Interationism and labelling with crime Flashcards
How is interactionism different to other theories?
It places more emphasis on free will and how people have an active effect on their environment
Which theorist thought a crime was only deviant under the context of which it is being performed?
Becker
What did Becker believe?
Labelling theory:
Police operate with pre-conceived conceptions and stereotypical categories of what constitutes trouble. What action occurs doesn’t depend so much on the actual offence or behaviour, but rather the stereotype of the group committing it.
What are moral entrepreneurs?
Agencies, such as the media and the police, who have the power and the resources to create or enforce rules and impose their definitions of deviance
Who thought that individual perceptions change affect criminal labels?
Cicourel
What was Cicourel’s theory?
Subjective interpretations change how people are treated. The police have a different perception of lower class kids believing they’ve come from a bad background and so treat them differently despite their actions.
Who came up with the idea of primary and secondary deviance?
Lemert
What is primary and secondary deviance?
Primary: deviance that has not been publically labelled as such with few consequences, minor crimes as long as no one notices e.g. going over your parking ticket.
Secondary: Deviance which follows once a person has already been publically labelled as deviant. public exposure and stigma.
Who looked at a case study of ‘Hippies’ in north London?
Young
What did young find in his study?
Participant observation found that people who smoked weed were stereotyped by the police making them feel marginalised and stigmatised. This cause them to in turn do more drugs and take part in deviant activity. This is deviant amplification.
What is deviant amplification?
Where an action by the media or law enforcers causes an increase of deviance
Which theorist looked at folk devils and moral panic?
Cohen
What are folk devils?
Groups which are seen and portrayed by the media as trouble makers.
What is moral panic?
Outrage stirred up by the media about a particular group or issue (sometimes to direct attention away from larger societal problems)
