labelling theory and crime

Question 1

becker - deviants

Answer 1

a deviant is simply someone who has been labelled so

Question 2

becker - moral entrepreneur

Answer 2

moral entrepreneurs, such as politicians or parents, begin a ‘crusade’ or mission to see laws/rules introduced and policed in the belief of benefiting those to whom its applied

Question 3

becker - who gets labelled?

Answer 3

not everyone who commits an offence is labelled. it depends of factors such as :
- previous interactions with social control agencies
- their appearance, background, biography
- the situation/circumstances of the offence

Question 4

negotiation of justice

Answer 4

middle class are able to negotiate hehalf on their child. ‘they have a bright future ahead of them’

Question 5

cicourel - typifications

Answer 5

stereotypes of what a criminal looks like and how they behave. tends to affect the young, working class or BAME.

Question 6

primary deviance (lemert)

Answer 6

acts not publicly labelled , often go unnoticed, widespread and meaningless, carried out by lots of people e.g fare hopping or dropping litter

Question 7

master status

Answer 7

when an individual is labelled as a deviant, it can lead to self-identification, can lead to self fulfilling prophecy

Question 8

secondary deviance

Answer 8

acting out a label (outsider), provoked a hostile reaction from society, could lead to a deviant career or joining a deviant subculture

Question 9

deviance amplification

Answer 9

a term used to describe a process in which the attempt to control deviance leads to an increase in the level of deviance.
this leads to greater attempts to control it and, in turn, this produces yet higher levels of deviance

Question 10

cohens example of deviance amplification

Answer 10

Mods and Rockers

Question 11

braithwaite

Answer 11

argues for a positive role in labeling process in the future. he identifies two types of labeling/shaming

Question 12

disintegrative shaming

Answer 12

both crime and criminal is labelled as bad, ostracised from society

Question 13

reintegrative shaming

Answer 13

label the act but not the actor

Question 14

strengths of interactionism/labelling theory

Answer 14

• shows that law is not fixed, but constructed and interpreted
• shows that law is often enforced unevenly
• shows that society’s attempts to control deviance can lead to deviance amplification

Question 15

weaknesses of interactionism/labelling theory

Answer 15

• too deterministic
• by assuming that offenders passively accept labelling, it ignores the fact that some actively choose deviance
• marxists argue it fails to account for the source/origins of labels, or take into account wider power structures