Interactionism Theory

Question 1

what is interactionism

Answer 1

focuses on the social construction of crime, whereby an act only becomes deviant when labelled as such, through societal reaction

Question 2

Becker

Answer 2

the social construction of crime - a deviant is someone who the label has been successfully applied, and deviant behavior is simply behavior that people so label. those who are labeled are labelled based on gender, class and ethnicity

Question 3

Cicourel

Answer 3

officers stereotypes of the typical criminal lead to them concentrating on types of people that are more likely to offend - for instance by patrolling working class areas

Question 4

Lemert

Answer 4

distinguishes between 2 types of deviance:
- primary deviance: deviant acts that have not been publicly labelled as criminal
- secondary deviance: deviant acts and individuals that are labelled. once an individual has been labelled, people may only see him according to his master status (whereby a criminal is defined by their deviant act), which may lead to a deviant career because they struggle to find employment

Question 5

Braithwaite

Answer 5

distinguishes between 2 types of shaming:
- redintegrative shaming - punishes them in a way that strengthens their bonds with society
- disintegrative shaming - punishment which isolates the individual and causes secondary deviance

Question 6

Douglas

Answer 6

rejects the use of official statistics when examining suicide. whether a death is labelled as a suicide depends on the interactions and negotiations between social actors (doctors, the coroner, family). statistics therefore tell us nothing about the meaning behind an individual’s decision to commit suicide