Interactionist Perspective

• Who wrote ‘Outsiders’?

  Howard Becker
• Why do Interactionists reject the Functionalist idea of ‘value consensus’?

  Things are only deviant when they go against the n+v’s that society says are acceptable which are RELATIVE to time, culture, and context.
• How did Howard Becker say deviance was socially constructed in his book ‘Outsiders’?

  • One group acts in a certain way that another, more powerful group interprets as deviant > group + activity labelled as deviants
  • Powerful groups also make rules + laws
• Who said this?

  • Media socially constructed moral panics which interpret + label the activities of less powerful groups, especially youths, as deviant/criminal, therefore justifying stricter controls over them.


  Stanley Cohen
• How did Stanley Cohen say that the police construct OCS?

  1. Label activities of WC/e min. groups as more criminal than other group’s activities
  2. Over-police + target those groups
• Which study proves the idea that deviance is socially constructed? (HINT: Young)

  • Marijuana smokers in Notting Hill
  • Used to be a casual activity, but after they got labelled it became a central part of their identity > deviance amplification
• Which study proves the idea that e. mins are targeted by police, leading to their over-rep in OCS? (HINT: Cicourel)

  • Cicourel’s study of police officers in California
  • They were more likely to arrest those who fit the img of delinquency - low-income b.g., poor school performance
  • MC delinquents were more likely to be cautioned than arrested
• What did Howard Becker say the label of ‘deviant’ could lead to?

  A ‘master status’
• What can labelling lead to? (2)

  A ’self-fulfilling prophecy’ + deviance amplification
• How does deviance amplification work?

  Labelled individual reacts to -ve label by becoming even more deviant in SYMBOLIC PROTEST
• Who further developed the Interactionist perspective by identifying Primary + Secondary deviance?

  Lemert
• What did Lemert mean by Primary deviance?

  Acts that haven’t been publicly defined as deviant
• What did Lemert mean by Secondary deviance?

  Acts that have been publicly defined as deviant
• How does Lemert’s identification of Primary + Secondary deviance prove that labelling causes deviance?

  1. The 2-step process proves that deviance is a process
  2. Shows that agents of s. control get involved
  3. Labelling profoundly affects individuals
• What was William Chambliss’ study ‘The Saints and the Roughnecks’?

  • Studied 2 groups of HS boys to find how much labels affected them
  • Saints - MC | Roughnecks - lower class, poorer neighbourhoods > society expected Ss to succeed & Rs to fail
  • Both engaged in deviant behaviour e.g. vandalism, fighting
  • Saints behaviour was excused bc ppl believed they were good overall
  • Roughnecks were persecuted more often
  • After skl, most Ss went to college + professional careers. 2 Rs got scholarships + became coaches, 2 never graduated + 2 went to prison

  Chambliss proved that their s. class impacted how their deviance was perceived & their deviant label became a self-fulfilling prophecy
• Which sociologist‘s ideas support the Interactionist perspective on deviance AND critique Miller’s ‘Focal concerns’?

  David Matza
• What did Matza say about deviance, society and values?

  • Deviant ppl don‘t have diff. values to non-deviants + the rest of society
  • Everyone has deviant subterranean values which we learn to hide
• What did Matza say youths use to avoid internalising a deviant label?

  ‘Techniques of neutralisation’
• What are techniques of neutralisation?

  Simple rationales for why we violate societal norms
• How many techniques of neutralisation (Matza) are there?

  5
• What are the 5 techniques of neutralisation? (Matza)

  1. Denial of responsibility
  2. Denial of injury
  3. Victim blaming
  4. Condemning the condemners
  5. Appealing to a higher loyalty
• AO3: How did Akers critique Interactionism?

  Said that labelling theory over-emphasised societal reaction
• AO3: How did Gordon critique Interactionism?

  It’s hard to explain serious crimes through the concept of labelling
• AO3: What are Interactionists criticised for underestimating?

  Reality + fear of crime
• AO3: T/F: Interactionists ignore the victims of crime

  TRUE