Topic 2 - Labelling Theory Flashcards
1
Q
Who first coined labelling
A
- HOWARD BECKER
2
Q
What is different about labelling theory
A
- Labelling theorists are interested in the consequences of individuals being labelled
- The argue that is is not the nature of the act that makes them deviant, but instead societies reaction to the act
3
Q
Moral entrepreneurs
A
- People who lead a “moral crusade” to change the law in the belief it will benefit those to whom is applies
4
Q
Two effects of a new law
A
BECKER:
1. Creation of a new group of outsiders - outlaws/deviants who break the new rule
2. Creation or expansion of a social control agency - police enforce rules and impose labels on others
5
Q
Who gets labelled
A
- Interactions with agencies of social control
- Appearance, background, and biography
- Situation and the circumstances of the offence
6
Q
PALIAVIN and BRIAR
A
- Police decisions to arrest youths were mainly based on physical cues such as dress and manner
- Factors such as gender, class, and ethnicity can put individuals at greater risk of arrest
7
Q
CICOUREL
A
- Police typifications = law enforcement showing class bias and led to police patrolling w/c areas more meticulously
- Probation officers held common sense theory that juvenile delinquency was caused by broken homes, poor parenting, and poverty
- Official stats should not be used as they do not represent facts about crime
8
Q
Dark figure of crime
A
- Difference between the official statistics and the real rate of crime
- We do not know how much crime goes unreported or undetected
9
Q
The effects of labelling
A
- LEMERT
- Primary deviance: not publicly labelled and has little effect on the individuals status/self-concept
- Secondary deviance: results in societal reaction, stigmatised and excluded from mainstream society = SFP
10
Q
Drug use in North London
A
- JOCK YOUNG
- Studies marijuana users in Notting Hill
- Labelling by control culture left them feeling like outsiders
- Formed a deviant subculture
- Secondary deviance
11
Q
A03 The effects of labelling
A
- DOWNES and ROCK argue we cannot predict whether someone who has been labelled will follow a deviant career, because they are always free to choose not to deviate further
12
Q
Deviance amplification
A
- The process in which the attempt to control deviance leads to an increase in the level of deviance
13
Q
Folk devils and moral panics
A
- COHEN
- A study of the societal reaction to the “mods and rockers”
- Illustrates deviancy amplification spiral = societal reaction leads to further deviance
14
Q
Folk devils vs the dark figure
A
- Folk devils = actions over-labelled and over-exposed to the public and the attention of authorities. Draws resources away from detecting and punishing crimes that make up the dark figure e.g., crimes of the powerful
- The dark figure = unlabelled, unrecorded crime that is ignored by the public
15
Q
Status offences
A
- The state has re-labelled minor offences such as truancy as more serious offences resulting in harsher punishment
- Results in an increase in offending levels amongst the young
- DE HAAN identified a similar outcome in Holland as a result of the stigmatisation of young offenders
