Unlike texts that view deviance as an “essence,†independent of the mind of the observer, Pfuhl and Henry perceive deviance, and its opposite, “normality,†as impermanent, human creations, resulting from people interacting with one another—the outcome of the antagonisms, contradictions and conflicts in society. The perspective used is identified as social constructionist: one that includes elements of interactionsts and phenomenological sociology.
This thoroughly revised and updated text offers students a study of deviance from a perspective that will correspond to their everyday experience.