2.3 labelling Flashcards
(17 cards)
what does labelling theory state?
no act is criminal or deviant in itself
what are moral entrepreneurs?
upstanding citizens who go on a moral crusade to crack down on deviance
example of an act society made deviant.
smoking cannabis
who states to understand criminality we must focus on certain actions?
becker — labelling
example of social agency.
police
what do social agencies do?
label certain groups as criminal which results in differential reinforcement
what did piliavin and briar find?
police decisions on who to arrest were based on stereotypes
what were the stereotypical ideas piliavin and brair stated?
a person’s: manner, dress, gender, class, ethnicity
as well as time and place
what did lemert state?
labelling causes crime and deviance; labelling causes self fulfilling prophecies
who came up with primary and secondary deviance?
lemert
what is primary deviance?
not publicly labelled acts of deviance. trivial and mostly go uncaught. those who commit them don’t see themselves as criminal
what is secondary deviance?
results from labelling; people may treat the offender as the thing they’re labelled with
what is a master status?
a controlling identity. something a person has become because of labelling
what are the implications of labelling?
offender could be rejected by society and forced into the company of other criminals, joining a deviant subculture
what did young (1971) find/ study?
hippy marijuana users in notting hill. drugs were primary deviance but the labelling caused them to see themselves as outsiders
evaluation of labelling (weaknesses).
- assumes when you’re labelled you internalise it— deterministic
- ignores real victims of crime
evaluation of labelling (strength).
- draws attention to long term affects and reoffending
- draws attention to issues of power and status
