Epidemiology of deviance

Deviance (Goode, 1997), in a general sense, is behavior that some members of a given society will find “offensive”. It is behavior which brings about, or would bring about if it were discovered, disapproval, punishment, condemnation, or hostility from another. This is any behavior that is likely to get the actor into “trouble”. Deviance is behavior which is considered to be outside the “bounds” of a given group or society. Another definition, in a more working sense, is “any departure from a social norm which does or could provoke sanctions” (p. 37)