In this way, people can become career criminals. – Structural sociologists argue that there are deeper, structural explanations of crime, it isn’t all just a product of labelling and interactions. LS23 6AD, Tel: +44 0844 800 0085 This idea was developed further by Aaron Cicourel (1968) in his famous study Power and the Negotiation of Justice. (The logic here is that drug-related crime isn’t intentionally nasty, drug-addicts do it because they are addicted, hence better to treat the addiction rather than further stigmatise the addict with a criminal label). Labeling theory refers to the idea that individuals become deviant when a deviant label is applied to them; they adopt the label by exhibiting the behaviors, actions, and attitudes associated with the label. Becker provides a more extreme example in his book, In summary – deviance is not a quality that lies in behaviour itself, but in the interaction between the person who commits an act and those who respond to it, Their interactions with agencies of social control such as the police and the courts, Their appearance, background and personal biography. Stage four –Concluded that high teacher expectation had resulted in improvement (= the self-fulfilling prophecy), Key Terms: Moral Panics, Folk Devils and The Deviancy Amplification Spiral. Primary deviance is a violation of norms that does not result in any long-term effects on the individual’s self-image or interactions with others. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Implications for theory and future research are discussed. Labeling theory was created by Howard Becker in 1963. secondary deviance - result of societal reaction of labelling, being caught + publicly labelled as criminals can involve being shamed or excluded from normal society. This relates to the ideas of Lemert (1951) about primary deviance and secondary deviance. The fact that the public are concerned about ‘youth crime’ suggest they are more than willing to subscribe to the media view that young people are a threat to social order. Cicourel argued that this difference can only be accounted for by the size, organisation, policies and practices of the juvenile and police bureaus. Describing someone as a criminal, for example, can cause others to treat the person more negatively, and, in turn, the individual acts out. What did Becker mean? What makes something deviant is not what is done, but how people react to what is done. According to Interactionists, the Mass Media has a crucial role to play in creating moral panics through exaggerating the extent to which certain groups and turning them into ‘Folk Devils’ – people who are threatening to public order. NB to my mind the classic song by NWA ‘Fuck Tha Police’ is basically highlighting the fact that it’s young black males in the US that typically get labelled as criminals (while young white kids generally don’t). once individual labelled, others view them as label and nothing more so label becomes the offenders Master Status (can lead to self fulfilling prophecy) The process of defining a young person as a delinquent is complex, and it involves a series of interactions based on sets of meanings held by the participants. Crime is the product of interactions between certain individuals and the police, rather than social background. They see crime as the product of micro-level interactions between certain individuals and the police, rather than the result of external social forces such as socialisation or blocked opportunity structures. Labelling theory has a clear ‘value position’ – it should aim to promote policies that prevent labelling minor acts as deviant. The term ‘moral panic’ was first used in Britain by Stan Cohen in a classic study of two youth subcultures of the 1960s – ‘Mods’ and ‘Rockers’. Our self concept is how we see ourselves; Becker argues that this is created by recognising how others see us (similar to Cooley's concept of the looking-glass self): being aware of how we are labelled.  As such, being labelled as deviant can lead to deviance amplification because this label can become our master status: the main way in which we think of and identify ourselves. Do you agree with the idea that there is no such thing as an inherently deviance act? Learn how your comment data is processed. It was this anxiety which lead to chronic stuttering. For example, drug addicts may turn to crime to finance their habit. Becker maintains that what we count as crime and deviance is based on subjective decisions made by ‘moral entrepreneurs’ (agents of social control). But, on further investigation, it turned out that incest was not uncommon on the island, nor was it really frowned upon provided those involved were discrete. Despite the notorious student group being associated with a wide range of illegal behaviour, this behaviour was not subject to the same social control and punishment that it would have attracted had they been poor people rioting, rather than rich people "letting off steam". Sexual Harassment in the Workplace in 2016’, (2016), Tikly et al, ‘Evaluation of Aiming High: African Caribbean Achievement Project’, (2006), Crime & Deviance: Revision Flashcards for AQA A Level Sociology, Beliefs in Society: Revision Guide for AQA A Level Sociology, Advertise your teaching jobs with tutor2u. Reach the audience you really want to apply for your teaching vacancy by posting directly to our website and related social media audiences. (21 marks) Labelling theorists are concerned with how and why certain people and actions come to be labelled as criminal or deviant, and what effects this has on those who are labelled as such. Cicourel argues that it is the meanings held by police officers and juvenile officers that explain why most delinquents come from working class backgrounds. Labeling theory is a theory to understand deviance in the society, this theory is focused more on trying to understand how people react to behavior that happens around them and label it as ‘deviant’ or ‘nondeviant’. Labelling has been seen to facilitate crime and deviant behaviour through encouraging people to act according to labels which are attached to them. That deviance is labeling theory and identified two types of labelling theory crime and deviance sociology that affect identity formation acts in... Status ’ – Realists argue that this perspective actually ignores the actual victims of crime since labeling someone deviant! Everyone who commits an offence is punished for it be no consensus over the of... Argued that crime depends on societal reaction, and de-institutionalization are promising measures to prevent secondary deviance agencies. Labelling certain people as deviant or criminal similar process happening with African Caribbean children conduct... 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