Labeling Theories

Question 1

What do labeling theories focus on?

Answer 1

Why people continue to offend reactions from the justice system

Question 2

How did Tannenbaum contribute to labeling theories?

Answer 2

-What occurs after an individual has been caught and has been determined to have broken the law?
-Gradual shift from defining an act as evil to defining the person as evil
-Dramatization of evil

Question 3

What are Lemert’s (1951) two kinds of offending?

Answer 3

-Primary deviance: situational or occasional deviance; minor, infrequent offending committed before a person is labeled as an offender
-Secondary deviance: more serious, frequent offending that is committed after a person has been labeled as an offender

Question 4

What is the dramatization of evil?

Answer 4

The social/community reaction to illegal behavior
Dramaatizing someone as evil = contribution to the making of a criminal

Question 5

What are the 8 steps in the process of secondary deviance?

Answer 5

1. Primary deviance (minor disruptance)
2. Social penalties (rejections)
3. Further primary deviance
4. Strong penalties and rejections
5. Further deviation with hostilities
6. Formal action by the community
7. Strengthening of deviant conduct
8. Ultimate acceptance of deviant social status

Question 6

Who are outsiders according to Becker?

Answer 6

people who are considered to be deviant; they are outside of the “normal” members of society (certain groups have the group the impose groups and apply labels, designate other individuals as deviants or outsiders)

Question 7

Which combinations of behavior and deviants form falsely accuses, pure deviant, conformist, and secret deviant? Which should we be most concerned about?

Answer 7

-Obedient behavior + Perceived as deviant = falsely accused
-Rule-breaking behavior + Perceived as deviant = pure deviant
-Obedient behavior + Not perceived as a deviant = Conformist
-Rule-breaking behavior + Not perceived as deviant = Secret deviant

Should be concerned about falsely accused and secret deviants

Question 8

What are the 8 basic assumptions of labeling theories?

Answer 8

1. No act is intrinsically criminal
2. Criminal definitions are enforced in the interest of the powerful
3. A person doesn’t become criminal by violating the law
4. The practice of dichotomizing individuals into criminal and noncriminal groups is contrary to common sense and research
5. Only a few people are caught in violating the law even though many individuals may be equally guilty
6. Criminal sanctions vary according to other characteristics of the offender
7. Criminal justice is founded on a stereotyped conception of the criminal as a pariah (willfully committing crime)
8. Confronted by public condemnation and the label of “evil”, it may be difficult for an offender to maintain a favorable image of themself

Question 9

What are the two ways society can react to crime in Braithwaite’s (1989) Reintegrative Shaming Theory?

Answer 9

1. Reintegrative shaming- act is labeled as wrong, individual is shamed but not stigmatized, individual is reintegfrated back into society
2. Stigmatizing shaming - act is labeled, individual is labeled as bad is stigmatized, barriers are put in place against reintegration

Question 10

Which society does Braithwaite propose would have higher crime rates?

Answer 10

Societies that use stigmatizing shaming

Question 11

What are collateral consequences?

Answer 11

Invisible punishments (being unable to vote, housing restrictions)

Question 12

What is entailed in Pager (2003): The Mark of a Criminal Record?

Answer 12

Those who indicate that they have criminal record are significantly less likely to get a call back for a job interview

Question 13

What are the strengths of labelling theories?

Answer 13

-Turns attention to the continuation of offending
-Accounts for how societal responses to crime can be influential and may have an impact that is the opposite of what is intended

Question 14

What are the weaknesses of labelling theories?

Answer 14

-Doesn’t explain the onset of primary deviance
-What about people who resist or don’t internalize labels
-Focus on reactors, not actors
-Hard to test because some of the propositions are ambiguous
-The alternative of not arresting and punishing offenders is not viable

Question 15

What is Sykes and Matza’s (1957) techniques of neutralization

Answer 15

Some people will offend even if they resist labeling and identifying as a criminal even if they know their behavior is wrong. How does this occur?
-Denial of responsibility
-Denial of injury
-Denial of victim (victim deserved it)
-Condemnation of condemners
-Appeal to a higher authority