labelling theory

• What factors influence whether a person is arrested?

  Interactions with social control agencies
• Who conducted a study on police decisions to arrest youths?

  Piliavin and Briar
• What did Piliavin and Briar find about police arrests?

  Arrests were based on physical cues
• What are police typifications according to Cicourel?

  Stereotypes of a typical delinquent
• How does Cicourel view the justice system?

  Justice is negotiated, not fixed
• What do interactionists believe about official crime statistics?

  They are socially constructed
• What is the 'dark figure of crime'?

  The difference between official and real crime rates
• What alternative methods do sociologists use for crime statistics?

  Victim surveys and self-report studies
• What is primary deviance according to Lemert?

  Deviant acts not publicly labelled
• What is secondary deviance?

  Result of social reaction to primary deviance
• What is a master status?

  A label that defines how others see a person
• What is the spiral of labelling in deviance?

  1. Primary deviance occurs
  2. Isolation and alienation begin
  3. Increased social reaction follows
  4. Secondary deviance happens
  5. Social reaction to the shamed offender
  6. Increased deviance as the master status is embodied
• What effect do attempts to control young offenders have, according to research?

  They often backfire and worsen behavior
• What did Triplett find about young offenders in America?

  They were seen as evil and less tolerated
• What is disintegrative shaming?

  Labeling crime as bad and excluding the criminal
• What is reintegrative shaming?

  Labeling the act but not the person
• How do policies using reintegrative shaming benefit offenders?

  They avoid stigmatizing while promoting awareness
• What do interactionists study regarding mental illness?

  How something becomes labeled as mental illness
• What did Lemert note about individuals and primary deviance?

  They may be labeled as odd and excluded
• What did Durkheim argue about suicide causes?

  They are based on social integration levels
• How do interactionists view the study of suicide?

  They focus on meanings and interactions
• What did Douglas argue about official statistics?

  They can be socially constructed
• What did Atkinson focus on in his research?

  Assumptions of coroners regarding suicide
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of labelling theory?

  Strengths:

  • Shows law enforcement discrimination
  • Highlights control attempts can backfire

  
  

  Weaknesses:

  • Suggests criminal careers are inevitable
  • Assumes offenders are passive victims
  • Fails to explain initial deviance causes
• What does labelling theory suggest about the law?

  The law is not fixed and can be discriminatory
• What does labelling theory fail to analyze?

  The source of power creating deviance
• What does labelling theory fail to explain about deviance?

  Why some people commit deviant acts