Sunday, February 5, 2012
displaying deviance...
Part Two of Two...
I struggled for a bit whilst coming up with a deviant act to display to the world around me. I had such big ideas, but nothing really panned out. Then, while driving down I-5, it hit me, and not in the literal sense.
One thing that I have always noticed while driving is people doing the speed limit or below in the fast lane. This really irritates me as I happen to enjoy driving fast. So, I decided to see what it was like on the other side of the coin.
I had two objectives while doing this: maintain the speed limit and not an MPH higher in the fast lane, and to react to anger in a manner that would seem odd.
I have to admit, I did enjoy doing this. A number of vehicles rode “on my ass” and would retaliate by either throwing me the finger or cutting me off once they got around me. In return, I blew them kisses. I have a feeling this really irritated some drivers, but it made me happy inside.
I did this on separate occasions during the week. Every time I would get dirty looks of pure hatred from people! The funny thing to me is that I was being deviant by not being deviant and obeying the law!
After completing my “studies” I realized that most drivers today are living examples of the Differential Association Theory. This theory states that criminal behavior is learned during interactions with others. When someone learns to drive, they observe others around them first and then repeat what they’ve seen. This explains why I was the deviant when I was not the one breaking the law (1 pg 27).
WC: 285 (285 + 548 = 833)
Works Cited
1. Differential Association Theory: Cressey, Donald R. and Sutherland, Edwin H., Ch. 4 of Readings in Deviant Behavior by Calhoun, Thomas C., Conyers, Addrain, and Thio, Alex. 2010. Pearson Education, Inc., Boston, MA.
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That's pretty funny... if I'd been one of those angry drivers, it probably would have made me laugh!
ReplyDeleteAgree/Awesome
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading both parts of this blog post because you brought up very good points and conveyed them clearly. I thought it was very appropriate that you brought in the “Differential Association Theory” to explain why it is people go over the speed limit in the left lane. Once it is that someone has “learned” to speed in the left lane, people learn the “motives” and “rationalizations” to why people speed, also (27); we tell ourselves that it’s okay to go over the speed limit, because we’re in a hurry, we’re being careful, and we don’t see any police, so it is all right to speed today. I wouldn’t have associated this theory with that deviant act if you hadn’t brought it up. Nice job!
Thio, Alex, Thomas C. Calhoun, and Addrain Conyers. Readings in Deviant Behavior. 6th ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2010. Print.
Zach,
ReplyDeleteDisagree/Do Better
Well, because we both did the same deviant social experiment, I am going to disagree with yours out of pure principle, not because I disagree with you, but because I have to draw a line in the sand, this class is not big enough for two slow-ass drivers. I actually had experiences very similar to yours. If I disagreed with anything in your post (Williams makes me I'm sorry) it's the general application of Differential Association. Yes, Differential Association states that criminal behavior is learned from others, but it specifies that those "others" are generally part of a close-knit group (friends, relatives, etc). Therefore, one could argue that other drivers on the road make up what Sutherland and Cressey call "impersonal agencies of communication" (27). Sutherland and Cressey go on to state these groups, "play a relatively unimportant part in the genesis of criminal behavior" (27). Just something small to consider.
- Steve
Works Cited
T. Calhoun, et al. Readings in Deviant Behavior. (Sutherland and Cressey) pp. 27.