The Study Of Deviance

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acts, the more likely he/she is to commit the acts themselves. Sutherland concluded that "a person becomes delinquent or criminal because definitions favorable to the violation of the law exceed definitions unfavorable to the violation of the law" (p.88). The learning theory has been modified over the years, including Miller's idea of "cultural transmission" and the "lower-class way of life". He concluded that lower-class adolescents "get into trouble because they are faithful to the cultural standards learned from their parents" (Empey,1982, p.199). I agree with Goode's view on this theory which is that growing up with deviance can influence your own actions, but overall deviant acts are committed because of the way individual minds process and evaluate situations.
Control theory studies why people do not commit deviant acts. The theory "assumes that engaging in deviance is not problematic, that if left to our own devices, all of us would deviate from the rules" (p.90). ...

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