interactionism/labelling Flashcards
1
Q
the social construction of deviance
A
- deviance is a social construction
- people only become deviant once they are labelled
- creation of a social control agency (police) to impose labels on offenders.
marxism - fails to locate the origin of the labels in capitalism
2
Q
differential enforcement
A
- not everyone who commits an offence is punished
- certain groups are labelled as criminal
- arrests based on stereotypes on gender, class and ethnicity
- black people 7x more likely to get stopped and searched
Left R - lacks social policy focus, LRs have realistic solutions to reduce crime
3
Q
typifications
A
- police have typifications of the typical deviant (WC, EM, male)
- MC less likely to fit the typification, have parents who can negotiate (elaborated code), so less likely to be charged
4
Q
crime statistics: topic not resource
A
- WC fit police typifications, WC areas are patrolled more and arrested more
- stats do not give valid crime patterns
- should use them as a topic, not a fact source as they are result of differential enforcement
Left R - stats reflect real differences in offending, marginalisation leads to more crime by minority groups
5
Q
effects of labelling
A
- society encourages people to become more deviant by labelling them
- social reaction causes secondary deviance
- label becomes their master status
- provokes an identity crisis
fails to explain why people commit primary deviance before labelling happens
6
Q
self fulfilling prophecy
A
- labelling causes identity crisis
- accepting the deviant label
- societal reaction encourages them to join a deviant subculture, offers a deviant career
- e.g. ex convicts who can’t get a legal job
funct. - deviance produces further social control, not further deviance
7
Q
deviance amplification spiral
A
- attempt to control deviance leads to it increasing
- mods and rockers - media exaggeration caused moral panic, police responded by arresting more youths
- demonising them marginalised them further
