Published Paper Details:

Sociologically, a deviant is one to whom that label has successfully been applied while a deviant behaviour is one that people so label. Deviance lies in the eyes of the beholder. There is nothing inherently deviant in any particular attitude, act, or condition, until some section or groups define them as deviant. Deviance only exists when it is created by society. Hence, the ethos of the society of the time is kernal in labelling acts and persons. As deviancy can be in attitude, behaviour and conditions, so too, theories of deviancy are of psychological, biological and sociological. Psychological theories address attitudinal deviancy, while biological theories respond to behaviour deviancy and sociological theories answers to sociological deviancy. Thus 'ABC' of deviancy is explained by the 'PBS' theories of deviancy. Social determinism approach stresses that though human beings are endowed with free will, it gets neutralised in the social situations and, finally, the individual gives in to the ways of society. Social Disorganisation theory suggests that disorganized societies tend to have more deviants; and Anomie theory holds that it is normlessness that leads individuals to deviancy while social control theory reasons that most people would avoid deviant behaviour if they have a strong bond with social conventions (norms) and institutions like family, religion and state. Social learning theory asserts that every new member in the society learns socially acceptable as well as unacceptable (deviant) behaviour from his/her surroundings and the preceding generation(s). Differential association and learning theory further consolidates that it is not just anyone but rather, it is from the most significant persons, friends and neighbours that most behaviour are learned. Social milieu and neighbourhood, therefore, are of crucial importance in developing deviants. Theory of Triadic Influence (TTI) ultimately comprehends these different components and streams them in a triadic order of personal, social and environment factors. All the three exert sway at three levels- Ultimate/underlying causes, Distal or predisposing influences and Proximal or immediate predictors- which lead to an individual's choice of decisions, experiment and, finally behaviour. This paper is a theoretical discourse that concludes the view that deviancy and deviant behaviour are subject to society and the historical time, not permanent or absolute.