Labelling theory of crime Flashcards
The social construction of crime -
??? Check with sir
The effects of labelling and deviance amplification -
What does this mean in terms of crime and deviance?
What makes something deviant is not what is done, but how people react to what is done. The only thing that
deviant acts have in common is that they are labelled “deviant” by others.
What does Becker say about the effects of labelling?
Becker is not interested in what causes people to behave in deviant ways but instead why people choose to label their behaviour as deviant and the effect it has on the individual/society. He points out that people react differently to the same act depending on the social context and this influences the label that is placed on the act.
Give an example of Becker’s reasoning?
In act of killing someone. In the vast majority of cases this would be labelled as murder: highly deviant. However, in a war killing is normalised and indeed may be labelled heroic. However, if the combatant doing the killing is not a member of a formal army, then they will likely be labelled a terrorist and, once again, be deviant. There may be no consensus over the application of the label because “one person’s terrorist is another person’s freedom fighter”.
