Labelling Theory Flashcards
What are labelling theorists also known as?
Interactionists
What does the labelling theory argue that the other theories have been mistaken to assume?
That lawbreakers = somehow different from law abiding
Suggests that instead most people commit deviant/ criminal acts but only some get caught + stigmatised for it
Therefore pointless trying to search for differences between deviants + non-deviants
Should instead focus on understanding the reaction + definition of deviance rather than causes
What does the labelling theory argue that our focus should be on?
Focus on understanding the reaction + definition of deviance rather than on the cause of the initial act
Most interested in who gets the label
When does Becker argue that an acts becomes deviant?
Only becomes deviant when others perceive + define it as such
Whether deviant’s label = applied will depend on societal reaction
Becker calls groups who have the power to create/ enforce + impose definitions, MORAL ENTREPRENEURS
e.g. the mass media/ police
What does Becker argue about the way the police operate?
Operate with pre-existing conceptions + stereotypical categories of what constitutes ‘trouble’
e.g. criminal types, criminal areas etc.
These macros influence their response to behaviour they encounter
Therefore action taken = reflection of stereotypes police hold NOT reality
How does Becker define deviance?
“Deviancy isn’t the quality of the act a person commits but rather a consequence of the application by others rules and sanctions to an ‘offender’
Deviant behaviour is behaviour that people so label”
What does Becker argue are the effects of being labelled as a deviant/ criminal?
Person will eventually come to see themselves as being so (SFP)
Uses term MASTER STATUS to describe the process
Once label = successfully applied, their other qualities become unimportant
Could lead to DEVIANT CAREER
What did Becker mean by the term ‘deviant career’?
All the stages in the process of a person taking on (or not) the self-image of the deviant they have been labelled as
Give 2 criticisms of Becker work
- Process of being labelled = negotiable, label can be rejected (Reiss 1961 - male prostitutes)
- Marxists: faile sto esanime linka between labelling process + capitalism
How could Reiss’ (1961) be used to criticise Beckers work?
His study of young male prostitutes
Although they has sex with other men, regarded it as work
Maintained an image of themselves as being ‘straight’
Suggest Becker = too deterministic in assuming once labelled, a deviant career = inevitable
Who’s work did Braithwaite (1989) build on?
Becker’s
When did Braithwaite write?
1989
What are the 2 types of shaming available in the CJS according to Braithwaite (1989)?
- Disintegrative shaming (most commonly used)
2. Re-intergrative shaming
Describe Braithwaite’s concept of disintegrative shaming
Most commonly used
Replacing the offender’s usual set of statues (e.g. mother, son, worker) with master status of ‘criminal/ ex-con’
Shapes future interactions for that person
Essentially excludes them from ‘normal’ S
According to Braithwaite, can disintegrative shaming be replaced?
Describe how
Yes, with re-integrative shaming
In which the deviant act = shamed rather than individual who commits it
Describe Braithwaite’s concept of re-integrative shaming
Replaces disintegrative shaming
Deviant act = shamed rather than individual who commits it
Notion of ‘bad person’ = abandoned along with master status
Could be used as part of restorative justice (offender + V meet + talk)
= easier for V, offender + community to separate offender from act + to forgive
Making it easier for them to re-integrate into mainstream S
If not -vely labelled/ discriminate against, could prevent further crimes
When did Lemert write?
1972
What does Lemert (1972) distinguish between?
Primary + secondary deviance
Describe Lemert’s (1972) concept of primary deviance
Deviance that hasn’t been publicly labelled as such
e.g. people may break traffic laws, steal stationary from school/ work, use illegal drugs
This has few consequences for the person, so long as no one knows about it
Describe Lemert’s (1972) concept of secondary deviance
Once offender = discovered, publicly exposed + label of ‘deviance’ = attached, then 2ndary deviance may occur
e.g. stigma attached to people who download child pornography
IT’S THE REACTION TO THE ACTION
Describe Lemert’s study
Studied Inuits of Canada
Had long rooted problem of chronic stuttering/ stammering
Lemert suggested problem = ‘caused’ by the great importance attached to ceremonial speech-making
Failure to speak well = great humiliation
Children with any sort of speech impediment became conscious of parents anxiety
Led to chronic stuttering problems
Why does Durkheim disagrees with Lemert and argues that it IS beneficial to ID primary deviance?
If we know about the crime it can:
- Strengthen n+v - boundary management
- Acts as a warning device
What are 3 criticisms of Lemert’s work?
- Durkheim - ID primary deviance = beneficial
- Some people may be more law-abiding after being caught committing primary deviance (SNP/ prison = deferent)
- Doesn’t explain why primary deviance = caught in the 1st place OR how to prevent it
What did Cicourel (1968) discovered influenced police officers decisions to arrest?
Officers' typifications led them to concentrate on certain 'types' Resulted in law enforcement showing a class bias Leads police to patrol wc areas more intensively - more arrests, confirming their stereotype
What 2 things did Cicourel (1968) discover?
- Officer typifications led to bias (wc), more arrests confirmed stereotype
- Agents of social control within CJS reinforced bias
Cicourel argues that agents of social control within the CJS can reinforce officer typifications/ biases.
Give an example of how
Probation officers held assumptions that juvenile delinquency = caused by broken homes/ poverty + bad parenting
Thus tended to see youths from such backgrounds as likely future offenders + = less likely to support non-custodial sentences
Cicourel argues justice = NEGOTIATED
What does Cicourel (1968) argue about justice?
= not fixed but NEGOTIATED
e.g. when mc youth = arrested, was less likely to be charged; background didn’t fit police officers ‘typical delinquent’
So = warned + released rather than prosecuted
What does Cicourel (1968) argue about police statistics?
THER’RE NOT VALID
His work has had serious implications on how police stats are interpreted
Instead he argues that we should investigate the process that creates the police statistics
Describe Cicourel’s study
What method did he use? etc.
Participant + non-participant observations
4 year study on juvenile justice
As an observer, went on patrol with the police + sat in courtroom proceedings
Took on role of unpaid probation officer (participant part)
Argued his 1st hand experience enabled him to uncover the unconscious ‘typifications’ of control agents in a way that other methods (e.g. interviews) wouldn’t
What does Jock Young mean by deviancy amplification?
The responses to deviance by agencies (such as police/ media) can actually generate an INCREASE in deviance
Once act = denied as deviant, deviant becomes stigmatise + cut off from mainstream S, pushes them to develop their own subculture + to commit more crime
Describe Jock Young’s (1971) study
Used concept of deviancy amplification
Studied drug use amongst hippies in London (1971)
Showed increase police activity led to drug use being driven underground
Isolated users into drug subculture with distinctive attitudes/ style
Made re-entering regular employment increasingly difficult
Less able to afford drugs - drug business became popular
Criminal rings developed, competition led to violence
Public concern increased police, accelerated spiral of ‘amplification process’
What does Stan Cohen study the effects of?
The role of the media in the labelling process
What does Stan Cohen argue the media does to people’s perception of crime?
Perception = actually created or at least informed by media
Plays key role in process of socially constructing people’s of law creation/ enforcement + IDs of rule breakers
Describe Stan Cohen’s (1972) study
Easter Bank Holiday 1964, Clacton
= isolated incident of fighting, 24 arrests, some damage to property
= shortage of ‘newsworthy’ stories - events exaggerated + distorted + portrayed as deliberate between 2 defined groups (mods + rockers)
Newspapers predicted that following bank holiday would be more violent confrontations
Mods + rockers became aware of labels + anticipated violence
Police reacted to slightest bit of trouble, more people = arrested
Magistrates = ‘sensitised’ to problem, imposed heavier fines/ penalties
Media built 2 groups into FOLK DEVILS
What does Stan Cohen’s study show?
How the media built the 2 groups into ‘FOLK DEVILS’
Effect of media coverage: young people categorised themselves as either mods or rockers
- created significant 2ndary deviance
Helped create more violence that took place between them
This also confirmed themas troublemakers in eyes of public
What are the 2 criticisms of Stan Cohen’s work?
- McRobbie + Thornton (1995) - ‘moral panic’ = outdated, needs to be seen in context of development of media + growing sophistication of the audience
- Gives offenders kind of passive victim status
How do McRobbie + Thornton (1995) criticise S. Cohen’s work?
Idea of ‘moral panic’ = outdated
Needs to be seen in context of development of media + the growing sophistication of the audiences
Give 4 ways in which the labelling theory is useful to our understanding of c+d?
- Explains link between media + crime
- May help us understand why some groups = more likely to be labelled than others
- Takes micro interpretivist approach, helps us understand meanings behind a devein/ illegal act
- Avoids ‘us + them’ approach, doesn’t regard deviants as somehow different to everyone else
