The Impact of Informal Sanctions on Deviant Behavior and Society

This essay delves into the concept of deviant behavior, differentiating between psychopathy and sociopathy, and examining their impact on the legal justice system. It explores how societal norms and values influence what is considered deviant, providing examples of varying perspectives across different cultures. The essay highlights the role of informal sanctions, such as shame, ridicule, and criticism, as mechanisms of social control, contrasting them with formal sanctions like imprisonment and fines. It references key sociological theories and studies, including the works of Max Weber, Cesare Lombroso, and others, to analyze the effectiveness and potential drawbacks of both formal and informal sanctions in addressing deviant behavior and maintaining social order. The essay concludes by emphasizing the interconnectedness of formal and informal sanctions within the criminal justice system.

Running Head: INFORMAL SANCTIONS
INFORMAL SANCTIONS
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

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A deviant behavior refers to the behavior of any person, which does not comply with the
social norm, or values of the community. The deviance in behavior may occur in any situation
including formal, informal, voluntary and involuntary behavior. This essay aims to elaborate on
the deviance of behavior and its impact in the legal justice system. The essay also aims to
highlight the informal sanctions that play a major role in the deviation of a person’s behavior.
Psychopaths and sociopaths are the two types of deviants found in the society. According
to Dexter Morgan, the dangerous people residing in the society often give the impression of an
impressive fictitious character. Both the concepts refer to mental disorders that include anti-
social character, lack of empathy, and failure of inhibitions. However, in further analysis, it can
be understood that psychosis is a further situation where the person involves himself in the
deliberate isolation from the society resulting in anti-social behavior and lack of empathy
towards others leading to mental disorder. The people with deviant behaviors often represent as
normal people with manipulative and cruel intentions unknown to others behind their faces of
innocence. In broad terms it can be said that psychopaths are people involving internal mental
disorders and have no relation to their mental instability with the outside world whereas in case
of sociopaths, it can be understood that these people are affected by the society and their mental
instability is the outcome of the social behavior of other people leading to the deviance in the
behavior of such people. According to Hare, 1999, the sociopaths are the people have are
inability to blend in with the rules of the society or abide the societal rules. He further explains
that sociopath may be a sociological disease par excellence. However, while some people seem
pulled away from the crowd, others seem attractive, charming and confident.
As opined by Cesare Lombroso, born criminals can be distinguished from specific
characteristics of physiological degeneracy called isolation. Rimke 2011 confirmed the same. As

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expressed by James Fallon, a neuroscientist who was involved in analyzing brain scans of serial
killers that the lobes for happiness, empathy, social gathering and so more are shut off in such
persons. According to him, psychopathy is determined by the genetics of the person.
There are various theories and spectrums for measuring deviance as the communal social
norms vary from one community to another. For example, in America, alcoholism, gambling,
nudity, services of prostitutes are considered as deviant behavior. However, in Malaysia and
Muslim Africa, women are circumcised and are not considered as deviant behavior where as in
most other countries, the act of female circumcision is unthinkable.
Age is an important factor determining deviance of behavior and crime. It is argued by
some scholars that younger people suffer largely from bullies and peer pressure that leads them
to deviate from their social behavior resulting in criminal activities. However, some scholars like
Theodore et al. 1972, it has been said that the factors like poverty and illiteracy is what drives a
human mind towards a deviant behavior. Such factors can be overcome by providing necessary
assistance to such people and helping them overcomes their complexity of mind. However, age is
a factor, which cannot be improved, and only increases with the span of time. Therefore, age
cannot be denied by way of opportunity to improve. Therefore, a defendant cannot be judged on
the factor of his or her age to have committed a crime.
According to Max Weber, a norm is formal whereas its sanctions can be formal as well as
informal. The formal sanctions are the government policies and provisions of legislations for
punishments by ways of imprisonments, fines, compensations and others. However, society has
its own way of ridiculing the activities of a deviant person, which is informal in nature like
shame, ridicule, sarcasm, criticism and so on. For example, we may consider the use of illegal

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drugs. The social norms may not allow the people to use the drugs openly while the formal
sanctions impose deterrent consequences. According to DuPont 1996, the consequences for
deviance of social norm should be dealt with severity and harsh punishments. On the contrary,
the critics of severe punishments like Erickson 1993 argue that the over-reliance on the formal
severe sanctions can weaken other sanctions, which are informal and may general social
alienation and discording by the other people.
Therefore, it can be concluded that the deviance of behavior and criminology may be
interrelated but age, as a factor is not the sole influencing factor for such behaviors.
Subsequently, the formal as well as the informal sanctions are both important for the people to
understand the norms of the society. When one fails, the other comes into the action. Sole
dependency on anyone sanction would weaken the entire criminal justice system of the country.

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References:
Chiricos, T. G., Jackson, P. D., & Waldo, G. P. (1972). Inequality in the imposition of a criminal
label. Social Problems, 19(4), 553-572.
Fallon, J. H. (2005). Neuroanatomical Backgrown to Understanding the Brain of the Young
Psychopath. Ohio St. J. Crim. L., 3, 341.
Gibson, M. (2002). Born to crime: Cesare Lombroso and the origins of biological
criminology (p. 22). Westport, CT: Praeger.
Hare, R. D. (1999). Without conscience: The disturbing world of the psychopaths among us.
Guilford Press.
NURSE, A. (2012). Decoding the Dark Passenger: The Serial Killer as a Force for Justice.
Adapting Jeff Lindsay’s Dexter for the Small Screen. Law and Justice on the Small
Screen, 196.
Rimke, H. (2011). The pathological approach to crime: Individually based
theories. Criminology: critical Canadian perspectives, 78-92.
Theodore G. Chiricos, Philip D. Jackson, Gordon P Waldo (1972) Hidden Deviance, p.553.
Weber, M. (2013). From Max Weber: essays in sociology. Routledge.