DSC; Ch 8 Labeling Theory

Question 1

Deinstitutionalization

Answer 1

Deinstitutionalization:
encourages keeping offenders or the mentally ill in the community, to the extent that doing so is a reasonable option. The idea is that there is less disruption, labeling, and stigma if the individuals can be treated outside of prisons, mental hospitals, juvenile facilities, and so on.

Question 2

Looking-glass self:

Answer 2

Looking-glass self:

concept from Charles Horton Cooley, who suggests that individuals define themselves at least in part based on social interactions and the perceptions of others.

Question 3

Master status

Answer 3

Master status:
a status that proves to be more important than most others.

Question 4

Nonintervention

Answer 4

Nonintervention:
the policy of avoiding intervention and action for as long as possible. For example, labeling theorists often suggest we should tolerate some level of minor deviance and misbehavior before taking official action and labeling individuals deviant.

Question 5

Primary deviance:

Answer 5

Primary deviance:
common instances where individuals violate norms without viewing themselves as being involved in a deviant social role.

Question 6

Reintegrative shaming:

Answer 6

Reintegrative shaming:
a reaction to deviant behavior that views the offender as a good person who has done a bad deed; this process encourages repair work and forgiveness rather than simply labeling the individual as a bad person.

Question 7

Residual rule breaking:

Answer 7

Residual rule breaking:
deviance for which there exists no clear category—acts that are not crimes yet draw attention and make the societal audience uncomfortable.

Question 8

Restorative justice: Restorative justice:

Answer 8

Restorative justice:
typically involves bringing victims, offenders, and community members together in a mediated conference where the offenders take responsibility for their actions and work to restore the harm they have caused, often through restitution to the victim and service to the community.

Question 9

Secondary deviance:

Answer 9

Secondary deviance:
when an individual engages in deviant behavior as a means of defense, attack, or adjustment to the problems created by reactions to him or her.

Question 10

Self-fulfilling prophecy: Self-fulfilling prophecy:

Answer 10

Self-fulfilling prophecy:
once an individual is labeled, that individual’s self-conception may be altered, causing him or her to deviate and live up to the negative label.

Question 11

Symbolic interactionism:

Answer 11

Symbolic interactionism:
a micro-level, relativist sociological perspective that is focused on individuals and the meanings they attach to objects, people, and interactions around them.