Assessing the Linkage of Norms, Environments, and Deviance

• Published in: Social forces 1977-12, Vol.56 (2), p.532-550
• Main Authors: Britt, David W., Campbell, Ernest Q.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alcohol drinking; Alcohols; Cultural customs; Deviant behavior; Deviant/Deviance/Deviates/ Deviation; Environment/Environments/ Environmental/ Environmentally; Friendship; Habitual behavior; Norm/Norms; Normativity; Social; Social Control and Deviance; Social control/Social controls; Social order; Social structures; Verbalization
• ISSN: 0037-7732; 1534-7605
• DOI: 10.1093/sf/56.2.532

Panel data from a study of adolescent drinking practices are used to study the relationship of norms, deviance, and social environments. Using these data, a test is made of contrasting perspectives which differentially emphasize the extent of individual activity in the construction and maintenance of social order. The normative paradigm emphasizes the impact on individual behavior of normative structures and the groups with which individuals have affiliated themselves. The interpretive paradigm emphasizes the extent to which norms and group affiliations can be changed to support behavior which the individual has found rewarding. The results indicate that elements of both perspectives are applicable in the case of drinking among first-year college students. Norms influence both one's own drinking behavior and through a process of selection that of one's five best friends; and whether one drinks influences both one's drinking-related norms and the drinking habits of those we select as friends.