6.2:1 Competing Explanations of Deviance: and biosocial explanation

 Sociobiology, Psychology, and Sociology PT 167 Competing Explanations of Deviance: Sociobiology, Psychology, and Sociology 6.2 Contrast sociobiological, psychological, and sociological explanations of deviance. 

If social life is to exist, norms are essential. So why do people violate them? To better understand the reasons, it is useful to know how sociological explanations differ from biological and psychological ones. Let’s compare them.

6.2.1: Biosocial Explanations Sociobiologists explain deviance by looking for answers within individuals. They assume that genetic predispositions lead people to such behaviors as juvenile delinquency and crime (Lombroso 1911; Wilson and Herrnstein 1985; Godar et al. 2019).

 An early explanation was that men with an extra Y chromosome (the “XYY” theory) were more likely to become criminals. 

Another was that people with “squarish, muscular” bodies were more likely to commit street crime—acts such as mugging, rape, and burglary. These theories were abandoned when research did not support them.

With advances in the study of genetics, biosocial explanations are being proposed to explain differences in crime by sex, race, social class, and age (juvenile delinquency) (Stetler et al. 2014; Fox 2017). 

The basic explanation is that over the millennia, people with certain characteristics were more likely to survive than were people with different characteristics. 

As a result, different groups today inherit different propensities (tendencies) for empathy, self-control, and risk-taking

A universal finding is that in all known societies, men commit more violent crimes than women do. There are no exceptions. Here is how sociobiologists explain this. It took only a few pelvic thrusts for men to pass on their genes. After that, they could leave if they wanted to. The women, in contrast, had to carry, birth, and nurture the children. Women who were more empathetic (inclined to nurture their children) engaged in less dangerous behavior. These women passed genes for more empathy, greater self-control, and less risk-taking to their femalen.  childreAs a result, all over the world, men engage in more violent behavior, which comes from their lesser empathy, lower self-control, and greater tendency for taking risks. But behavior, whether deviant or conforming, does not depend only on genes, add the biosocial theorists. Our inherited propensities (the bio part) are modified and stimulated by our environment (the social part). Biosocial research holds the potential of opening a new understanding of deviance.