deviant behavior
Actions violating norms
Deviant behavior is conduct that violates social norms or expectations.
The term appears in sociology and psychology to describe actions ranging from minor rule-breaking to serious transgressions: The study examined deviant behavior among adolescents.
What counts as deviant varies by culture and era—homosexuality was once classified as deviant behavior by medical authorities.
The phrase often carries clinical detachment, describing rather than condemning.
- delinquencyCriminal or neglectful behavior
- transgressionViolation of law or code
- tabooCultural or social prohibition
- acting outExpressing distress behaviorally
- heresyBelief opposing official doctrine
rebellion · corruption · counterculture · assault · crime · white collar crime · iconoclasm · stigma · social outcast · nonconformity · breaking the rules · fraud · eccentricity · recidivism · deviance · ostracism · dishonesty · vandalism
- criminologycrime, criminology, criminologist, criminalization, deviance
- forensic psychologyforensic evaluation, forensic interview, insanity plea, psychological assessment, legal insanity
- psychopathypsychopathy, sociopathy, lack of empathy, superficial charm, pathological lying
deviant behaviorconformity
Adherence to norms
obedience · rule-following · toeing the line · orthodoxy · respectability