Interactionist Explanations Flashcards
1
Q
What do Interactionists say overall?
A
- Think crime statistics are inaccurate, and they are a result of assumptions and judgements by the police.
- They explore why groups come to be defined as criminal.
- Deviance is socially constructed.
2
Q
What interactionists discuss crime and deviance? (7)
A
Becker
Plummer
Malinowski
Lemert
Matza
Young
Cicourel
3
Q
What does Becker discuss?
A
- Labelling by powerful institutions can lead to a ‘master status’ which becomes internalised leads to a ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’.
- People may feel isolated and judged differently, leading to a ‘deviant career’ which may start by joining a subculture, which may justify deviant activities.
4
Q
Who links homosexuality to the ‘deviant career’?
A
Plummer
5
Q
What does Plummer discuss?
A
- The deviant career can be applied to individuals who have been labelled as homosexual.
- This label can be a ‘master status’, and the individual may internalise it.
- This may be through pursuing a ‘homosexual career’ (joining a gay subculture, acting more camp)
6
Q
Who talks about ‘public shaming’?
A
Malinowski
7
Q
What does Malinowski discuss?
A
- They studied the Trobriand Islands in the South Pacific, where incest was seen as deviant but was common, and people turned a blind eye.
- When a man was publicly accused of having a relationship with his cousin, it caused uproar in the community, leading the man to commit suicide.
8
Q
Who discusses the two types of deviance?
A
Lemert
9
Q
What does Lemert discuss?
A
- They believed society’s reaction to behaviour is more significant than the behaviour itself.
- Primary deviance: Acts which aren’t publicly labelled/seen as acceptable. Lots commit these acts.
- Secondary deviance: Someone consciously engages in deviance as an expression of their deviant self.
10
Q
Who discusses ‘subterranean values’ and the five ‘techniques of neutralisation’?
A
Matza
11
Q
What does Matza discuss?
A
- How youths drift in and out of deviance.
- They feel a moral obligation to obey the law, but also feel pressure to pursue ‘subterranean values.’ (risk taking, aggression, and greed)
- When they commit deviance, they’ll use ‘techniques of neutralisation’ to justify the act and stop the deviant identity internalising.
12
Q
What are the five ‘techniques of neutralisation’ Matza discusses?
A
- Denial of responsibility ‘wasn’t my fault’
- Denial of injury ‘no one got hurt’
- Denial of victim ‘he had it coming’
- Condemnation of the condemners ‘they’ve got it in for me’
- Appeal to higher loyalties ‘Doing it to back up my mates’
13
Q
Who looks at drug taking among alienated youths?
A
Young
14
Q
What does Young say?
A
- He looked at drug taking among alienated youths.
- They seeked others out and smoked marijuana as a solution to their problems.
- Powerful groups saw them as a threat, so through media and the justice system, they were given a negative label.
- They eventually accepted how the public perceived them and began to develop a self-fulfilling prophecy.
- ‘Rebellion induced’ means the deviant reacts angrily to the label and deviate more.
15
Q
What four stages leads to isolation and deviance according to Young?
A
- Act is performed
- Media reports
- Creates a moral panic
- Public outcry makes police crack down
