Labelling theory

Question 1

What is the key idea of this theory?

Answer 1

sees our interactions with people based on labels and meanings.

Question 2

What does the labelling theory say?

Answer 2

when someone is labelled, they tend to adopt the label and behave as expected.
then they fulfil their master status label (self fulfilling prophecy).

Question 3

What are the 2 types of deviance?

Answer 3

primary deviance - an act that is not publicly labelled.
secondary deviance - a result of labelling.

Question 4

What can deviance lead to?

Answer 4

A crackdown which can lead to more crime (moral panic) -
an example is mods and rockers where media exaggeration caused an amplification spiral.

Question 5

What are the strengths of this theory?

Answer 5

• shifts focus on how police create crime.
• shows how attempts to control deviance can trigger a deviance amplification spiral.

Question 6

What are the weaknesses of this theory?

Answer 6

• wrongly implies that once someone is labelled a deviant career is inevitable.
• can give offenders a ‘victim of labelling’ ignoring the real victims.