1. Describe two ways your views on defining deviance changed or evolved as a result of this exercise.

2. Why do you think sociologists prefer the normative and the relativist definitions of deviance over the statistical or the absolutist definition? Why do you think the relativist definition has gained such popularity in recent decades?

3. Sociologist Kai Erikson said, "The critical variable in the study of deviance, then, is the social audience rather than the individual actor, since it is the audience which eventually determines whether or not any episode of behavior or any class of episodes is labeled deviant." Which definition of deviance would Erikson most likely use? Do you agree with his assertion? Why or why not?