Changing Social Norms

Positive Deviance as a Basis for Social Change

            Concerning the sociological basis of Positive Deviance, Sullivan and Thompson refer to Robert K. Merton’s profound conceptual ideology that approaches deviance from a functionalist perspective. Merton’s approach indicates that the functionality of deviance is the basis for social change, he writes, “. . . people in our society are taught to strive for certain goals but are not always provided with the culturally approved means necessary to attain these goals.”[1] Merton described such inconsistencies and the misunderstanding from perplexing situations as creating in people what he referrers to as “amonie.”[2] Anomie, according to Emile Durkheim, a noted expert on sociological constructs, “. . . is a social condition in which social norms are weak, contradictory, or change so rapidly that they provide little guidance for behavior.”[3] An example of anomie is the American cultural goal of success defined largely as material possessions driven by a consumerist society.

In order to deal with social inequities individuals or groups resort to deviant behavior in order attain the socially accepted goals. Merton describes five modes of adaptation to anomie as a social condition. The first mode is conformity: This mode provides for a stable society where participants accept approved goals and approved means. The second is innovation: participants accept approved goals, but pursue those goals through other means. The third is ritualism: participants accept means to achieve goals, but compulsively reject the accepted goals. The fourth is retreatism: participants do not accept either the goals or the means of a society, but drops out of the social context completely. The fifth is rebellion: participants reject the goals and means striving to replace the accepted ones a new set of goals and means.[4] These modes constitute the functionality of deviance in the social construct of any given group. The following table illustrates the modes of individual adaptation to anomie according to Merton.

Modes of Adaptation to Anomie                                         

	Accepts Culturally Approved goals	Accepts Culturally Approved means
1.      Conformity	+	+
2.      Innovation	+	˗
3.      Ritualism	˗	+
4.      Retreatism	˗	˗
5.      Rebellion	±	±

      +    signifies acceptance

      ˗     signifies rejection

±    signifies rejection of prevailing goals and means and the substitution of new goals and means.[5]

* The Positive Deviance Approach functions mainly with in the second category of innovation.

Merton’s analysis indicates that a sociological basis for Positive Deviance is culturally oriented and comes from within the various modes of anomie. The Positive Deviance Approach functions mainly with in the second category of innovation. As cultural participants deal with the challenge of changing social norms, they require the presence of Positive Deviance practitioners. Sullivan and Thompson reinforce this perspective. They assert, “Deviance can have destructive consequences, but some forms of deviance can actually contribute to the maintenance of society.”[6] Durkheim, a noted expert on sociological construct, examines the influences of deviance as part of the maintenance of society. Durkheim’s premise is that deviance is a normal and necessary part of the social construct of all societies. Concerning the creation of social mores, he writes,

. . . the punishment of deviance is a collective reaffirmation of those values that the deviant has violated, and this enhances group solidarity. . . deviance can act as a warning signal that there is a serious inconsistency or defect in society. . . deviance can act as a safety valve to prevent social discontent from being directed at basic societal values and institutions. . . deviance can contribute to social change. In short, what is deviant and stigmatized in one era may become normal in another era.

Durkheim’s analysis of deviance helps establish the credibility of the Positive Deviance Approach. According to Durkheim’s conclusion it may be presumed that Positive Deviance is a perpetual presence in human society bringing about change to social norms and construct. The logical question is how does the concept of Positive Deviance apply in an ecclesial context? Since deviance is based in practices and strategies the logical examination in an ecclesial context would be to understand a theological basis and praxis of Positive Deviance.

---

[1] Thomas J. Sullivan, Sociology: Concepts and Applications in a Diverse World (Pearson/Allyn and Bacon, 2007), 135.

[2] Robert K. Merton, Social Theory and Social Structure (Free Press, 1968), 42.

[3] Émile Durkheim, Carol Cosman, and Mark Sydney Cladis, The Elementary Forms of Religious Life (Oxford University Press, 2001), 19.

[4] Merton, 193-209.

[5] * Italics are mine for the purpose of indicating where the Positive Deviance Approach would operate, Source: Adapted from Merton, 150.

[6] Sullivan, Sociology--Concepts, Issues, and Applications, 161.