Interactionism Flashcards
What do interactionists mean by socially constructed?
No act is, in and of itself, deviant (labelled)
Deviance is a result of…
interactions
What does labelling lead to?
Self - fulfilling prophecy
What do moral entrepreneurs do? Give an example.
new deviants and social control
Marijuana act
What factors make labelling more likely?
appearance, background and circumstances
What are typifications?
relying on general knowledge as a way of constructing ideas about people and the social world.
there are ideas about a ‘typical’ delinquent
Primary vs. secondary deviance
• Primary (widespread but not publicly labelled; no change to identity) and secondary deviance (label changes master status; SFP)
What causes the deviance?
• Hostile reaction causes deviance
What is a deviance amplification spiral?
attempts to control leads to increase (MODS AND ROCKERS)
How does this influence justice policy?
disintegrative and reintegrative
Mental illness and suicide
Douglas - whether a death is a suicide is a result of interactions (guilty family or religious coroner)
Atkinson - statistics are just a record of labels based on coroner’s assumptions
ideas about a ‘typical’ suicide ruled
Evaluation
deterministic, shows that law is enforced unfairly, gives offender victim status, doesn’t account for source of labels e.g. power structures.
