Labelling Theories Flashcards
Basic ideas (Interactionaism) (2)
Most people commit deviant acts but only some are caught and stigmatised for it, the stress should be on understanding the reaction to, and definition of, deviance rather than on the causes of the initial act
Becker- The social construction of crime (2)
An act only becomes deviant when others perceive it and define it as such- a label will depend on societal reaction
Groups like mass media and police who have power are moral entrepreneurs
Becker- Selective law enforcement (2)
Police cannot prosecute all crime so criminal labels are not attached to every breach of the law- labelling theorists therefore interested in who gets labelled
Police operate with pre-existing stereotypes therefore action taken is a reflection of the stereotypes
Becker- Effects of labelling (2)
‘master status’- a person labelled as deviant will eventually come to see themselves as being ‘bad’
Once a label has successfully been applied to a person then all other qualities become unimportant
Evaluation of Becker (2)
Some groups/individuals are able to reject the label, for example, Reiss in his study of young gay male prostitutes they still saw themselves as straight suggesting Becker is too deterministic :(
Marxists would argue that Becker has failed to examine the links between labelling processes and capitalism :(
Braithwaite (4)
Disintegrative shaming- replacing the offender’s usual set of statuses (like mother) with the master status of ‘criminal’
Can be replaced with re-integrated shaming in which the deviant act is shamed rather than the individual commits it
The focus should be on helping the offender to realise that’s bad acts have negative consequences- restorative justice to re-integrate the offender back into society
Lemert (2)
Primary deviance- not been publically labelled e.g. people might break traffic laws/use drugs, these have few consequences as long as no one knows about it
Secondary deviance- once an offender is publicly exposed label ‘deviance’ is attached, crimes like downloading child pornography
Lemert Inuit study
Have a long-rooted problem of chronic stuttering- Lemert suggested the problem was ‘caused’ by the great importance attached to ceremonial speech-making, failure to speak well was a great humiliation
Evaluation of Lemert
Durkheim would argue it is beneficial to label primary deviance as it’s not totally risk-free and it’s necessary to establish boundary maintenance :(
Shows crime and deviance as a social process :)
Jock Young
Deviance amplification- response to deviance by agencies such police and media, can actually generate an increase in deviance
Once acts are defined as deviant they become stigmatised and cut off from mainstream society- develop a subculture
Jock Young drugs amongst hippies (4)
Stereotype of hippies as lazy drug-addicts, police react against hippies, hippies respond to the label and isolate themselves, deviant subculture is formed, behaviour that began as peripheral becomes central
Cohen (2)
Role of labelling in media- perceptions of crime are created by media, the idea of moral panics overlap and complements the concept of deviancy amplification
Cohen- Mods and Rockers (2)
Incidents of fighting- events were exaggerated and portrayed as planned violence, mods became aware of their labels and anticipated violent clashes
Evaluation of Cohen
Shows the effect of mass media and police stereotyping on deviancy amplification spiral :)
McRobbie and Thornton argue ‘moral panic’ is outdated and needs to be seen in the context of the development of the media and the growing sophistication of the audience :(
