Interactionalism and labelling theory

Question 1

What do labelling theorists such as Becker believe about deviance?

Answer 1

No act is inherently deviant or criminal, it only becomes that way once it has been labelled as that

Question 2

What are moral entrepreneurs (Becker)

Answer 2

Individuals who lead a moral campaign to change the law

Question 3

How do Pilavin and Briar support the fact that grounds for arrests were socially constructed?

Answer 3

Found decisions to arrest youths was based on physical cues e.g dress to make judgements about character

Question 4

According to Cicourel, what influences officers decisions to arrest?

Answer 4

Typifications- their steroetypes of what a delinquent looks like.

Question 5

How can typifications lead to increase in w/c arrests?

Answer 5

w/c more likely to fit police typifications of a criminal and so more patrol in those areas, leading to more arrests

Question 6

What is the negotiation of justice according to Cicourel?

Answer 6

If an individual doesnt meet the enforcers typifications e.g a m/c boy who has stolen, he is less likely to be charged
-Additionally, his parents more likley to successfully negotiate on his behalf

Question 7

Why does Cicourel believe crime statistics should be a topic not a resource?

Answer 7

They do not give us a valid picture of crime, possibly due to the dark figure and should instead be used to investigate process that created iy

Question 8

How is crime socially constructed?

Answer 8

At each stage of the CJS agents (police,prosecutors) attach a label to the suspect and use that to decide if they will proceed to the next stage

Question 9

How can the social contruction of crime statistics decrease validity

Answer 9

The statistics only show the choice of the police (whether they have labelled it as a crime or not) not about the actual amount of crime

Question 10

What is the dark figure of crime?

Answer 10

Some crimes are underreported and undetected so the rate of ‘real’ crime is unknown

Question 11

How can the validity of crime statistics be increased?

Answer 11

Using victim surveys and self report studies to gain a more accurate view of amiunt of crime
-However, individuals may lie, forget or exaggerate if they have commited a crime/been a victim

Question 12

What are the 6 stages in the social construction of crime?

Answer 12

-suspect stopped
-arrested
-charged
-prosecuted
-convicted
-sentenced

Question 13

What is primary deviance according to Lemert?

Answer 13

Primary deviance- Deviant acts that have not been publically labelled e.g fare dodging
-widespread so has no single cause
-Often goes uncaught

Question 14

What is secondary deviance according to Lemert?

Answer 14

Deviance that is labelled
-Results in individual having a master status that controls their identity (paedophila) they then internalise the label

Question 15

How can an individual respond to their master status?

Answer 15

-self fulfilling prophecy in which they act out their deviant label (secondary deviance), leading to a deviant career

Question 16

Give an example of a deviant career?

Answer 16

When an individuals ‘outsider’ status is reinforced by society and so thye become more deviant e.g ex-convicts who cant get a job so get more money from commiting more crimes

Question 17

How does Jock Youngs study support primary and secondary deviance?

Answer 17

Hippies originally did drugs which was not labelled negatively-primary deviance
-more police enforcement meant that hippies were then seen as outsiders
-hippies then internalised outsider status and started to behave deviantly

Question 18

What is the deviance amplification spiral?

Answer 18

The process in which trying to control deviance creates more e.g Cohens Moral panic with mods and rockers

Question 19

What is Braithwaite differ from other labelling theorists?

Answer 19

He believes that labelling can have positive effects through reintegrative and disintegrative shaming

Question 20

What is disintegrative shaming?

Answer 20

Where the crime and the individual is labelled negatively, the individual is then excluded from society

Question 21

What is reintigrative shaming?

Answer 21

The act is labelled negatively, not the individual (they did a bad thing but are not a bad person).
-individual is then more able to reintegrate into society which lowere the crime rates