Labelling on crime Flashcards
What does interactionism mean?
Focuses on how people and society interact and how this affects criminal behaviour.
What does Becker say about crime?
- Focuses on the process of a person and act getting labelled as deviant.
- Arguing that no act is intrinsically deviant but relies on it’s context to determine its acceptability.
EXAMPLE: nudity.
What is the labelling process?
1) A label is attached by the police and courts.
2) Label becomes a master status which overrides other stauses such as siblings, friends ect.
3) The labelled person accepts the label as how we see ourselves relies on how others see us.
4) Self-fulfilling prophecy: whether the label was true/not we act in accordance with it. This confirms peoples beliefs about the label being true.
What is a deviancy amplification spiral?
- Sensationalist reporting by newspapers distorts the act of crime/deviance and increases public awareness.
- Public pressure is put on the police/courts to act.
- This creates a moral panic where certain acts/groups are seen as a threat to social order.
Who researched into the negotiation of justice?
Cicourel.
What did Cicourel argue about the negotiation of justice?
Crime is not fixed, its negotiable. E.g. when a middle-class youth is arrested he was less likely to be charged because his parents was more likely to negotiate successfully on his behalf, ensuring he would stay out of future trouble.
Who conducted the study on hippie marijuana users?
Young.
Outline Young’s study?
- looked into the effects of and the societal reaction to being labelled as deviant, and how it may lead to further deviant acts.
-Police began targeting a group of ‘hippies’.
-This resulted in drug taking becoming a symbol of the groups’ defiance against the police and also became part of their status.
- This caused a deviant subculture to develop, and the hippies to internalise their label and become marginalised from societ
- Showing that being labelled as deviant, one can internalise the label, leading to a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Who conducted research into primary and secondary deviance?
Lemert.
What did lemert argue about primary and secondary deviance?
- Primary: the act that people commit before being labelled as deviant.
- Secondary: society’s reaction, identifying the person as deviant could impact on future deviance.
What is an example of secondary deviance?
Labelling ex-offenders limites opportunities to integrate into society + find employment. This may lead to further deviance to gain status or financial gain.
