Techniques of Neutralization Theory and Positive Deviance

High achievers constitute a unique case in that they are simultaneously positive deviants-often to parents and teachers-and stigmatized as rate-busters-often to peers. Thus, a question is raised: Are theories that have been used to explain negative behaviors, such as the techniques of neutralization theory, also pertinent to positive behaviors? A group of high-achieving students were interviewed and it was found that each of the five techniques of neutralization was in fact advanced as a way of coping with the stigma, or the rate-busting portion, of their status.