Durkheim’s Legacy Emile Durkheim (1964 original edition 1895) focused his sociological investigations mainly on criminal acts, yet his conclusions have implications for all types of deviant behavior. In durkheim’s view, the punishments established within a culture (including both formal and informal mechanisms of social control) help to define acceptable behavior and thus contribute to stability. If improper acts were not committed and then sanctioned, people might stretch their standards as to what constitutes appropriate conduct.