Attachment to Society and Cognitive Deviance: The Case of Turkey

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the relationship between the level of attachment to society and cognitive deviance in modern Turkey. Applying Social Bonding Theory, we argue that stronger attachment to society leads to higher conformity to society’s socially accepted norms and less cognitive deviance. We conceptualize cognitive deviance as nontraditional attitudes toward sexuality and marriage. Using the 2011 World Values Survey, we find that the level of attachment to society reduces cognitive deviance. Moreover, the effect is stronger toward more extreme cognitive deviance, such as tolerance toward homosexuality, than less extreme cognitive deviance, such as tolerance toward divorce and abortion.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Heili Pals

HEILI PALS is an assistant pofessor in the Department of Sociology at Texas A&M University. Her current research focuses on the social psychology of the life course, the social psychological explanations behind the development of deviance, inequality due to sexual orientation, and determinants of attitudes toward homosexuality. She works in collaboration with the Howard B. Kaplan Laboratory for Social Science Research and is an associate editor of the journal Population Review. She has published in journals such as Social Psychology Quarterly, American Journal of Criminal Justice, Deviant Behavior, and Journal of Adolescence.

CEYLAN ENGIN is a doctoral student in the Department of Sociology at Texas A&M University. She is an interdisciplinary scholar of Sociology, Demography, and Women’s and Gender Studies with a specific focus on Turkey. Her current research focuses on the intersections of religion, gender, and sexuality.