Labelling Theory. Flashcards
What is Labelling Theory?
Also called interactionist Theory, Looks at the interaction between social control agencies and suspects of crime, to see how some acts and people are labelled as deviant. They don’t see any act as naturally criminal, there are just people and behaviours who have had a label applied.
What are ‘moral Entrepreneurs’
People who strive to change the law through things like protests, (Therefore sometimes class as deviants.)
What are the two effects of ‘Moral entrepreneurs’ actions
They can be labelled as outsiders and can lead to agencies such as police using more force and power towards certain people
Which groups of people are more likely to be labelled
People who live in high crime areas and ethnic minorities
How are crime statistics socially constructed
They are not a true representation of crime as they merely tell us what someone has labelled as criminal.
What one person may view as deviant, another may not, so stats are just those who have had a label applied.
What is the Dark Figure of Crime
The actual amount of crime committed compared to the official statistics
What are the limitations of victim surveys
Limitations of victim surveys can be that they are not always accurate - some people may forget details of the situation or purposefully miss details out
What is primary deviance
Deviance that is not labelled by a societal reaction.
Outline Lemert’s Theory of secondary deviance and how it leads to master status and a deviant career?
Argues that Secondary Deviance - which is labelled as a result of society’s reactions can lead to an identity crisis for the criminal, where the label of the criminal becomes their main identity
Results in being shamed by society and lead to a deviant career because the master status means they might be unable to work
Explain The deviance amplification spiral
A person or something is labelled as a deviant which makes it harder for said person to get a job because of their label, so they resort to crime to survive which gets them labelled again, and the cycle repeats
What is the difference between Disintegrative and Reintegrative Shaming
Disintegrative: Individual who committed a crime is labelled and shunned by society, meaning they are more likely to have a deviant career in a subculture
Reintegrative: When the act is labelled as bad rather than the person who committed the crime.
How are statistics socially constructed according to interactionists
Argue that labels are based on the interactions between social control agencies and the subject.
How do Durkheim and Atkinson differ in their attitudes towards their study of Suicide.
Durkheim tends to accept stats at face value, (argues they are accurate representation of suicide)
Atkinson focuses on how deaths get labelled as suicide. Says Durkheim’s attitude is incorrect as stats are just the coroners decision to label a death as suicide and may change based on individual.
(Durkheim - Suicide is a social fact)(Atkinson no way to prove causes of suicide)
Outline three weaknesses of labelling theory
Assumes once labelled as a deviant they will take that as their master status and take on deviant career.\
Assumes everyone is a victim of labelling (some people choose to be deviant)
Suggests without labelling crime and deviance would not exist.
