In any society there are always norms - stable rules that are approved by the majority. But in every society there are people whose behavior is very or not very different from the generally accepted norms. Such behavior is called deviant or deviated behavior and today I want to talk more about it.
To begin with, all people in any society can be divided into several categories:
1. Conformists. These are people who share all (or almost all) socially approved ends and means;
2. All other types of personality behaviors that can be called deviant. These are:
- The innovator tries to achieve socially approved goals (which he adopts) by disapproved means. For example, he may love money (a socially approved goal), but earn it by cheating or stealing.
- The ritualist, on the contrary, uses socially approved means. And here with the goals the story is complicated: it is as if he does not remember the purpose of his activity, has lost it or did not have it at all. To such people can be attributed all people who do their work by habit, and in fact do not really do anything.
- Retritivist rejects everything that society approves of: both ends and means. Such people do not need anything and they either end their lives altogether or may become vagrants, drug addicts or drunkards.
- The rebel also rejects social foundations, goals and values, but unlike the retreatist proposes his own. All revolutionaries can be called rebels.
When using this typology, it is important to know that several or even all of the above types (including the conformist) may be present in each person. However, one of the types is usually stronger and characterizes
the personality.