labelling

Question 1

labelling

Answer 1

• title or names are given to the minority from the majority/those in power
• contributes to our self identity
• tends to ignore other characters that don’t fit the label
• usually negative but can be positive

Question 2

what is a retrospective label?

Answer 2

suggests that when someone displays current deviance, others will examine that person’s past to identify past deviant behaviours

Question 3

what is a prospective label?

Answer 3

using a current label or stigma to predict behaviour in the future and say they will do something bad

Question 4

how might stereotypes influence the development of labels?

Answer 4

stereotypes can cause labels to become more negative

Question 5

how could labelling affect a person’s behaviour?

Answer 5

• labelling could lead to a self fulfilling prophecy as society reinforces the labels a person has been given, so it becomes internalised and part of ones’s self identity
• it could promote avoidance and withdrawal

Question 6

self fulfilling prophecy

Answer 6

• a false prediction of a situation which influences a person’s behaviour and attitude, leading to the prediction becoming true
• based on the idea that society’s reaction to deviant behaviour has important consequences for thr future behaviour deviant person

Question 7

hwo does a self fulfilling prophecy explain recidivism?

Answer 7

• once the indivudal has the label of a criminal it becomes hard to shift
• as people reinforce the label by their behaviour, it becomes internalised and part of an individual’s self concept or identity, producing further deviant behaviour

Question 8

what are the steps in the self fulfilling prohecy?

Answer 8

1. a perciever has expectations of a target person
2. the perciever’s behaviour towards the target reflects their own expecations
3. the target’s behaviour towards the perciever reflects how the perciever has treated them