Interactionism

Question 1

How do interactionists view deviance?

Answer 1

A social construct.
(Mainstream society has defined certain behaviour as deviant and identified the kind of people who they see as deviant, which are the young working-class white males, being in the police and public media. This affects how they’re treated by others)

Question 2

Becker (Sociologist)

Answer 2

Argues that labelling creates power, and that labels may stick to certain people giving them a master-status. Being labelled by the police can increase stops and searches depending on what you look like.

Can cause a self-fulfilling prophecy

Question 3

Cicourel (study)

Answer 3

Identified that the behaviour of the individual being questioned has a link to their social class. For example, if the individual is polite, it means they have been raised well in a good family, and no action will be taken. This shows how justice can be negotiated.

Question 4

Lemert (Sociologist)

Answer 4

Like Becker, Lemert was interested in how social construction and interactions can affect one’s image. He discovered two types of deviance; primary deviance and secondary deviance. People who are stigmatized commit primary deviance - which causes people to see them as people who commit secondary deviancy, ultimately causing them to fulfill a self fulfilling prophecy.