becker

• what perspective is Becker?

  interactionalist
• what does Becker believe society creates?

  Rules, whoever acts out of the rules is labelled as deviant
• what does Becker believe powerful groups do?

  (police) use stereotypes and misconceptions about what they believe is criminal or which area is criminal (like black youth London).
• how does the self-fufilling prophecy link to Becker?

  The police use stereotypes and label people as criminals who then get mistreated (stopped and searched) and get labelled with criminal records leading to the development of deviant careers and this label can become their master status.
• what can be defined as a deviant act (Becker)?

  Becker states that whether an act is deviant depends on whether society deems it as such (labelling theory).
• when did Becker argue that an act becomes deviant?

  when others define it as such.
• what were the 4 things that becker believed the label of deviancy depends on?

  • who commits the act
  • when and where it was commited
  • who observes the act
  • the negotiations that take place between the individuals involved in the interactions.
• who did becker believe were powerful agents of social control?

  police, courts, and media have the power to make labels stick.