Section 1 :: Blog Post

Blog Post 1: How Do You Spot a Deviant?

For this Blog Post, you will be writing 500-700 words on how you can tell, within U.S. culture, who is considered deviant. Can you tell who is deviant because they are the butt of jokes on TV? Can you tell who is deviant, based on whose rights (and wrongs!) they are discussing in all of those GOP debates? Can you tell who is deviant by the body language of your friends when certain people walk into the room? Can you tell who is deviant by the types of jokes people tell, when “those people” aren’t around to hear? Turn on the “Deviance Radar” part of your Sociological Imagination for a few days, and see what emerges.

You will be conducting a very small experiment for this post. You will choose a population, take a sample, and conduct a content analysis. Don’t be intimidated! Here are the steps:

First, choose a population to study. In an experiment, a population is every possible member of a category. Tell us a little bit about that population, as if we have never heard of it before.

• Are you a TV watcher? Choose a particular type of TV programming, like reality shows, scripted programs, medical dramas, cable shows, news programs or another interesting category.
• Spend more time online? Chose a category of the Internet, like news sites, blogs (it could be a type of blog, like tech geek blogs, mom blogs, or sports blogs), or social media sites.
• Too busy to watch TV or hang out online? Look at the people around you, and choose a group. Look at your family, your coworkers, your classmates, your instructors, or strangers you encounter throughout your day.
• Music fan? Pick a genre (e.g., country, indie or hip hop) or category (e.g., top hits from all genres) of music. Almost any song you hear has the lyrics online somewhere, if you search.

Second, choose a sample from that population to analyze. A sample is a small subsection of the whole population. For example, if there were 200 sports blogs actively operating on the Internet (population), and you choose to analyze 20 of those, you have taken a sample. For whatever your population is, you will need to choose a sample of FOUR. In academic studies, researchers go to great lengths to use special methods to sample. In your case, you can just select the ones you want to study; you do not need to randomly sample. If you are working with television, the Internet or music, look for deviance in at least 4 shows, blogs or songs. If you are observing people, remember you are not interviewing your friends, just watching and listening to at least four substantial interactions—try to do so without letting on.

Third, conduct a type of content analysis. While a formal content analysis would have an official “code sheet” by which to analyze, I just want you to pay attention. Study your sample for signs of who is considered “normal” and who is “deviant.” Also study how it is you know who is deviant. Are the messages overt (obvious) or covert (more subtle)? Who tends to be considered deviant? Why is that person or behavior seen as deviant? Are the non-deviant people invested in that person or behavior being seen as deviant (for example, do they stand to gain anything by separating themselves from the deviant person or behavior?)? What are the consequences of being deviant, in that population? Within the sample you are examining, how is behavior policed, or monitored, to determine who is “normal” and who is “deviant”?

If you are not sure who is considered deviant, or want to get some ideas brewing, take a look through the whole syllabus, or flip through your textbook and/or course packet for ideas.

In your write up, tell us the population you studied, and describe the sample you selected. Then, tell us who you found to be considered “normal” and who was considered “deviant” and answer the questions throughout this handout. Tell us how you could tell who was each of those categories, in details. Remember to use the concepts, readings and clips from the class (at least three!) as support for your ideas, and cite thoroughly and properly.