Labelling theory Flashcards
Becker’s intial ideas on deviance
- nothing essentially deviant about any act, only becomes deviant when labelled as such
- tries to identify why deviant act is deviant in one context and not another
- eg inject heroin through vein vs from nurse
Malinowski
- found incest was common, wasnt talked about + accepted if discreet
- too public= reacted with abuse
- deviant act itself that wasnt significant but the reaction of others and circumstances around it
Lemert
- inuit of America
- stuttering major problem amongst tribe
- stuttering considered deviant, parents overreacted negatively leading to stuttering (deviance) becoming worse over time due to reactions
Lemert: primary and secondary deviance?
- primary is inital act, petty deviance eg speed on motorway
- secondary is deviant acts caused by societal reactions leading to more serious deviant acts
evaluation of lemert/ malonwski
left wing- removes/ excuses blame/crime
factors that can affect secondary deviance/ reaction to deviance?
- age
- the crime
- location/ context eg school v club
- characteristics of offender
- victim?
Becker’s theory
Process of deviance creation
whether deviance label is applied depends on number of factors
what are the 4 processes of deviance creation
- variability
- negotiability
- master status
- deviant career
what is variability?
- process of labelling not straightforward
- varies according to age, gender
- to be defined as deviant dpends on who/when/where
example of variability?
Kituse
- homosexual advances in 1960s
- wide variety of responses to sexual advances from members of same sex
- reacton depended on age and where
what is negotiability?
- some have power to reject a negative label wheras others dont have enough resources to do so, so must accept it
- those who accept label usually have certain traits resulting in typification
example of negotiability
Cicourel
- American youth crimes
- white sent to psychiatric treaments wheras others sent to prison
- police use sterotypes when stop delinquients, likely to stop delinquents in low income areas
what is a master status?
- superior status, created when label successful applied
- most important in determining identity
- if labelled as deviant becomes master status and is unchangable
what is a deviant career?
- when master status applied
- take self-image of deviant
- fully accepted master-status
- can be amplified + lead to more deviance (SFP)
Goffman
mortification process
what is the mortification process?
- when pressure placed on immates to accept insitutions definition of themselves
- upon entry- series of degradation, humiliation
- mortification process strips them of various supports helping them maintain former self-concepts
- become anxious about release as accepted their new definition, unable to function outside
how does the mortification process lead to master status and deviant career?
- label of ex convict/patient becomes their master status
- accept label of mad or bad and begin deviant career
supporting research for Goffman?
Rosenhan
once display symptoms of schizophrenia unable to remove label, label applied to everyone
Jack Young
- police reaction to hippie (the meaning) changed world of marijuana smoker
- polices attitudes united hippes leading them to accept their differences
- drug taking becomes central activity leads to stronger police reaction that police created
Braithwaite
Positive labelling
what are the 2 types of positive labelling?
- disintegrative shaming
- reintegrative shaming
difference between disintegrative shaming and reintegrative shaming?
disintegrative is the act labelled as negatively ‘bad person’ wheras reintregative is only the act labelled negatively ‘done a bad thing’
challenge to labelling theory?
- removes blame from individual- idealistic
- why do people commit primary deviance in first place?
- right wing: punishment can be effective
- labels can help policing- symbolic interaction
- rejection of labels
how does mass media contribute to labels?
- moral entrepreneuers seek to outlow certain behaviours through moral crusage. creates moral panic
Stan Cohen
Mods and Rockers
what did Stan Cohen do?
- studies medias reaction to disturbance between mods and rockers in way created moral panic
findings from Stan Cohen?
- media overreated to relatively minor disorder where it produced inventory of what happened through exaggeration, prediction and symbolism
- deviancy amplification spiral (medias portrayal of events produced DAS by making it seem like problem spreading. lead to further deviance
how does deviance amplify?
attempts by authorities to control deviance leads to more deviance
1. deviant act occurs
2. media identifies group as folk devils
3. media exaggerate problem
4. moral panic created
5. society demands crackdown
6. further deviance occurs
why is crime just a percived increase?
it is just because detecting and punishing more- level has been the same eg drug driving has increase in a month- not actual increase there has just been more detection as society demanded crackdown
Hall
moral panic over “mugging” in British media in 70s served to distract attention from crisis of capitalism divide WC on racial grounds
what 5 ways does the media influence crime?
- imitation/copycat (influenced from movie)
- knowledge (crime shows like law and order made them better criminals)
- arosual/glamorzing crime (‘heroin chic” being unhealthy thing encouraged drug taking)
- cybercrime (internet create opps eg scams)
- fear of crime (more tv ppl watch= higher fear of crime)
