Interactionism Theory (Labelling)

Question 1

Becker

Answer 1

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

Question 2

Cicourel view and class examples

Answer 2

Police use typifications of the ‘typical delinquent’. Those who fit it are more likely to be
topped, arrested and charged
 Working class and ethnic minority – More likely to be arrested. Those from broken homes are
more likely to be charged
 Middle class juveniles – Less likely to be charged, parents more skilled at negotiating on their
behalf
 Crime statistics cannot be trusted or taken at face value

Question 3

Evaluation of Cicourel

Answer 3

× Marxism – Labelling theory fails to address the fact that these stereotypes originate from the
ruling class
× Assumes that middle class and working class groups commit the same amount of crime

Question 4

Lemert - Types of deviance

Answer 4

Primary deviance - deviant acts that have not been publicly labelled as criminal.
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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 - Types of shaming

Answer 5

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Reintegrative shaming - punishes them in a way that strengthens their bonds with society.
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Disintegrative shaming - punishment which isolates the individual and causes secondary deviance.

Question 6

Self fulfilling prophecy

Answer 6

 May provoke a crisis for the individual’s self-concept and lead to a SFP in which they live up to
their label
 Further societal reaction reinforces the individual’s outsider status, encouraging them to join a
deviant subculture or start a deviant career

Question 7

Young - study of hippy marijuana users

Answer 7

 Drug use was initially peripheral to hippy lifestyle
 Police persecution of them as junkies led them to retreat into closed groups, developing a
deviant subculture where drug use was central
 Social processes intended to produce law abiding behaviour did the opposite

Question 8

Deviance Amplification Spiral

Answer 8

Attempts to control deviance lead to it increasing

Question 9

Cohen – Folk devils and moral panics: mods and rockers

Answer 9

 Media exaggeration and distortion created a moral panic
 Moral entrepreneurs called for a ‘crackdown’, police arrested more youths
 Demonising mods and rockers as folk devils marginalised them further, creating more deviance

Question 10

Key distinction between labelling theory and functionalist theory:

Answer 10

1. Functionalists see deviance producing social control
2. Labelling theorists see social control producing deviance