Labelling Theory

Question 1

Social Construction of Deviance

Answer 1

no act is deviant in itself, its a social construction.
Becker - powerful groups create deviance by creating rules and applying them to particular people whom they label as outside (wc).
those with the power to label, will label.
Therefore, an act or a person only becomes deviant once they have become labelled.

Question 2

(part of social construction of deviance)
Moral Entrepreneurs:

Answer 2

people who lead to a moral ‘crusade’ to change the law.
it has had two effects:
more subcultures,
expansion of social control agency

Question 3

Social construction of AO3:

Answer 3

Marxists criticise labelling theory for failing to locate the origin of such labels in the structure of capitalism.
Lea & Young - such groups do commit more crime and there are real reasons for it.

Question 4

Differential Enforcement

Answer 4

Not everyone who commits an offense is punished for it. (inequality)
social control leads to certain groups being labelled as criminals.
Pillaivin and Briar - found police decisions to arrest based on stereotypical ideas about class, gender and ethnicity.
they found that young black males are 7 times more likely to be stopped and searched compared to white males.

Question 5

Differential Enforcement AO3:

Answer 5

Labelling theory gives criminals a victim status as it argues that they are arrested because the police are judging them as a typical criminal.
this ignores real victims of crimes.

Question 6

Typifications

Answer 6

Cicourel - police make assumptions about people based off their typification.
WC and EM juveniles are more likely to be arrested, once arrested, those from harsher living environments are more likely to be seemed as dangerous. therefore, they are treated more harshly by the police.
MC juveniles have cultural capital, they are less likely to fit the typification. their parents have good connections with good lawyers and can easily get out on bail.

Question 7

(part of typifications) Cicourel

Answer 7

He spent 4 years using participant observations of the interactions between the police and those who were arrested. he argues people should not use stats as recourses - they are a product of differential enforcement - instead we should treat them as a topic within themselves.

Question 8

Typifications + Cicourel AO3:

Answer 8

Interactionalism lacks any practical social policy focus. Left realist find realistic solutions to prevent crime in inner city areas.

Left Realists argue stats reflect real differences in rates of offending as marginalisation leads to more crime being committed by minority groups.

Question 9

The effects of labelling

Answer 9

Lemert - by labelling certain people as deviant, society actually encourages them to commit more crime.
social reaction causes ‘secondary deviance’.

Question 10

(part of effects of labelling) primary deviance:

Answer 10

primary deviance is deviant acts that have not publicly been labelled.
e.g. shoplifting, speeding, fare dodging
people who commit such acts of deviance do not see themselves as deviant.

Question 11

(part of effects of labelling) Secondary deviance:

Answer 11

some deviance is labelled. it is the result of societal reaction.
Lemert argues its only when some has been caught, they increase their criminal activity. once they have been labelled, no matter who they are, they are always carrying that label with them (once a cheater, always a cheater)

Question 12

effects of labelling AO3:

Answer 12

fails to explain why people commit primary deviance in he first place.
Labelling theory is seen as being too deterministic - assuming every person being labelled will form a SFP.

Question 13

Self Fulfilling prophecy and the deviant career

Answer 13

Being labelled could leads to someone creating a self fulfilling prophecy (conforming to their labels and seeing themselves as the world sees them). this could lead to a deviant career, e.g. an ex convict may find it hard to get employed, they seek outsiders for support.

Question 14

(part of self fulfilling prophecy) - case study for the effect of labelling. Jock Young

Answer 14

showed in his study of hippy maraijuna smokers, how societal reactions could lead to secondary deviance.

Question 15

SFP & DC AO3:

Answer 15

right realists would argue it is not the criminal accepting a label that causes more crime. it is rather that they have poorly socialised.

Question 16

More effects on labelling causing an increase in C&D

Answer 16

deviance amplification spiral:
the attempt to control deviance leads to increasing it rather than decreasing it - by Young.
Cohen’s study of mods & rockers used the concept of D.A.S. the media can be very dramatic and create a moral panic to marginalise the people who had committed the crime to provoke.

Question 17

more effects on labelling AO3:

Answer 17

the work of cohen and young differs starkly from others. functionalists see deviance producing social control, whereas labelling theorists see control as producing further deviance.