3.1 perspectives on crime and deviance - interactionist Flashcards
1
Q
How do interactionsists differ from structuralist sociologists?
A
- they reject official stats of crime, making them part of their subject of study
- they reject structural causal explanations of crime and deviance
- they look at the way crime and deviance is socially constructed
- favour in depth qualitative data
2
Q
What did Howard Becker(1973) argue?
A
- the deviant is one to whom that label has been successfully applied
- normality and deviance is relative
- an act only becomes criminal/deviant when others label it as such
3
Q
What is Becker’s social construction of deviance?
A
- one group, lacking power, behaves in a particular way - another group, with more power, responds negatively and labels it as criminal
4
Q
How do the agents of social control aid labelling?
A
- the police, judiciary, social workers and probation workers work on behalf of the powerful groups to label and define behaviour of the less powerful, which is subject to more surveillance and control by these agencies
5
Q
What two types of deviance did Edwin Lamert identify?
A
- primary and secondary deviance
6
Q
What is primary deviance?
A
- insignificant deviant acts that haven’t been publicly labelled
7
Q
What is secondary deviance?
A
- deviance is the result of societal reaction of labelling - this leads to stigmatisation where people are shunned
8
Q
What can happen to the criminal label?
A
- it can become a master status where society interprets all actions and motives within the context of the label - this produces a self-fulfilling prophecy and the labelled person may seek refuge with other people branded with the same label - they may join subcultures that offer deviant career opportunities, role models and rewards
9
Q
What are some strengths of the interactionist perspective on crime?
A
- challenges the idea that criminals are different to ‘normal’ people
- labelling theory shows us that defining deviance is a complex process
- definitions are relative and not fixed, universal/unchangeable
- labelling theory was the first to draw attention to the consequences of being labelled deviant
10
Q
What are some weaknesses of the interactionist perspective of crime?
A
- the deviant act is more important than the societal reaction to it, deviants don’t need a label to know they are doing wrong
- doesn’t explain the origin of deviance
- left realists = ignores the victims of crime and it is wrong to blame the agencies of social control for crime
11
Q
What kind of approach does Cicourel take?
A
- a phenomenological approach in order to understand how law enforcement make sense of what they see
12
Q
How did Cicourel see the negotiation of justice?
A
- typifications = the law enforcers have stereotypes of who a criminal is
- the police target people accordingly i.e. the young, ethnic minority groups, lower social classes
13
Q
What did Cicourel’s 1976 study of police find?
A
- police in California were more likely to arrest people who fitted the picture of having poor school performance; low income backgrounds; and ethnic minorities
- MC delinquents tended to be counselled, cautioned and released by police officers
14
Q
What did Stanley Cohen find about deviancy amplification?
A
- a group is labelled as deviant by the media and society
- more focus is put on the group/seen as different - deviancy amplification
- they are demonised/feel isolated/singled out and folk devils are created
- a self fulfilling prophecy leads to more crime
15
Q
What types of shaming does John Braithwaite identify?
A
- disintegrative and reintegrative shaming
