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Sociology - Crime And Deviance > Interactionism And Labelling Theory > Flashcards

Interactionism And Labelling Theory Flashcards

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Sociology 101 flashcards
1
Q

Who are all the key theorists for interactionism and labelling theory?

A
  • Becker
  • Cicourel
  • Lemert
  • Cohen
  • Young
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2
Q

Why do labelling theorists reject structural causes?

A

They believe it’s more important to explore:

  • how and why people are considered deviant
  • the effect of being labelled deviant on behaviour
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3
Q

What is a key quote by Becker?

A

“Deviance is not a quality of the act of person commits but rather a consequence of the application by others of rules and sanctions to an offender”

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4
Q

What does Becker believe about laws?

A
  • laws are a reflection of the activities of p’s who seek to create and enforce laws
  • he calls these p’s moral entrepreneurs
  • these people lead a moral crusade to change the law
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5
Q

Describe moral entrepreneurs

A

They fall into 2 categories:

  1. Rule creators - believes there is a threatening social evil that needs to be tackled
  2. Rule enforcers - execute and apply the rules of offenders
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6
Q

What are some examples of rule creators and rule enforcers?

A
  • Rule creators: politicians, religious leaders

- Rule enforcers: police, courts

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7
Q

What is a key example (AO2) of Becker’s theory about moral entrepreneurs?

A
  • study of outlawing cannabis in USA in 1937
  • was widely used in southern states of USA
  • Federal Bureau of Narcotics saw cannabis as a growing evil
  • this influences the change
  • through campaigns the drug was banned from growing and using
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8
Q

What is Cicourel study to look at the negotiation of justice?

A

studied how law enforcers understand and interpret what they see

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9
Q

What did Cicourel find about the police?

A
  • They operated on pre existing stereotypes of what a delinquent is like
  • so they concentrate on certain types of p’s
  • mainly working class who demonstrated ‘routine suspicion’
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10
Q

According to Cicourel’s ideas what does police stereotyping to lead to?

A
  • working class areas are policed more
  • more arrests
  • confirms stereotypes
  • resulting in law enforcement showing a class bias
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11
Q

What does Cicourel say about justice?

A
  • justice isn’t fixed, it’s negotiable

- e.g middle class youth are less likely to be charged as the don’t fit criminal stereotypes

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12
Q

Describe the consequences of labelling according to Lemert

A
  • there is primary and secondary deviance:
  • primary: deviant acts that haven’t been publicly labelled
  • secondary: societal reaction which occurs when an offender is publicly exposed and the label of deviance is attached
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13
Q

According to Becker, describe what happens when someone is labelled?

A
  • Becker used term master status
  • the label overrides all other qualities
  • being publicly labelled as a criminal can involve being stigmatised, shamed and excluded
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14
Q

Describe what secondary deviance can lead to

A
  • a self fulfilling prophecy
  • produces higher level deviance
  • produces deviant subcultures and a deviant career
  • when labelled p’s lose legitimate opportunities so turn to deviant careers
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15
Q

Summarise the effects of labelling and selective enforcement described by Becker and Lemert

A
  • it’s not the act but the societal reaction that creates serious deviance
  • the social process that is meant to promote law abiding behaviour produces the opposite
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16
Q

What key study did Lemert (1972) do that studied to effects of labelling?

A
  • studied coastal Inuits in Canada who had a problem of stuttering
  • suggested it was caused by importance to ceremonial speech making
  • failure to speak well = humiliation
  • speaking difficulties in children caused anxieties which caused stuttering
17
Q

What was Cohen’s (1972) key research into the effects of labelling?

A
  • some p’s demonised by media as folk devils
  • this caused moral panic
  • Cohen applied this to ‘mods’ and ‘rockers’ - 1960’s youth cultures who clashed when they met
  • the clash was exaggerated by media and caused police to arrest more youths
  • the demonising of mods and rockers caused more marginalisation and more deviance
18
Q

What key research did Young (1971) do to study the effects of labelling?

A
  • studied marijuana users in Notting hill
  • marijuana was a leisure activity for most p’s
  • public and political pressures led police to take action
  • these p’s were then seen as a dangerous subculture
  • police increasingly arrested these p’s
  • these p’s then felt more marginalised and retreated into closed groups and became more of outsiders and rejected more social norms
19
Q

How does labelling theory have policy implications?

A
  • support that negative labelling pushes offenders towards deviant careers
  • so to reduce deviance we should enforce fewer rules for people to break
  • e.g legalise soft drugs
20
Q

What does Braithwaite (1989) believe about labelling?

A
  • unlike other labelling theories the sees them positively
  • he sees 2 types of shaming:
  1. Disintegrative shaming - the crime and criminal is labelled as bad
  2. Reintegrative shaming - labels the act but not the actor
21
Q

What are the strengths of the labelling theory?

A
  • provides insight into nature of deviance
  • shows how law is often enforced by discrimination
  • shows society attempts to control deviance that backfires and create more
22
Q

How does labelling theories give an insight into the nature of deviance?

A
  • moves away from structural causes
  • focuses of how and why p’s are considered deviant
  • focuses on how being labelled deviant affects behaviour
23
Q

How does labelling theory show that the law is enforced by discrimination?

A
  • a criminal is socially constructed through selective policing
  • justice is negotiable (Cicourel)
  • Marxist: laws are enforced by those in power to maintain capitalist wealth
24
Q

How does labelling theory show that an attempt to control deviance backfires and creates more deviance?

A
  • functionalists: some crime is necessary so controlling it disturbs society’s harmony
  • this disturbs the balance and backfires
  • labelling can lead to deviant amplification
25
Q

What are the weaknesses of the labelling theory?

A
  • Takes responsibility away from the criminal
  • assumes acts aren’t deviant until labelled
  • doesn’t explain the causes of deviant behaviour
  • too deterministic
  • fails to analyse the source of power creating deviance
26
Q

Why is taking away responsibility from the criminal a weakness of labelling theory?

A
  • justifies crime
  • takes away responsibility from criminals
  • makes it harder to punish criminals in court
27
Q

How does labelling theory assume an act is not deviant until labelled?

A
  • deviance is subjective
  • p’s are aware they’re being deviant before being labelled
  • suggests someone who kills isn’t a murderer until labelled
  • therefore the theory is only applied to smaller crimes
28
Q

How does labelling theory not explain the causes of deviant behaviour or the different kinds of acts?

A
  • ignores structural factors
  • some structural theories do explain why
  • coward and Ohlin discuss 3 types of crime which is more applicable
29
Q

Why is labelling theory too deterministic?

A
  • we can reject labels (self denying prophecy)

- assumes we don’t have free will

30
Q

How does labelling theory not analyse the source of power that is creating deviance?

A
  • lacks detail of the type of power and who
  • Marxists: those in power are m/c who allow w/c to suffer
  • this leads to frustration which leads to crime
  • unlike Marxists, labelling theory doesn’t explain this

Sociology - Crime And Deviance (16 decks)

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