Crime - interactionist theories of crime

Question 1

what do interactionists say about crime

Answer 1

crime is a social construction in which no act is inherently criminal or deviant, it becomes one when others label it as such - its a product of societys reaction to actions

Question 2

whats does becker say about labelling theory

Answer 2

a deviant is someone who has been succesfully labelled & deviant behaviour is only what people have labelled as such. labelled based on class gender & ethnicity

Question 3

what example does becker use for labelling

Answer 3

fight between young people - one in low class neighbourhood more likely to be defined by the police as evidence of delinquency, but in a wealthy area its evidence of high spirits. same act but meanings given by audience differ

Question 4

what does becker say about moral entrenepeurs

Answer 4

rules and laws made by entrenepeurs- those who lead a moral crusade to change the law.

Question 5

what 2 effects do moral entrenepeurs have

Answer 5

creates outsiders, those who werent deviant now are e.g law in uk outlawed all legal highs meaning shops that sold them went from legal to illegal overnite
also expands social control agencies like the police to impose labels on offenders

Question 6

whats an evaluation of becker

Answer 6

writing in 1963 so doesnt consider people labelled based off of sexuality as it wasnt considered

Question 7

what does lemert (supports becker) say about labelling

Answer 7

primary deviance - deviant acts that havent been publicly labelled as criminal
secondary deviance - deviant acts/people thatve been labelled, can lead to master status and deviant career

Question 8

what does lemert say about process of labelling - secondary deviance

Answer 8

deviant act commited, its witnessed, the person is labelled, theyre rejected by society, they then reject society, ends up in deviant career & becomes their master status

Question 9

whats a master status

Answer 9

the individual’s deviant identity overrules all other identities

Question 10

what does cicourel say about the negotiation of justice

Answer 10

officers’ stereotypes of the typical criminal class makes them concentrate on the types that are most likely to offend e.g lower class

Question 11

negotiation of justice - what does cicourel say about class bias

Answer 11

police patrol w/c areas more, sustaining their labels on the w/c

Question 12

negotiation of justice - how does the middle class negotiate their way out of criminal proceedings

Answer 12

dont fit the picture of a ‘typical delinquent (looking dishevelled, using slang), & parents can present themselves as respectable and reasonable from a nice neighbourhood, co-operate fully with the officers, & assure that their child is remorseful

Question 13

what does ciourel say about consequences of labelling

Answer 13

labels create stereotypes which lead to selective law enforcement

Question 14

what example can be applied to cicourel

Answer 14

lavinia woodward case - oxford student only recieved 10 month suspension for stabbing bf

Question 15

whats a strength and criticism of cicourel

Answer 15

laws arent fixed and can be seen to be enforced in a discriminatory way
but doesnt explain why w/c are labelled originally & too much focus on police, not enough on capitalist gov (marxists)

Question 16

what does jock young (supports lemert) say about consequences of labelling

Answer 16

studied drug takers in notting hill, examplifying key concepts - folk devils & deviance amplification spiral. labels generate more crime

Question 17

whats jock youngs drug study

Answer 17

police arrest drug users for minor offences, media take these stories and then have their ‘folk devils’ (drug takers) and so generates moral panic abt them. in response, police focus harder on these folk devils, pushing the drug takers underground, raising police suspicion and drug prices up also making the police crack down and more media coverage. the drug takers then resist arrest, take new drugs and organise better (more deviance)

Question 18

whats cohens study of mods and rockers

Answer 18

study of two youth subcultures of the 1960s. showed how the media exaggerated the violence that sometimes happened between them. lead to the young people categorising themselves as either mods or rockers which created more violence, further helping to confirm them as violent in the eyes of the general public

Question 19

whats does cohen say about consequences of labelling

Answer 19

concept of the deviance amplification spiral - media exaggeration began moral panic, moral entrenepeurs calling for crackdown, demonising the mods and rockers as folk devils, margalising them and in turn creating more deviance

Question 20

what does braithwaite say about criminal justice policy

Answer 20

labelling can have negative and positive effects depending on the type of shaming done

Question 21

whats braithwaites disintergrative shaming

Answer 21

negative, the crime and criminal labelled as bad and person is excluded from society

Question 22

whats braithwaites intergrative shaming

Answer 22

positive, labelling the act not the actor so avoids stigmatisation. person is made aware of the negative impact of their action, encouraging others to forgive them so they can reintegrate back into society

Question 23

what are strengths of labelling theory

Answer 23

emphasises social constructs of crime & identifies and reveals role of the powerful in crime and deviance.
shows how deviant careers can be created

Question 24

what are criticisms of labelling theory

Answer 24

assumes victims of labelling are passive, ignores that people choose to commit crime
- the deviant becomes the victim of labelling and then isnt blamed for behaviour, ignores real victim
-focuses on less serious crimes