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Abstract Prior studies and commonsense definitions of the decision‐making process suggest that the ascriptive power of the commitment offense, gravity of the commitment offense, psychiatric characteristics of the offender, and the social identity given off by the offender's family would be causally related to variance in the deviance label, i.e., decisions to commit to a mental hospital rather than to a corrections institution. Case records from both settings were analyzed for traces of the decision. However, controlling for each of the alternative variables fails to eliminate the strong relationship between intensity of the offender's prior career of delinquent behavior and the formal deviance label qua type of commitment. The multivariate path model suggests that delinquency intensity and type of commitment are the two most important determinants of mental classification.

This paper examines the changes in societal reactions to deviance and some of the factors which might propt such changes. As an example, the issue of legalization of marijuana is examined. Data used are from two national sample surveys conducted in 1973 and 1976. It is found that factors which promote tolerance of nonconformity are also important in promoting changes in societal reactions to deviance. Generally, younger, better educated, less religious, and more tolerant respondents are more likely than others (although substantial gains have been made in most social categories) to favor legalization of marijuana. It is suggested that changes in reactions to deviance occur partly depending upon the exposure to a given deviant act and the situated context, and partly on the basis of those factors which promote tolerance of nonconformity.