ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the major contribution of deviancy theory to sociological analysis. The chapter focuses on anomie theory and its elaboration in conventional sub-cultural notions of delinquency, and labelling theory, as these two perspectives are most pertinent to the problems. The evolution of a deviant solution whether individual or collective is dependent on the constraints surrounding the actors concerned. Solutions to problems faced by individuals or groups do not occur in a social vacuum. There is a variation in the capacity or readiness individuals have to create sub-cultural projects and the immediate constraints placed upon them by the agencies of social control, both formal and informal, which surround them. The immediate solution is the initial manifestation of deviancy. The deviancy of an individual or group will lead to variable societal response. H. S. Becker, the most well-known member of the school, explicitly criticises anomie theorists for being concerned with the origin of deviant motivations.
