Interactionism

• what is interactionism?

  • MICRO explanation
  • individuals/small groups
  • INTERPRETIVIST
• What do Interactionists reject?

  • CRIME STATISTICS
  • believe they are based of judgements & objective
• What do they believe?

  most people commit crimes --> only SOME people caught & labelled
• Becker


  • crime = social construct
  • no act is criminal until given a label
  • societies reaction determines an acts deviant label
• Malinowski - STUDY


  • ethnographic study in Trobriand Islands
  • incest = deviant but was common
  • man had public dispute with family member --> got publicly shamed for sleeping with his sister
  • committed suicide as act of honour
• 'Labelling Theory'


  • Becker
  • social control based on stereotypes
  • target some groups more (w/c young black males)
  • police operate with pre-existing stereotypes influencing their actions
• Cicourel


  • juvenile justice system
  • recorded crime stats are a result of negotiation between police + offender
  • police make judgements on whether to arrest or not based on context
  • MIDDLE CLASS: police believe they have good background so assume deviant act is temporary lapse
  • WORKING CLASS: believe they have lack social capital and deviance is due to youth being bad
• Gang Violence Matrix --> BIAS

  • MET police created post 2011 London Riots
  • database designed to identify individuals involved in gangs

  79% black

  86.5% BAME

  27% convicted were black

  • Human rights took MET to court for racism
  • people were on list for being victim/associated with gangs/clothes
  • they would face exclusion from jobs, more stops & searches
• 'Master Status' 


  • Becker
  • deviant label defines individual
  • shapes how others see/interact with labelled individual
  • leads to self-fulfilling prophecy
  • DETERMINISTIC--> people have no free will
• Lemert


  Primary deviance = minor / initial acts --> no master status

  Secondary deviance = repeated / highly visible acts --> master status label
• Matza


  • 'Delinquency Drift'
  • delinquent behaviour is NOT permanent --> phase people drift in & out of
  • everybody has delinquent values, not just one group
  • society has SUBTERRANEAN VALUES --> are deviant and in mainstream society people try neutralise crime (eg. murder as act of self defence)
• Neutralisation Techniques


  1. denial of responsibility - 'behaviour not in their control'
  2. denial of injury - 'it did no harm'
  3. denial of victim - 'victim deserved it'
  4. condemnation of condemners - 'those labelling are in the wrong / hypocrites'
• Young


  • 'Deviance Amplification'
  • Hippies: occasional drug use
  • police targeted them --> labelled them deviant --> media reported it as 'societal threat'
  • hippies became deviant as a response --> amplified
  • proposed potential reasons for amplified deviance:

  1. increased isolation: label excluded them from society
  2. rebellion induced: reacted angrily to deviant label
  3. self-fulfilling prophecy: label internalised --> became the label
• Deviance Amplification Spiral


  -

  
• EXAMPLE STUDY - FAWBETT: HOODIES


  • hoodies banned at Bluewater centre due to intimidation + anti-social behaviour
  • term 'hoodies' used A LOT in news --> -ve association
  • hoodies had negative stigma --> 2 year old banned from shop
  • deviance amplified- became a must have fashion item
  • was perceived as start of the end of civilisation in 20 years
• EVALUATION on Becker, Young & MICRO approach


  1. Becker is Too Deterministic: suggests individuals have limitations to reject labels, believes labels influence individuals (therefore suggesting they have no free will)
  2. Young: only explains deviance amplification NOT why initial act took place
  3. MICRO: only explains minor crimes --> Ignores Major crimes
• EVALUATION 


  1. Neglect Structural factors: overemphasis on labelling's role: MARXISTS believe it downplays economic disparities --> providing power to give people labels
  2. Challenges typical criminal: argues everyone has deviant values --> Stats are Bias