The old adage, "familiarity breeds contempt," rings eerily true when considering the dangers of normalizing deviance. Coined by sociologist Diane Vaughan, this phenomenon describes the gradual process ...

When the sociologist Diane Vaughan came up with the term “the normalization of deviance,” she was referring to NASA administrators’ disregard of the flaw that caused the Challenger space shuttle to ...

Healthcare in Nevada seems to suffer from a "normalization of deviance," according to this article in the Las Vegas Sun. In two recent high-profile cases, trained professionals apparently ignored ...

But we should be careful about assuming that media attention creates a normalizing effect. It is just as likely that news coverage underscores the deviance or distastefulness of a contested topic. And ...

The shortcut has been in our psyche since most of us can remember. It often is a deviation from the conventional as a means to get somewhere or do something to save time. Time is precious, and ...

In the aftermath of the exposure and resignation of Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) from Congress, his colleagues, some journalists, ethicists and pundits are trying to sort out what it means. Has a new ...

The fire service is built on a foundation of camaraderie, courage, and a shared mission to protect and serve. Yet, like any profession, it is vulnerable to the pressures of everyday operations, human ...

Do the news media “normalize” crackpot notions and extremist politics by covering them? Some media observers would answer yes, and they would warn journalists to reconsider what they pay attention to, ...