interactionism and labelling theory

Question 1

what did becker say about labelling in crime

Answer 1

the social construction of crime and labelling of criminal behaviour, those labelled based on gender, class and ethnicity

Question 2

what did cicourel say about officers and stereotyping

Answer 2

officers tend to stereotype the typical criminal - eg WC and ethnic minority juveniles fit police specifications so when police patrol WC areas it results in more WC arrests, therefore crime stats recorded by police don’t give a valid image of crime

Question 3

what are the 2 types of deviance by lemert

Answer 3

1. primary - not publicly labeled acts
2. secondary - result of societal reaction (labeled)

Question 4

what is the deviance amplification spiral

Answer 4

it’s an attempt to control deviance which leads to it increasing rather than decreasing - eg folk devils and moral panics

Question 5

what did douglas say about suicide

Answer 5

interactionalists are interested in deviant behaviour such as mental illness and suicide and suicide can’t be explained by official statistics