<Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> In sociology, deviance describes an action or behavior that violates social norms, including a formally enacted rule (e.g., crime), as well as informal violations of social norms (e.g., rejecting folkways and mores). Although deviance may have a negative connotation, the violation of social norms is not always a negative action; positive deviation exists in some situations . This is where the norm is violated, yet the behavior can still be classified as positive or acceptable . It is the purview of criminologists, psychiatrists, psychologists, and sociologists to study how these norms are created, how they change over time, and how they are enforced . </P> <P> Norms are rules and expectations by which members of society are conventionally guided . Deviance is an absence of conformity to these norms . Social norms differ from culture to culture . For example, a deviant act can be committed in one society that breaks a social norm there, but may be normal for another society . </P>

When is deviant behavior deviant according to most sociologists