interactionism and labeling theory Flashcards
labeling theorists; no act is deviant in itself
- this is because deviance is a social construct
- they are interested in how people interpret normality and deviance
BECKER: relativity of crime and deviance
- there is no value consensus on normality or deviance (these concepts mean different things to different people and groups)
factors that determines how we define an act as criminal or not
- social context
- historical period
- culture
- subculture
interactionists believe that deviance is a matter of ‘interpretation’
- this is when for the same act e.g. killing a person there may be several interpretations
- e.g. killing enemy soldiers in war is considered more acceptable and legit than murder or man slaughter
BECKER; no act is inherently criminal or deviant by itself in all situations and time
- it only becomes officially criminal or deviant when it is interpreted by others (this is called social reaction)
- interpreting an act as deviant is usually done by someone with more power than the one who committed the act
social construction of deviance
- BECKER; deviance is a social construction
- it requires 2 groups; one group who is powerless who commit the act and one group who has more power that interprets the actions as wrong and labels the activity and the group as criminal/deviant
BECKER; powerful groups create rules/laws
- this allows them to define what counts as crime and deviance
- they can label those who fail to conform to the social controls as criminals
role of agents of social control
- the powerful group often socially construct crime and deviance through agents of social control e.g. police, teachers
- agents label and define behavior of less powerful groups as a problem
- so their behavior is subjected to greater surveillance and control by the agencies
role of police
- HOLAWAY; racial profiling by police may be responsible for the criminalisation of black people
- this stereotyping affect their disproportionate appearance in official crime statistics
- so statistics may tell sociologists more about police racism than black criminality
not everyone who commits an offence is punished this is called DIFFERENTIAL ENFORCEMENT
when a person is arrested, charged or convicted depends on:
- interactions with agencies of social control
- appearance or background and personal biography (if it fits police stereotype)
- situation and circumstances
CICOUREL; NEGOTIATION OF JUSTICE
- he concluded that definitions of criminality can be negotiated by some groups.
- e.g. MC youth was less likely to charged than WC youth due to social background not fitting the police’s typification
typification leads to class bias
- this is because police patrolling working class areas more intensively which leads to arrests
other agents of social control in criminal justice system reinforce bias
- probation officers have the view that juvenile delinquency was caused by broken homes, poverty and poor parenting
- these youths from these backgrounds are likely to offend in the future
middle class parents convince agents of social control
- they do this by ensuring the agencies that their child stay out of trouble so MC children were counselled, warned and released compared to working class were often charged with a criminal offence
how and why are laws made?
- more entrepreneurs lead a moral crusade to change the law which has 2 effects according to BECKER;
- creation of new group of outsiders - outlaws/deviants to break the new rules
- expansion of social control agency e.g. police, courts etc to enforce the rule and impose labels on offenders
