interactionalist theories of crime Flashcards
becker - labelling theory
argue that no act is inherently criminal or deviant in itself in all situations and all times
moral entrepreneur
individual or small group who bring up an issue in society
example of a moral entrepreneur
greta thuberg, the bible belt during prohibition
moral crusade
campaign
platt
argues that the idea of ‘juvenile delinquency’ was originally created as a result of a campaign by upper class victorian moral entrepreneurs, aimed at protecting young people at risk
Cicourel - typification
- the police show a class bias when dealing with suspects
- w/c areas were more likely targetted due to negative labels of the w/c
- middle class can negotiate their way out of prosecution
lemert - primary deviance
deviant acts which have not been publicly labelled (e.g fare dodging)
lemert - secondary deviance
the result of secondary reaction
lemert - master status
loose your sense of worth in society and believe your label
lemert - deviant career
joining a deviant subculture that offers deviant career opportunities and role models rewards devinat behaviour and confirms their deviant identity
example of the CJS preventing this cycle
portugal decriminalsing drug usage
triplett
notes an increasing tendency to see young offenders as evil and to be less tolerant of minor deviance
de haan
notes a similar outcome in Holland as a result of the increasing stigmatisation of young offenders
braithwaite - disintegrative shaming
where not only the crime, but also the criminal is labelled as bad and the offender is excluded from society
braithwaite - reintegrative shaming
lables the act but not the actor
what are the benefits of reintegrative shaming?
- avoids stigmatising the offender as evile while the same time making them aware of the negative impact of their actions upon others
- avoids pushing them into secondary deviance
crime rates tend to be lower in societies where reintegrative shaming is dominant
where is reintegrative shaming practised?
scandinavian countries
what are the criticisms of interactionalist theories?
- too deterministic > labelling does not always lead to a deviant career
- certain crimes do not need labelling for us to believe its wrong (e.g child abuse)
- ignores the fact people may actively choose deviance
what is the realist criticism of interactionalism?
that it does not look at the causes of why primary deviance happens
what is the marxist criticism of interactionalism?
focuses in ‘middle-range officials’ that give the label but fail to analyse the capitalist people at the top of the hierarchy that made the rules and laws in the first place
