@article{Brezina_2010, place={Washington DC: American Sociological Association.}, title={Are Deviants Different than the Rest of Us? : Using Student Accounts of Academic Cheating to Explore a Popular Myth}, url={https://trails.asanet.org/article/view/are-deviants-different-than-the-rest-of-us-using}, abstractNote={This paper outlines a useful classroom exercise designed to facilitate a critical examination of the above myth and to enhance student appreciation of a sociological perspective. The exercise is mainly designed for use in deviance and criminology courses, but may be helpful in any course, or course section, where motives for offending are the focus of study. In particular, students are asked to consider their personal involvement in academic cheating and to describe the surrounding circumstances and motivations that led to this behavior. By exploring their personal accounts of cheating behavior, students more easily grasp the applicability of deviance theories to their own actions, recognize how the motivations of other offenders may not differ fundamentally from their own, and are better prepared to critically examine the belief that "deviants are different from the rest of us." Before describing the details of this exercise, I provide a brief review of relevant sociological arguments and existing teaching techniques. }, journal={TRAILS: Teaching Resources and Innovations Library for Sociology}, author={Brezina, Timothy}, year={2010}, month={Apr.} }