1.3 - Labelling Theory

• What do interactionists believe about crime and deviance?

  • believe that crime and deviance is a behaviour that has been negatively labelled by society. Deviance is a social construct - an idea and concept created by society
• What did Becker argue?

  • an act can only become deviant when others define it as such. Interactionists view criminals not as evil individuals who engage in wrong acts but as individuals with a criminal status
  • Have this status placed upon them by the criminal justice system and community
  • The criminal act itself is not significant but where, who and why
• What does crime depend on?

  • depends on who commits the act, when and where it is committed
  • Low income area - defined as deviant and lead to arrest
  • High income area - defined as high youthful spirits and no arrest
• What is the role of the agents of socialisation?

  • the agents of social control have the power to make the label stick. Assumptions will be made that the individual concerned are associated with these negative characteristics
• What is the consequences of being labelled?

  • produce a self fulfilling prophecy and the individual is rejected from certain social groups which could encourage this further deviance (deviant careers)
  • this career is completed when the individual joins an organised deviant group and then develops a deviant subculture
• What was Young's study?

  • 50 interviews with marijuana users and found that the police labelled a group of marijuana smokers as 'deviant'. By being labelled as 'deviant' created a self fulfilling prophecy
• Evaluation of labelling theory -

  1. Ignores free will and how people can reject the label
  2. Does not explain why some choose to be deviant in the first place
  3. Right Realist (Clarke) - believes some criminals do not need to be labelled to commit crime as they add up the benefits of the crime
• What is the work of Circourel?


  • police typifications - stereotypes that police hold over a criminal
  • interactions with agencies of social control
  • appearance, background and personal biography
  • situations of offence
• What is the negotiation of justice according to Circourel?


  1. Consists of a decision by the police to stop and interrogate an individual. This would be based on the stereotypes by the police of a 'typical delinquent'
  2. This consists of whether to charge the criminal based on the stereotypes of the officer and the power of parents of negotiation
• How does Brock Turner's study support Circourel?


  • Was from Stanford Uni and sexually assaulted a unconcious girl. His father said he should not be charged for "20 mins of action" and his sentence was reduced from 16 years to 6 months
• Evaluation of Cicourel -


  • Too deterministic as it ignores those who reject the label and continue to commit crime
  • Police are equipped with necessary training to avoid these stereotypes
  • Stats actually report w/c as more deviant
  • NR criticise for offering 'excuses' for those committing crime
• What does Lemert focus on?


  • the effect of labelling and societal reaction
• Lemert - primary deviance?


  • PRIMARY DEVIANCE - consists of deviant acts before they are publicly labelled (petty theft, vandalism)
  • Not caught so offenders easily rationalise them away as 'moments of madness' so have little effects on their identity
• Lemert - secondary deviance?


  • SECONDARY DEVIANCE - refers to acts which result from being publicly labelled deviant. This can lead to an individual being stigmatised and having a negative master status by society. This overrides our identity as a criminal
• How does Mason Greenwood's study support Lemert?


  • famous manchester player who was convicted of rape and bodily harm
  • fired from club and developed a master status of a 'rapist' rather than a football player
• Evaluation of Lemert -


  • Lemert does not explain why people continue to commit crime despite not being labelled
• What is Cohen's folk devils and moral panics?


  • argues agents of social control whip up a moral panic about a particular group of people that are a threat to society
  • the deviants who have been labelled are defined as 'folk devils' and suffer society's wrath
• Who are the MODS AND ROCKERS?


  • two subcultures who lived locally to each other, were different in characteristics but dressed the same
  • the process of deviant amplification began after a few scuffles broke out on a bank holiday
  • Media defined it as 'battles' and riots which led to these youth being defined as gangs (mods and rockers)
  • Press/police became more hostile towards youth and attacked their clothing and lifestyle
  • The media amplified the problem by causing a moral panic which heightened police activity and public labelling
• Evaluation of Cohen -


  • McRobbie questions whether the audience are passive as they can reject what the news show
  • Cohen has been criticised for siding with the youth against faces of social control
• What is Braithwaite - shaming and labelling?


  1. Disintergrative shaming - the crime and criminal are labelled negatively and become excluded from society
  2. Reintergrative shaming - label the act and not the person as bad and are forgiven
• What is shaming and labelling?


  • Braithwaite argued that if there is more reintergrative shaming, society will have lower rates of crime and encourages others to be forgiving
• Evaluation of Braithwaite -


  • Left realists believe there has been a rise in a culture of too much empathy for criminals and not the victim
  • Does not explain those who reoffend after reintergrative shaming
• What is punishment and policy by Jones?


  • argues that the criminal justice system has the potential to decriminalise many types of behaviours through legislation and policy change
  • Holland - cannabis has been legalised so if something is no longer a crime, fewer people will be criminals as there as less laws to break
• Evaluation of Jones -

  • Murray argues that decriminilasing crimes plays into the hands of the lower class' characteristics
  • Criticised for supporting the decline in country's morals as we would not want to see the decriminilastion of prostitution and rape