Becker

• Claims

  • interactionalism theory, Labelling Theory
  • deviancy exists in the eye of the beholder
  • labelling people has a knock on effect on their behaviour
  • individuals/groups aim to make certain acts illegal as it's in their own interests or the best interests of others
• Components

  • master status: the person who is criminal or deviant is known only for their label
  • self fulfilling prophecy: when a false belief influences a persons behaviour so much so that it ultimately becomes who they are
  • Benji Vardigan: 'tell a child they are stupid enough times he will eventually start to believe you'
• Credibility

  • helps understand social construction of the world
  • highlights the impact of media on the creation of deviance and creating moral panic
  • lacks reliability, representation and credibility
  • deterministic
  • reductionist
• Application

  • Mods and Rockers, Stanley Cohen: became folk devils, portrayed as more violent than they were so became more violent
  • doesn't apply to criminals in respected careers (E.g. Lucy Letby)
• Refuting Evidence

  • no empirical data to support the theory
  • Marxism
  • Left Realism
  • individualistic theories
• Supporting Evidence

  • Lemert 1964: an individual commits primary deviance and gets labelled as being deviant, the individual changes their behaviour and commits secondary deviance
  • Cohen 1972: media and the government overreact to minor social disorder and apply the label of folk devils to certain individuals or groups