Becker- KEY STUDY

• Becker

  • argued that if people are labelled for long enough then the label becomes internalised
  • individuals see the person as this character
  • It becomes a ‘master status’ this can lead to a deviant career.
• Labelling and Deviance

  • Society creates deviance by setting rules and labeling those who break them as "outsiders."
  • Whether an act is seen as deviant depends on:
  • Time and Place: An act may be acceptable at one time or place but not in another (e.g., drinking in the morning which is deviant vs. at night).
  • Who Commits the Act: Some people can perform certain acts without them being seen as deviant and breaking the rules like pharmacists selling drugs.
• Deviant Careers: Individuals can gradually adopt deviance as a lifestyle through stages:

  • Initial Labeling: A woman is caught using drugs and labeled a "druggie,
  • label becomes her main identity, or master status.
  • This overrides all her other statuses like student
  • Social Rejection: Others assume she will break more rules, leading to family rejection, loss of home, job
  • therefore unable to earn legally.
  • She resorts to crime e.g theft to support addiction
  • She joins an organized deviant group, adopts its subculture, and learns ways to avoid detection, solidifying her deviant identity.
• Becker

  • Deviance is defined by others; acts become deviant when labeled.
  • Labeling: Depends on who, when, where, and how the act is observed and interactions
  • Social Control: Police and courts apply and enforce labels.
  • Master Status: The label becomes main identity and shapes others' views. e.g criminal
  • Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Labeled individuals internalize the label, so more deviance.
  • Rejection: Labeled individuals are rejected from social groups due to negative assumptions about their behaviour.
  • Deviant Career: Labeling = lead to joining a subculture that supports deviant behavior
• Criticisms of the Interactionist Approach:

  • Victim Blaming: It sees criminals as victims of labeling, ignoring that some people choose to break the law.
  • Lack of Explanation: It doesn't explain why people commit deviant acts initially.
  • Focus on Interactions: Structural approaches argue that it overlooks the influence of social structures, like class inequalities, on behavior.