Positive Deviants in Criminology

Within the human mind, for all of the understanding that we have of it, there still are areas which are unexplained; while the brain of an average person would look virtually identical to that of one who is "gifted" or "developmentally advanced", the latter are vastly different from the average person in their ability to deviate from normal thought and action to actually enhance the world in which we live, thereby giving a positive nuance to the term "deviance". Based on research of the appropriate literature and the development of educated conclusions based on same, in this paper, the assertion that the gifted or developmentally advanced can be viewed as positive deviants will be discussed in detail.

Classic View of Positive Deviance

Ironically, when researching the general topic of developmental deviance, there is found within the relevant literature a great deal of study of the condition known as schizophrenia; in its manifestation, the condition is found in some cases to have a detrimental effect on thought processes, attention spans and the like; yet in others, the schizophrenic could be viewed as a positive deviant for their ability to have a superior ability to express creativity, higher reasoning skills, and advanced problem solving (Csernansky, 2002). For the schizophrenic, however, the ability to harness these enhanced abilities and channel them into a beneficial output is not always consistent; therefore, while they could be considered positive deviants because of their developmental advances, their thought processes are akin to a raging river, which can be used for many beneficial uses, but ultimately, is uncontrollable.

The literal view of positive deviance is also important; in other words, one should not judge a book by its cover, or a deviant by their outward appearance. Eccentric individuals who are gifted have been shown to have been thought to be criminals based on their physical appearance (Saladin, et al, 1988), yet in reality, they are positive members of the intellectual community.

Positive Deviants Gone Bad