Interactionism and labelling theory Flashcards
what is said about the social construction of crime
- no act is inherently criminal in itself- not the nature of the act, but how society reacts to it
what did Becker say about the social construction of crime
a deviant is someone to whom the label has been successfully applied
Becker notes that social control agencies themselves campaign for changes in law
what are moral entrepreneurs
people who lead a moral ‘crusade’ to change the law- creates a new group of ‘outsiders’ and expansion of social control agencies
what did platt say about the social construction on crime
‘juvenile delinquency’ result of upper class victorian moral entrepreneurs aimed at protecting young people. state could extend powers such as truancy
what defines behaviour as unacceptable
not always the harmfulness of a behaviour but power of groups to define behaviour as unacceptable (eg Boris has made a law of only groups of 6)
what did Lemert say about primary and secondary deviance
primary deviance is a deviant act that has been labelled
secondary deviance is as result of labelling and societies reaction
what is a master status
Being stigmatised and or excluded from society others come to see them only in the terms of this label. Which then becomes their master status
how can deviance result in a self fulfilling prophecy
when the individual has been labelled as deviant they soon internalise this label and see themselves as the world sees them
how can primary and secondary deviance lead to a deviant career
secondary deviance provokes further hostile reactions from society reinforcing the idea that the individual is an outsider which will lead to them taking on a deviant career
what did young study about secondary and primary deviance
looked at hippy culture and people smoking weed in notting hill. they were labelled as hippies so they internalised the label and became hippies
what is the deviance amplification spiral
used to describe the process in which the attempt to control deviance leads to an increase in the level of deviance. More and more control creates more deviance creating an escalating spiral
what was cohen study that was associated deviance amplification spiral
folk devils and moral panic
a study about societal reaction the ‘mods and rockers ‘
the medias exaggeration and the reaction to this created a deviance amplification spiral
what two types of shaming does Braithwaite distinguish
- disintegrative shaming- the crime and criminal are labelled as bad
- reintegrative shaming- labels the act but not the actor
what is a positive about reintegrative shaming
avoids stigmatising the offender as evil while making them aware at the same time that what they have done is bad. This makes it more easier to reintegrate the person into society and also avoids secondary deviance
what do interactionalists say about who gets labelled
- depends on
1. interactions with agencies of social control
2. appearance and background
3. situation and circumstances
what did piliavin and Briar find about labelling (interactionalist)
pilivian and Briar found decision to arrest a youth depended on visual cues
what did Cisourel (interactionalist) find about the negotiation of justice
- officers decisions to arrest based on stereotypes about offenders
- also found in other agencies such as probation officers
- justice is not fixed, it is negotiable: MC less likely to be charged, can talk themselves out of it etc
what are typicfications
common sense theories of what a typical delinquent is like eg WC areas, more patrons confirming sterotypes
what do interactionalists about topic vs resource
- stats do not give us a valid picture of patterns of crime and cant be used as a resource
- rather we should treat them as a topic to investigate- the processes that created them
what do interactionalists say about the social construction of crime
- each stage of criminal justice system, agents make decisions
- outcomes depend on labels/ typicfications
- stats tell us about activities of police and prosecutors ‘decision gates’
- alternative statistics: self report studies, but people can lie forget or exaggerate
what did Douglas find about suicide (interactionalist)
- official suicide stats are socially constructed- decisions of police and coroners
- coroners with strong religious beliefs may be reluctant to bring a suicide verdict
- relative some feel guilty + press for alternative verdicts
what did Atkinson say about suicide (interactionalist)
- coroners have taken for granted assumptions
- ideas about typical sucide such as hangings, sleeping
what is the A03 for atkinsons study on suicide
his own theory can also be accused of ‘ just an interpretation’ and not fact
what did Lemert ( interactionalists) find about paranoia
- primary deviance – secondary deviance
- people discussing the label leads to a reaction of paranoia
- leads to psychiatric intervention
- label of mental illness becomes the master status
- link to Rosenhan’s study in a mental health hospital
what did Goffman ( interactionalists) find about institutionalism
- on admission, inmate undergoes a ‘mortification of self’- old identity is killed off and given a new inmate
- Achieved by ‘ degradation rituals’ eg confirmation of objects
- some internalize their identity, other adopt forms of resistance eg manipulating symptoms
what are the criticisms for interactionalists
- shows that laws are not fixed set of rules, enforced in discriminatory ways
- deterministic= implies that a deviant career is inevitable
- fails to explain why they commit deviance before labelling
