Reactions to Deviance: A Critical Assessment

A critical analysis is presented of that recent body of work which focuses attention on social reactions as key determinants of deviant behavior and deviance situations. The themes of process is identified as being central to this orientation. Major criticisms of the approach are considered, and several levels of analysis on which the reactions emphasis is useful are outlined. Brief consideration is given to some of the theoretical antecedents of the reactions orientation-leading to the conclusion that, at its heart, the approach simply develops, applies, and organizes some central themes of general sociological analysis as they relate to deviance and social control. While the approach probably does not constitute a causal theory in the strict sense of the term, its strong grounding in traditional sociological perspectives suggests that it has great promise in advancing theoretical integration in the area of deviance analysis.