interactionism Flashcards
(13 cards)
what is the interactionist theory?
labelling
what does the labelling theory argue?
that no act is criminal or deviant - it only becomes this when labelled as such by others
what doe Pilivin & Briar argue?
police and judges label certain groups as criminal
what is differential enforcement?
law being enforced against one group more than other = creating labels
what does Lemert argue?
when labelling someone as deviant, society encourages them to be more deviant
what is a self-fullfiling prophecy?
people becoming what they’re labelled as (master status)
what is the result of labelling?
the person being rejected by society and forced into the company of other criminals
how can law be applied in a discriminatory way?
stop and search rates are 8x higher for black males
what does labelling show a weakness in?
official stats - they’re more a record of activities of social agents
how does the police create crime?
through labelling individuals
why does the self-fulfilling prophecy not always apply?
people can fight their labels - implies that crime is a choice
what does labelling not explain?
where the power to create labels comes from
how does labelling lack validity?
- no explination for middle class
- most crimes are based on spur of the moment
