Interactionism/Labelling Theory Flashcards
What are the 6 factors for who is labelled in society?
1) the social construction of deviance
2) differential enforcement
3) typifications (negotiation of justice)
4) the effects of labelling
5) self fulfilling prophecy and the deviant career
6) more effects of labelling (STRETCH)
1) What do labelling theorists believe about deviance?
It is a social construction
1) What are the powerful group called and how do they create deviance?
They are called the moral entrepreneurs who lead a moral ‘crusade’ to change the law. They create deviance by creating rules and applying them to particular people.
1) What 2 effects does the new law have and give some examples?
1) creation of new group of outsiders who break the new rule e.g homosexuality, martial rape, smoking marijuana, abortion
2) expansion of social control agency to enforce rule and label offenders e.g police, courts etc
1) What is the evaluation for social construction of deviance?
Marxists criticise labelling for failing to locate the origin of the label and they would say the moral entrepreneurs are the RC.
2) What did Piliavin and Briar (1964) say?
Police decisions to arrest were based on stereotypical ideas about gender, ethnicity, class etc
2) What did official police statistic tell us? Which type of boys wouldn’t be stopped? What does this show?
Black young males were 7x more likely to be stopped and Asian males were 5x more likely to be stopped than white males.
The bullingdon boys. This shows how EMs are over represented and WC areas more policed than MC
2) What is the evaluation of differential enforcement?
Gives the criminal a status and the police are judging them as a typical criminal.
Selective enforcement
3) What does cicourel (1976) say?
Police will use typification (stereotypes) of the ‘typical deviant’
3) Which individuals are more likely to be stopped?
People who fit their stereotype description.
WC and EMs juveniles - more likely to be arrested and those from broken homes they will receive and be treated harsher
MC juveniles - less likely as parents can negotiate and use their cultural capital middle class young males less likely to
3) What did cicourel use participant observation for?
For interactions between police and those arrested.
3) What is the evaluation for typification?
Interactionalism lacks any practical social policy focus. Left Realists put realistic solutions to reduce crime.
4) What did Lemert (1972) say about labelling?
Labelling certain people as deviant will encourage them to commit more crime and deviance.
4) What is primary deviance and give examples?
It is deviant acts which have not been publicly labelled and go uncaught.
E.g fare dodging, shoplifting, 32 in 30 zone
4) What is secondary deviance?
Someone has been publically caught for their crime and results from societal reaction. Labelling them can shame, humiliate and a master status or controlling identity.
4) What is the evaluation for the effects of labelling?
Grade ‘A’ student admits mugging Katherine Jenkins after she robbed her of £20 - turned into a secondary deviance due to her being a celebrity
5) What might being labelled do to the individual?
Self concept or loss in a sense of identity so may lead to a self fulfilling prophecy which means commiting more crime
5) What may a societal reaction cause?
Reinforces the individuals outsider status and lead to joining a deviant subculture and then a deviant career
5) what happened in jock young (1971)
Hippy marjuana smokers and societal reaction led to secondary deviance and lead to retreat into closed groups and drug became central activity for them
5) what is the evaluation for self fulfilling prophecy and the deviant career?
Right realists will say it is not the criminal accepting the label but the fact they have been poorly socialised
6) What is the deviance amplification spiral?
Attempting to control deviance leads it to increasing rather than decreasing
6) What did Cohens study (1972) show?
The study of mods and rockers uses the concept of deviance amplification spiral and how the media exaggerates and caused a moral panic and police arresting youths
6) What is the evaluation for the stretch?
Functionalists sees deviance as producing social control and labelling theorists see control as producing deviance
What is the 5 steps of labelling theory?
1) deviant act is done
2) media exaggerates what happened
3) society reacts negatively
4) people feel they should respond and clamp down - crackdown
5) leads to an increase in crime
