Interactionism And Crime Flashcards
What does Becker say about crime and deviance?
Whether a person is deemed deviant depends on societal reaction based on who commits the crime, when and where, who observes it and and negotiation of labels. Deviance is not the quality of the act but a consequence of the application of others. Police operate with ore existing conceptions and stereotypical categories of what constitutes to deviant. These influence their response and behaviour to the act. Labelling can lead to the self fulfilling prophecy and a deviant career. Deviant becomes their master status and which can lead to the deviance amplification spiral as they face rejection from conventional society
How is Becker’s theory useful?
It shows the importance of societal reaction in determining whether someone should be labelled deviant or not
What point can be used to evaluate Becker’s theory?
Gouldner says that there are many reactions to labelling and not everyone accepts the label given to them
What does Cicourel say about crime and deviance?
Juvenile crime rates are higher in working class areas because police view the middle class juveniles behaviour differently even if their actions are the same. The police believe the middle class come from good backgrounds with family support so their behaviour is viewed as temporary lapses of morals. More formal police action is taken against the working class
How is Cicourel’s theory useful?
It shows the subjective perceptions and stereotypes which can lead to the social construction of crime statistics
What point can be used to evaluate Cicourel’s theory?
The theory can be seen as moving the blame onto those labelling the act rather than the individual who committed the act
What does Lemert say about crime and deviance?
Primary deviance is undiscovered acts of deviance which haven’t been labelled. Secondary deviance is publicly exposed acts of deviance which have been labelled so. Once a deviant act has been discovered deviant becomes their master status and all other characteristics are overlooked. E.g. downloading child pornography when discovered ‘sex offender’ will become their master status
How is Lemert’s theory useful?
Shows the power of labelling and how it can strip all identity and leave the individual only being known for their deviant act
What point can be used to evaluate Lemert’s theory?
The theory assumes that an act isn’t deviant until labelled so even though most offenders know that their actions are wrong
What do Cohen and Young say about crime and deviance?
The media amplify crime and deviance as they demonise deviants and create moral panics. E.g. initial minor incidents involving mods and rockets were exaggerated by the media which caused deviance amplification as more fighting occurred. Young suggested how after police intervention deviance amplification occurred with hippie marijuana users as they started taking harder drugs and dealing because more of a problem
How are Cohen and Young’s theories useful?
Shows the role of moral entrepreneurs in defining deviance and influencing opinion and shows how if these groups were left alone and their acts weren’t labelled as deviant then there wouldn’t have been as much trouble
What point can be used to evaluate Cohen and Young’s theories?
Wider structural problems need to be considered such as the fact that if the subcultures had have been of a higher class then they probably wouldn’t have been labelled deviant e.g. The Bullingdon Club
