Crime: The labelling theory Flashcards
What is Lemert’s Primary deviation ?
Deviant acts before they are publicly labelled. No one knows about it.
for example littering ,breaking traffic laws.
What is Lemert’s Secondary deviation ?
The deviant behaviour engaged in subsequently as a result of being labelled.
What is master status ?
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What is the deviance amplification spiral ?
Becker claims this is a process in which the attempt to control deviance leads to an increase in the level of deviance!
(1-NEGATIVE LABEL) - Deviant acts which aren’t publicly labelled = Primary deviance. Some acts are publicly labelled. Secondary deviance.
(2-SELF CONCEPT) - Could lead to self-fulfilling prophecy because of the labelling.
(3-LABEL REINFORCED) - Begin to live up to their label and committing more secondary deviance.
(4-MASTER STATUS) - Now they’re officially labelled – people only see that person as that label = becomes their master status.
(5-DEVIANT CAREER) - SD = more hostile reactions from society 🡪 more deviance and a deviant career.
Examples of Deviance Amplification Spiral AO2
Hippie Marijuana users Jock Young :
Hippie marijuana users:
-Police and media portray marijuana users, particularly hippies, as lazy and criminal. Leads to them feeling as outriders.
-Hippies form subcultures cantered around marijuana use. Their lifestyle, norms, and values become deviant in the eyes of mainstream society, leading them to embrace it.
-This results in a self-fulfilling prophecy the more the police crack down on marijuana use, the more hippies are labelled as deviants.
-Being labelled as criminals reduces opportunities for them (e.g., employment), leading many marijuana users into a deviant career.
-opportunities for reintegration into mainstream society decrease, making deviance more central to the identity of these individuals.
Examples of Deviance Amplification Spiral AO2
The mods and rockers – Stan Cohen :
-Mods were associated with fashion and music, while Rockers were known for motorcycles and rock ‘n’ roll. The media played a key role in amplifying their conflicts by sensationalizing minor incidents, portraying them as major violence. This created moral panic and public fear.
-The media’s labelling of these groups as deviant led to a self-fulfilling prophecy, where young people began to adopt deviant behaviours. Increased media attention prompted police to conduct mass arrests, further reinforcing negative stereotypes. As a result, the conflicts between Mods and Rockers escalated, with both groups embracing their deviant labels.
Evaluation of Becker’s argument ( Deviance amplification spiral ) :
PM- not necessarily as people are free and choose to do what they want/not to deviate further (Downes and Rock, 2003) People can reject labels.
Cicourel - The Negotiation of Justice :
justice is influenced not only by rules but also by social interactions and personal decisions made within the system. Key factors include:
-Discretion and Interpretation: Legal actors, such as police and judges, have the freedom to make decisions based on personal interpretations, not just legal facts.
-influence of Social Class: Middle-class juveniles are often treated more leniently than working-class or minority juveniles due to stereotypes and assumptions.
-Language and Communication: How a person speaks and behaves can impact their treatment by the justice system.
-Negotiation Process: Justice is shaped by interactions between police, families, lawyers, and judges, rather than being strictly determined by law.
-Institutional Influence: Bureaucratic pressures, like heavy workloads, can affect decision-making.
-Bias and Subjectivity: The system is not neutral, with decisions being influenced by factors such as race, social class, and institutional norms.
Examples AO2 of Cicourels study :
During 2011 riots the Bullingdon club - A delinquent gang . Boris Johnson and David Cameron were apart of it. They did a wide range of illegal behaviour and got away with it because of their upper class status .
Evaluation of Cicourels “ Negotiation of justice “
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Evaluation of Labelling theory AO3:
-It fails to explain primary deviance/why people offend in the first place, which occurs before they have been labelled.
-Deterministic: it wrongly assumes labelling automatically leads to a deviant career.
-It implies that deviants do not know they are deviant until they are labelled but most know they are defying society’s norms
-It fails to explain where labels come from e.g. the shared value system or capitalist ideology where all the power is concentrated (so it ignores wider structural causes)
It ignores the possibility that labelling can reduce crime - e.g. redintegrative shaming avoids stigmatising the offender by condemning the act not the actor.
