| Author: Weronika Cygan-Adamczyk |
‘Homosexuality was still considered a sexual disorder in the 20th century, whereas it’s no longer viewed as such by today’s psychiatric standards. This example alone shows us that what we view as the norm, and what we regard as a deviation from it, is very often culturally and historically defined,’ explains Prof. Maciej Bernasiewicz from the Faculty of Social Sciences. The researcher specialises in studying the environmental factors of various lifestyles. In his book To Raise a Genius: Parents in biographies of the outstanding individuals of Polish culture and science (University of Silesia Press), he examines how the family conditions of selected historical figures might have contributed to their success. In recognition of his academic achievements, he was nominated for the Silesian Science Award 2025.
Everything That Deviates from the Norm
In everyday language, the words pervert or deviant have negative connotations. They are often used to express disapproval of certain behaviours, and do not necessarily refer to what social science specialists would consider actual deviations.
‘In science, the word deviant doesn’t have the same negative meaning as it does in everyday speech. Its use implies no judgment. It simply points to a shift away from what is recognised as a certain norm in a statistical or axiological sense,’ says Prof. Maciej Bernasiewicz. He adds that experts no longer use the archaic term pervert, although it can still be sometimes seen in media coverage, for instance.
In sociology, there’s a distinction between negative and positive deviance. Negative deviance includes , crime, terrorism, nepotism, and patostreaming, the live-streaming of extreme, vulgar and harmful behaviours. Positive deviance includes vegetarianism, volunteering and social activism. The former causes significant social harm, whereas the latter case involves heightened social sensitivity and the promotion of new ideas to which others remain indifferent. Although researchers usually focus on only one type of social deviance in their studies, the USil academic attempts to analyse all of them – among other things, by researching the biographies of criminals The ultimate goal is to find patterns that will help to determine which type of upbringing increases the risk of social pathology or, conversely, fosters the development of outstanding personalities.
It is worth noting that there are types of deviation from the norm which can – depending on the circumstances – be both harmful and exceptionally beneficial. A psychopathic personality can sometimes lead to brutal crimes. At the same time, it is overrepresented among certain socially important professions. Psychopaths are therefore not only sex offenders and murderers but also criminal investigators or surgeons. Their fearlessness, diminished sense of guilt, disregard for the feelings of others and thrill-seeking behaviours may thus prove beneficial to society as a whole.
As Prof. Maciej Bernasiewicz notes, deviation does not always stem from poor upbringing or low socioeconomic background. When it comes to psychopathy (dissocial personality), the deviation is innate and associated with damage to specific areas of the brain – the prefrontal and temporal cortex (the limbic system). On the other hand, sociopathy is acquired and it results from childhood trauma. The expert emphasises that it is sometimes difficult to make a definitive assessment of a given case. Especially, when we don’t know all the circumstances that might have led to the deviance.
Recipe for a Genius
Growing knowledge in the social and natural sciences (concerning genetics, biology, evolution etc.) may tempt us whip up a data-driven recipe for a Nobel Prize winner, a model citizen or a gifted athlete. Reality, however, is far more complex, and a simple checklist is nowhere near enough.
‘In social sciences, we don’t establish laws like physicists or chemists do. We formulate theses that make the occurrence of a phenomenon probable and we look for recurring patterns. The so-called principle of internal and external attribution is a good example known from social psychology. Usually, when we succeed, we credit ourselves for it, and when we lose, we look for somebody else to blame. It’s different when it comes to neurotic people. Even if they achieve something through their own effort, they might still view it as a mere coincidence,’ explains the researcher.
This is why famous people’s biographies can offer a rich menu of insights – they include not only outstanding individuals raised in caring families but also those moulded by less favourable conditions in childhood.
In his book Raising a Genius, Prof. Maciej Bernasiewicz examined several biographies in this way, including those of Joseph Conrad-Korzeniowski, Krzysztof Kieślowski, Stanisław Lem, Maria Skłodowska-Curie and Henryk Sienkiewicz. The researcher points to two individuals from his publication whose lives show exceptionally well how important it is to grow up in a development-friendly environment and to have supportive parents.
‘Bronisław Malinowski, the founder of functionalism in cultural anthropology and author of The Sexual Life of Savages in North-Western Melanesia, was the son of a Jagiellonian University professor and well-known ethnologist, which clearly put him in a much better position than most. What surprised me in the biography of the sociologist and philosopher Zygmunt Bauman was the fact that even though his parents didn’t have a higher education, they were a well-read family who was deeply committed to his education’, says the USil expert.
The researcher points to the Russian novelists Fyodor Dostoevsky and Anton Chekhov as examples of geniuses who succeeded in life, despite facing humiliation from their fathers throughout childhood.
Perversive jazz
Given many different factors that influence a person’s character and personality – both innate and acquired, shaped first by family, and later by school, work and other social groups – it is difficult to say with certainty what will lead somebody to a Nobel Prize and what will cause them to end up in prison. Furthermore, researchers have to consider that many deviations from the norm depend heavily on the culture or historical context through which they are viewed.
One of the most striking examples is homosexuality – once perceived as a deviance but now treated neutrally from a psychological standpoint. Yet, reality remains vastly different in various parts of the world. While same-sex marriage is legal in Brazil, homosexual relationships carry the death penalty in Uganda.
The world is not on the same page in terms of approaches to certain issues like drink-driving or cannabis use. At the same time, behaviours like incest seem to be rejected universally. Then, there are less obvious examples of what people in a certain time and place considered scandalous. Here, Prof. Maciej Bernasiewicz points to… jazz
‘After World War II, jazz musicians were considered deviants. That was because jazz was played in nightclubs, which naturally disrupted any chance of a regular family life. On top of that, jazz musicians travelled frequently, used substances and isolated themselves within their own group. Such behaviour only reinforced that label ’, explains the researcher.
Today, although it might seem that little room for difference remains in the global village, many areas are still viewed differently by representatives of various nations and social groups. According to the USil researcher, these variations are also visible in the topics researched by academics from different countries or cultural backgrounds. Polish academics analyse dysfunctional families more often than their American colleagues, whereas the latter focus on organised crime involving widely accessible firearms or on racial inequalities.
Ultimately, however, what matters at the individual level are the specific choices a person makes throughout their life, depending on the social, intellectual and cultural capital they possess from the start.
‘Psychologists speak of opportunity cost, which means that every life choice we make closes off other possibilities. By becoming a Catholic priest, a person loses the chance to marry – then again, getting married can strip away the freedom of being single,’ says Prof. Maciej Bernasiewicz.
According to the researcher, the reason why we read biographies so eagerly is to experience these alternative stories we couldn’t live through or test for ourselves. That is most likely why this genre is so popular among readers – it allows them to experience real life through the eyes of others. As for researchers, such sources can truly be a treasure trove of information – both about society and human beings.
The article ‘Deviant: Born or Raised’ was published in the April issue of University of Silesia Magazine No. 7 (337).
The book To Raise a Genius: Parents in biographies of the outstanding individuals of Polish culture and science was published by the University of Silesia Press.
Prof. Maciej Bernasiewicz | Photo by Agnieszka Szymala