Interactionism and labelling theory

Question 1

For labelling theorists is a deviant act deviant in itself?

Answer 1

No deviance is simply a social construction.

Question 2

What does Becker argue?

Answer 2

social groups ‘moral entrepreneurs ( parents) create deviance by creating rules and applying them to particular people whom they label as outsiders. ( crime is a social construct)

Question 3

Why is for Becker crime is a social construct?

Answer 3

This is because the very definition of crime varies according to time and place.

Question 4

What is an example showing that the definition of crime varies according to time and place?

Answer 4

what may be labelled as deviant or criminal in one country might be perfectly acceptable in another. This is evident when examining laws on marriage. In the Uk it is illegal to marry more than one person or to marry under 18 ( unless parental support). This differs to many countries around the world where polygamy is praticed and marriage younger is common.

Question 5

What does Polygamy and Marrying younger show about deviance

Answer 5

This highlights that deviance is only deviant once it has labelled as such. The definition of what is criminal or deviant often comes from moral entrepreneurs.

Question 6

What does the labeling theory show about Power?

Answer 6

Those with the power to assign labels will do so, and those whom the labelled is attached will be viewed as an outsider.

Question 7

Who might critque the idea of Power assigning labels?

Answer 7

Marxists. this is because although labelling theorists recognize the role of power in creating labels, they do not recognise where this power comes from.

Question 8

For Marxists what are Moral entrepreneurs?

Answer 8

are simply bourgeousie who have the power to define labels as a result of the capitalist structures within society.

Question 9

It is vitally important to understand that although la belling occurs?

Answer 9

Structures ensure that there is a divide between the powerful and weak within society. All such labels are then applied in order to further the oppression of the ploteriat and used to distract away from the bigger issues in society ( capitalism)

Question 10

So why is labeling useful and not according to marxists?

Answer 10

Labelling theorists might have some use in recognizing the attachment of labels but they completely fail to account for the root of such labels ( capitalism)

Question 11

What is Differential enforcement?

Answer 11

Labelling theorists argue that social control agencies ( police, courts etc) tend to label certain acts crminial)

Question 12

Who is the sociologists who looks at how police made arrests?

Answer 12

Pilavin and Briar ( 1964)

Question 13

What does Pilavin and Briar ( 1964) say?

Answer 13

found police decisions to arrest were based on stereotypical ideas about manner, dress, gender class, ethnicity. ( ASBO’s are disproportionately givent to ethnic minorities)

Question 14

Give an example in law where there is discrimination on people getting arrested?

Answer 14

Section 44 terriorism act 2000 Code A ‘ officers must take care not to discriminate aganist memebers of ethnic minoirty groups…. but there may be circumstances, where a officier make have to take account ethnic origin when stopping a person’

Question 15

Who develops further to suggest that police have certain typification’s?

Answer 15

Cicourel he argues that police have certain common sense theories of what a deliquent is like.

Question 16

As a result of these typification who is likely to be more policed?

Answer 16

These result in police patrolling W/C areas more than middle class areas and therefore find more people that fit that typification leading to more arrsetss and stereotypes.

Question 17

Why is Cicourel’s approach useful?

Answer 17

It is useful when evaluating statistics, this is because statistics tend to show that black and working class individuals are more criminal than other social groups, however the concept of typifications show that statistics are a social construction ( they are a reflection on how people are policed, rather than realities of criminal behavior.

Question 18

If the police focused more on white middle class individuals what would the probability of statistics show?

Answer 18

It would show a rise in crime amongst these groups. This can be showed by the fact that police stop and search black individuals seven times more than white counterparts. By singling attention to these groups there is no sunrise why the crime rate is high.

Question 19

What is A03 evaluation against Cirocuel typification?

Answer 19

Right realists argue that this approach ignores the fact that crime has been found amongst these groups suggests that statistic do show criminality exists. We fail to do something about it and labeling theorists off no solution to it.

Question 20

What is the dark figure of official statistics?

Answer 20

is the difference between the official statistics and the real rate of crime - so called because we don’t know for certain how much crime goes undetected, unreported and unrecorded.

Question 21

What alternative methods to Official statistics

Answer 21

Some sociologists therefore use victim surveys or self report studies to gain a more accurate view. AO3 but these alternatives may have limitations e.g. people may lie when asked if they have commited a crime.

Question 22

What does Cicourel argue about official statistics?

Answer 22

We cannot take Crime statistics at face value .We should treat them as a topic and investigate the processes by which they are constructed.

Question 23

Nonetheless, typification can have a huge impact on society why?

Answer 23

as individuals will often take statistics at face value, meaning that statistics based on bias leads to further bias within society.

Question 24

What does Lemert (1972) say?

Answer 24

argues that by labelling certain acts as deviant, society encourages them to become more so: societal reaction causes ‘secondary deviance’.

Question 25

What are the 2 types of deviance Lemert distinguishes from?

Answer 25

Primary and Secondary deviance

Question 26

What is primary deviance?

Answer 26

deviant behaviour that has not even been labelled as such e.g. dropping litter ( society doesn’t label because it is seen as a moment of madness

Question 27

What is secondary deviance?

Answer 27

deviance which is a results from a societal reaction - through labeling it leads to stigmatization and exclusion from society.

Question 28

What does Lemert suggest from secondary deviance?

Answer 28

He suggests that once an individuals experiences secondary deviance, their master status( how they view themselves) becomes negative (e.g. thief) and they see themselves as society views them. ( This shows it is not the act in itself but the hostile reaction which causes deviance)

Question 29

Being labelled from society can lead to what?

Answer 29

Self fuling prophecy which is when you become the label attached to you as you see yourself through the eyes of others. This is because you have been marginalized and no longer have access to services within society and have no option but to turn to crime.

Question 30

What example can be used to show the illustration of Primary, secondary deviance and SPF?

Answer 30

This is evidenced in Young’s example of the hippy marijuana users in Notting hill. Intitally hippies smoked weed but no one paid attention ( Primary D) But police perseuction of them as junkies ( societal reaction) led to them to retreat into small groups, developing a deviant subculture where drug use became a central activity ( SPF)

Question 31

What is an A03 of the self fulfilling prophecy here?

Answer 31

Interactionists would critque the labelling theory as not being a true micro apporach. It ignores the idea we have free will when analysing human behaviour, all indidividuals can reject labels and untill labelling theory accepts that, it offers no real micro analysis. IT IS TOO DETERMINISTIC

Question 32

Who is the sociologist that talks about Deviance amplification spiral?

Answer 32

Cohen

Question 33

What is Deviance amplification sprial according to Cohen?

Answer 33

the attempts to control deviance leads to increasing levels in the level of deviance. This leads to greater attempts to control and in turn produces higher level of deviance. Cohen suggests that the usefulness in labeling is shown through this.

Question 34

Due to deviance amplification spiral what do the media do?

Answer 34

Once a label is attached to a particular group, the media often exaggerates the extent of their behaviour.

Question 35

Give an example of where the media exaggerate the extent of the behaviour of certain groups.

Answer 35

This was evident in the case of the mods and rockers as the media came up with their group identities and turned them into folk devils ( or scapegoats for the wrongs of society

Question 36

What did this exaggeration in the media about Folk devils lead to.

Answer 36

This led to more social control, at which point the police arrested further youths and the courts enforced harsher punishments. This also promoted public concern leading to moral panic in society. ( by trying to control deviance, it can lead to more deviance).

Question 37

What is an A03 evlaution supporting moral panics in society?

Answer 37

functionalists would suggest that such ‘moral panics are positive in society, we should refer to them as boundary maintenance, individuals can come together and set clear boundaries in society e.g. 9/11 .

Question 38

What could be eval 2 of moral panics being beneficial in society?

Answer 38

The introduction of laws supporting such as tougher airport security has led to marginalization of certain groups. Suggests labeling theory is useful in understanding society. But shows certain labels as ‘Asians’ of police leads to deviance amplification to unfold

Question 39

What is the key difference between Functionalists and Labelling theorists?

Answer 39

Functionalists see deviance as producing social control

Labeling theorists see control producing further deviance.

Question 40

What is another example of the media creating moral panic

Answer 40

Killer clown craze A02 - CLOWNS created a moral panic, the media made it seem scarier than it actually is, people started wearing clowns

Question 41

Who is the sociologists that talks about ways to overcome the issue of labelling?

Answer 41

Braithwaite (1989)

Question 42

What does Braithwaite say?

Answer 42

He distingusihes between Disintergrative shaming and Reintergrative shaming and argues we need to use Reintegrative shaming to lower crime rates.

Question 43

What is the difference between Disintegrative and Reintegrative shaming?

Answer 43

Disintegrative : both crime and criminal is labelled as bad

Reintegrative : label the act but not the actor

Question 44

Why does Braithwaite favour Reintegrative shaming to solve the issue of la belling.

Answer 44

This allows the individual to avoid taking on the master status of ‘criminal’ and focus on adjusting behavior rather than their identity.

Question 45

What evidence is there to show that Reintergrative shaming works?

Answer 45

Sweden take this approach and have some of the lowest rates of offending and reofffending in Europe, compared to the UK where prisions are overpopulated due to Disintegrative shaming.

Question 46

With labeling theories they are useful when analyzing what? ( Sociology of Deviance)

Answer 46

how we should conduct research into crime and deviance.

Question 47

Do they accept official statstics?

Answer 47

No they do not, interactionists such as Douglas argue we must take on an interpretivist rapport in order to understand the meaning of human behavior .

Question 48

What study does Douglas use to show we should use interpretivist methods?

Answer 48

when exploring suicide statistics, Douglas argues that the statistics are invalid as when a death is officially labelled as a suicide, there are numerous of factors that influence this decision.

Question 49

What are the factors that effect whether is death is officially a suicide?

Answer 49

E.g. family members might negotiate such a label, and police and coroners have different interpretations of what is a suicide and want isn’t ( based on common sense knowledge)

Question 50

To fully understand suicide what does Douglas say?

Answer 50

To fully understand suicide, we must therefore search for the original meaning in order to determine whether or not the act in self is the deviance recorded.

Question 51

What is an A03 evaluation of Structuralist theories saying that Douglas dismisses these stats as a whole?

Answer 51

Structuralists like functionalists argue that we are ignoring real patterns of human behavior outline by stats and therefore tend ignore real implications the social facts might have on us. It’s vital to take positivist apporach to find a cause and effect relationship.

Question 52

What are 2 evaluations of the labeling theory?

Answer 52

1) It fails to explain why people commit primary deviance in the first place before being labelled.
2) It ignores that some actively choose deviance.