Topic 3 Labelling

Question 1

According to labelling theorists, what is the primary focus when studying crime and deviance?

Answer 1

The reaction to the act rather than the act itself

Question 2

True or False: Labelling theorists believe that deviance is a result of an individual’s inherent criminal nature.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Fill in the blank: Labelling theorists argue that the process of ____________ individuals as deviant can lead to further deviant behavior.

Answer 3

labeling

Question 4

What term describes the process by which an individual’s identity and behavior are influenced by how others categorize them?

Answer 4

Labeling theory

Question 5

What is the term for the negative reaction and treatment an individual receives after being labelled as deviant?

Answer 5

Stigmatization

Question 6

Who is the prominent sociologist associated with the development of labelling theory?

Answer 6

Howard Becker

Question 7

What is the term for deviant behavior that occurs as a result of being labelled as deviant?

Answer 7

Secondary deviance

Question 8

True or False: Labelling theorists argue that deviance is a social construction and varies across cultures.

Answer 8

True

Question 9

What term describes the act of an individual engaging in behavior that is deemed deviant due to being labelled as such?

Answer 9

Self-fulfilling prophecy

Question 10

What is the term for the process by which individuals conform to the expectations of a deviant label?

Answer 10

Deviant career

Question 11

Fill in the blank: Labelling theorists emphasize the importance of ____________ in the creation of deviant identities.

Answer 11

social reactions

Question 12

According to labelling theory, what can happen when individuals are labelled as deviant by society?

Answer 12

They may internalize the label and adopt it as part of their identity

Question 13

True or False: Labelling theorists believe that deviance is a fixed and unchangeable trait in individuals.

Answer 13

False

Question 14

What term describes the process by which individuals are labelled as deviant based on certain characteristics or behaviors?

Answer 14

Social construction of deviance

Question 15

What is the term for the act of an individual engaging in behavior that is not considered deviant, but is labelled as such?

Answer 15

Primary deviance

Question 16

Fill in the blank: Labelling theorists argue that deviance is a result of societal ____________ rather than individual characteristics.

Answer 16

reactions

Question 17

Who coined the term ‘master status’ to describe how a deviant label can override other aspects of an individual’s identity?

Answer 17

Erving Goffman

Question 18

True or False: Labelling theorists believe that the criminal justice system plays a positive role in reducing crime.

Answer 18

False

Question 19

What term describes the act of individuals being treated as though they have already committed a crime due to being labelled as deviant?

Answer 19

Pre-crime

Question 20

According to labelling theorists, what can societal reactions to deviance lead to?

Answer 20

Further deviant behavior

Question 21

Fill in the blank: Labelling theory suggests that deviance is not inherent in the ____________, but in the reactions to the behavior.

Answer 21

act

Question 22

What term describes the act of an individual conforming to a deviant label and engaging in further deviant behavior?

Answer 22

Deviant amplification

Question 23

True or False: Labelling theorists argue that social institutions have a neutral impact on labeling individuals as deviant.

Answer 23

False

Question 24

Who introduced the concept of ‘moral entrepreneurs’ to describe individuals who lead moral crusades to label certain behaviors as deviant?

Answer 24

Howard Becker

Question 25

Fill in the blank: Labelling theorists emphasize that deviance is not a quality of the ____________, but a consequence of the application of rules and sanctions to an offender.

Answer 25

individual

Question 26

What does labelling theory discuss?

Answer 26

They argue that no act itself is criminal in all time and situations. It is the perception and label of an act as criminal that really makes a crime. It is not the nature of the act that is deviant, but society’s reaction to that act.

Question 27

What are moral entrepreneurs according to Becker?

Answer 27

According to Becker, a moral entrepreneur is someone with high status in a community.

Question 28

Why did Becker discuss the Marijuana Tax Act?

Answer 28

That social control agencies campaign for a change in the law to increase to their own power. For example, the US Federal Bureau of Narcotics successfully campaigned for the Marijuana Tax Act in 1937.

Question 29

What are typifications?

Answer 29

Typifications are stereotypes the police have on individuals who are likely to be criminals.

Question 30

What did Cicourel mean by the negotiation of justice?

Answer 30

The idea that middle class parents can negotiate with the criminal justice system to avoid middle class youths from being charged. They can hire expensive lawyers, knowing how the legal system works and can plead their way out, with excuses like, ‘they have a promising future’.

Question 31

What is the difference between primary and secondary deviance (Lemert)?

Answer 31

Primary deviance is a small act that hasn’t been labelled as criminal. The individual does not see their actions as wrong. Secondary deviance, the person’s act has been caught and recognised by society as criminal, they get the criminal label.

Question 32

What is the mortification process?

Answer 32

This is a process of when a client arrives at the mental hospital and pressure is placed on them to accept the ‘mentally ill’ label and their individuality is removed. They lose their sense of self.

Question 33

What is reintegrative shaming?

Answer 33

The act is label as bad, not the person committing the act, as if to say ‘he’s done a bad thing’ rather than ‘he is a bad person’.

Question 34

What is disintegrative shaming?

Answer 34

This is when not only the crime but also the criminal is labelled as bad, and the offender is excluded from society.

Question 35

Why is labelling theory not useful?

Answer 35

The labelling theory is not useful because it fails to explain why people commit crime in the first place, the primary act of deviance.