tch trials. Although the number of people accused and imprisoned were in the hundreds, in total, nineteen were executed—eighteen by hanging and one by being pressed to death. Out of these nineteen, sixteen were women. Those who were most likely to be accused were women whose behavior or economic circumstances were somehow disturbing to the social order and conventions of the time. Some of the accused had previous records of criminal activity, including witchcraft, but others were faithful churchgoers and people of high standing in the community (Starkey, 1949). What is perceived as deviance also changes from culture to culture, from social class to social class, and from year to year. According to Erikson (1966), in Wayward Puritans, he defines deviance as "conduct which the people of a group consider so dangerous or embarrassing or irritating that they bring special sanctions to bear against the person who exhibits it" (Erikson, 1966, p. 6). In addition, Erikson (1966) also declares the only way to tell if a behavior is deviant is to learn about the standards or morals of the audience that is responding to the deviant act. There are several factors that are taken into consideration when judging whether a person is deviant or not: offender’s past record; their social class; and, if they show remorse for their actions. For example, some who drink heavily are considered alcoholics, while others aren’t (they may just be relieving stress). Whether or not a person is viewed as deviant depends on how the community views the actions. Just because an action is considered deviant by society, does not mean it is harmful to the group (Erikson, 1966).Deviance is needed to give the group boundaries to their behavior. Deviance will be found in every society due to the limits it sets. It should also be noted that if you fear something, you would become more obvious to that fear. For example, those who are jealous of material objects ...
