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TASSociologyQuick questions
Deviance, Crime and Social Order
Quick questions on Deviance, Relativity and Moral Panic - TCE Sociology (Tasmania) - Level 3
2short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is durkheim?Show answer
Emile Durkheim made the counter intuitive argument that deviance is normal and performs positive functions for society. Punishing offenders reaffirms shared values and strengthens social solidarity through boundary maintenance: a public reaction to wrongdoing reminds everyone where the moral line sits. Deviance can also drive social change, as yesterday's deviants, such as campaigners who broke unjust laws, become tomorrow's reformers. Durkheim also warned of anomie, normlessness during rapid social change.
What is cohen?Show answer
Stanley Cohen studied how the media react to deviance and coined the idea of the moral panic: an episode in which a group or behaviour is defined as a threat to social values, the media amplify and exaggerate it, and authorities respond with tougher control. The targeted group becomes a folk devil, a symbol of what is wrong with society. Cohen described a deviance amplification spiral: media coverage generates fear, which prompts more policing, which uncovers more deviance, which fuels more coverage. An Australian example is recurring panics over youth gangs, drugs or refugees, where coverage can outrun the actual scale of the problem.
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