facilitating learning about the social issue, extant research does not suggest this will always be the case. The current study found that greater informational utility, not photographic depiction of deviance, increased selective exposure to a protest story in a Web news environment. However, when the protesters were depicted as more, rather than less, deviant, participants reported less positive perceptions of the protesters. In turn, less positive perceptions of the protesters were associated with less attention to and, ultimately, lower comprehension of the accompanying news story. Implications for learning about political and social issues in the current news environment are discussed.

From Normal Conflict to Normative Deviance: The Micro-Politics of Trouble in Close Relationships

When people experience trouble in their relations with others, they may come to define the problem in nonjudgmental ways as a conflict to be resolved or in moralistic terms as a product of the other’s deviant intentions or character. Empirical materials on troubles among college roommates reveal an initial preference for the former, with the latter typically emerging if and when initial response efforts fail and the trouble escalates. These findings force a revision of analyses that take up consideration of the conflict/deviance alternative only with the entrance of a third party into dyadic troubles.

Losing My Religion: The Social Sources of Religious Decline in Early Adulthood

Many Americans exhibit declining religiosity during early adulthood. There is no consensus about why this occurs, though longstanding assumptions suggest the secularizing effects of higher education, normative deviance and life course factors. We evaluate these effects on decreasing frequency of religious practice, diminished importance of religion and disaffiliation from religion altogether. Results from analyses of the Add Health study indicate that only religious participation suffers substantial declines in young adulthood. Contrary to expectations, emerging adults that avoid college exhibit the most extensive patterns of religious decline, undermining conventional wisdom about the secularizing effect of higher education. Marriage curbs religious decline, while cohabitation, nonmarital sex, drugs and alcohol use each accelerate diminished religiosity – especially religious participation – during early adulthood.

Extending the General Theory of Crime to “The East:” Low Self-Control in Japanese Late Adolescents

This study examined the measurement of low self-control as well as the low self-control-deviance relationship in a sample of N = 335 Japanese late adolescents. Participants completed the Grasmick et al. low self-control instrument and the Normative Deviance Scale (NDS). Findings indicated that the low self-control measure was a valid and reliable indicator of low self-control among male and female Japanese late adolescents and that it was multi-dimensional. Furthermore, the study provided evidence that low self-control was consistently related to diverse measures of deviance, ranging from trivial to more serious norm-violating behaviors (e.g., assault). Finally, in a series of comparisons of partial unstandardized regression coefficients between Japanese and U.S. late adolescents, the study found that the low self-control-deviance relationship was invariant across all measures of deviance with the exception of alcohol use. Findings are discussed in terms of their importance for cross-cultural/cross-national predictions made by the General Theory of Crime.

Examining low self-control theory at mardi gras: critiquing the general theory of crime within the framework of normative deviance

This exploratory study situates the theory of low self-control within the framework of normative deviance. Empirically, it tests whether self-reported acts of deviance committed prior to attending Mardi Gras predict self-reported acts of lewd behavior during Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Lewd conduct at Mardi Gras is defined as the exposure of one's genitals, anus, vulva, or female breast nipples, or engaging in oral or penetrative sex in any public place open to the view of people. The overall findings do not support Gottfredson and Hirschi's theory of low self-control. The conclusion integrates qualitative interviews to provide an original critique of the general theory of crime within the framework of normative deviance.

An Empirical Test of a General Theory of Crime: A Four-Nation Comparative Study of Self-Control and the Prediction of Deviance

The current investigation examined the psychometric properties of Grasmick et al.'s self-control measure and its relationship with deviance on large, representative adolescent samples ( N = 8,417) from Hungary, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United States. Important findings indicate that (1) the self-control measure is multidimensional; (2) the self-control measure is tenable for males, females, five different age groups (15-, 16-, 17-, 18-, and 19-year-olds), and adolescents from four different countries; (3) deviance as assessed by the Normative Deviance Scale (NDS) can be reliably measured in different countries; (4) self-control accounts for 10 to 16 percent of the total variance explained in different types of deviance and for 20 percent in total deviance; and (5) developmental processes involving self-control and deviance are largely invariant by national context. The investigation provides further support for the multidimensional self-control measure and its relationship with deviance independent of national context.

Patterns of deviance in crime news

Existing research has failed to develop a satisfactory theoretical explanation for journalists' decisions about which crimes to highlight and which to ignore. We proposed that four forms of deviance (normative deviance, statistical deviance, status deviance, and cultural deviance) account for much of the variation in decisions about crime news. To test deviance-based explanations for crime news, we conducted a comprehensive investigation of Milwaukee, WI, homicides and how two newspapers covered them. We used content analysis and interviews with journalists. The results showed that the newsworthiness of a homicide is enhanced when Whites are suspects or victims, males are suspects, and victims are females, children, or senior citizens. We concluded that status deviance and cultural deviance are important components of newsworthiness and that statistical deviance (unusualness) may be much less important than commonly assumed.

Determinants of International News Coverage in the U.S. Media

This article goes beyond describing media content and places it in a broader theoretical framework by examining some determinants that have been considered important in the study of international news flow. The article attempts to identify the factors that best differentiate those international events that are covered in the U.S. news media from events that are not. The dependent variable was media coverage of international events. Based on previous studies, seven variables were selected as predictors to separate the two groups: potential for social change, normative deviance, relevance to the United States, geographical distance, language affinity, press freedom, and economic system. A stepwise discriminant analysis was used to distinguish between the covered events and not-covered events, emphasizing identification of the most powerful discriminators. Results show that four variables contribute significantly to the discriminant function in distinguishing between covered events and not-covered events: normative deviance of an event, relevance to the United States, potential for social change, and geographical distance.