Explanations of crime and anti-social behaviour: Social explanations Flashcards
What is labelling?
A theory of how we classify ourselves and others using ‘labels which then defines that person. In context of crime, an individual may be labelled ‘deviant’ if they do not conform to the rules that powerful groups create.
What is self-fulfilling prophecy?
A prediciton that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true, by the very existence of the prophecy itself, due to positive feedback between belief and behaviour.
What is social learning?
Acquiring behaviours, values and attitudes by observing and imitating other people. For example, a teenager might learn criminal behaviour by observing a deviant role model.
What is the Jahoda study- (Ashanti)?
According to the Ashanti, boys born on a Wednesday (Kwaku) are thought to be violent and aggressive while Monday boys (Kwadwo) are meant to be placid and relaxed.
All Jahoda did was examine the names of criminals who have committed violent offences recorded in court.
He found that:
Kwadwo boys accounted for 6.9% of offences
Kwaku boys accounted for 22% of offences
What are the 4 stages of self-fulfilling prophecies?
- Labelling
- New behaviour
- Positive feedback
- The label becomes true
What is the Rosenthal and Jacobson study?
At the start of the school year, they told teachers that certain pupils were ‘about to bloom’ and do well at school, though in fact they chose the pupils at random
Gave pupils IQ test so teachers thought predictions had come from the test
At end of year, researchers gave pupils IQ test again
Those labelled as ‘bloomers’ had improved in IQ score more than the other pupils = evidence of SFP
Teachers must have treated pupils differently from the rest and, as a result of additional attention, the pupils did better – or perhaps gained more confidence because teacher perceived them to be brighter
What are some strengths of Rosenthal and Jacobson study?
High control – teachers didn’t know about IQ test results and ‘bloomers’ randomly chosen; deceit meant nothing could have affected the children, except for teacher attention, because not all were ‘about to bloom’
Reliable – other studies found similar results – Madon et al (2003)
What are some weaknesses of Rosenthal and Jacobson?
Study is artificial and teachers were given a false belief, which they acted upon – perhaps thought they were supposed to act on information in some way where as in another situation they may not have acted as they did – validity issue
Not ethical to choose some children as ‘about to bloom’ because will get special attention whereas others will not
What was Madon et al study related to mothers and SFP?
The study found that mothers who expected their children to engage in alcohol abuse were more likely to behave in ways that influenced the children to actually develop such behaviors. In other words, the mothers’ negative expectations played a role in the children eventually using alcohol, partly because these expectations affected the mothers’ actions and the children’s experiences.
This research highlights how parental expectations can shape children’s behaviors, potentially reinforcing the very outcomes parents fear
What is retrospective labelling (Becker)?
Going back into someone’s past and reinterpreting it in the light of how someone has been labelled. Someone is labelled a criminal when they reach early adulthood, people who knew they person when they were younger might say things like ‘he was always bad’ – relabelling earlier actions
What is Projective labelling- (Becker)?
Using a label for someone already stigmatised, to say what will happen to that person in the future, ‘one of these days he’s going to do something really bad’
What is Informal labelling- (Becker)?
The respondent’s perception that others (e.g. family members, neighbours etc.) thought of them as ‘bad’ or a ‘troublemaker’ etc
What is formal labelling- (Becker)?
Whether the respondent had ever been ‘processed’ by the criminal justice system e.g. by being arrested, charged, tried or convicted for any offence before the one they were currently in prison for
What did Ramoutar and Farrington say about labelling?
For females, the strongest predictor of participation was labelling, particularly labelling by the parents, which increased the risk of violent offending by a factor of 19.2 for violent offending
What did Chiricos et al say about labelling?
being given the ‘felony’ label significantly increased the probability of subsequent convictions.
