Interactionism/ Labelling Theory

Question 1

The social construction of deviance

Answer 1

Deviance it

Question 2

The social construction of deviance

Answer 2

Deviance is a social construction created by powerful social groups by creating roles and applying them to particular people they label as outsiders. Deviance is in the eye of the beholder- those with the power to label. An act or a person only becomes deviant once they have been labelled. Moral entrepreneurs lead a moral crusade to change the law, this would either create a new group of outsiders or expand the social control agency to enforce the rules

Question 3

Evaluation of the social construction of deviance

Answer 3

There are many things which are labelled as deviant that many people do everyday such as homosexuality, smoking weed, abortion etc

Question 4

Differential enforcement

Answer 4

Not everyone who commits an offence is punished for it. Whether a person is arrested, convicted or charged depends on certain factors. Agencies of social control tend to label certain groups as criminal. Pillaging and briar found that police decisions were based on stereotypes around ethnicity, class and gender. Young black males are 7x more likely to be stopped and questioned

Question 5

Evaluation of differential achievement

Answer 5

Labelling theory gives the criminal a victim status as it argues the person has only been arrested because of police judgement and this ignores the real victims of crimes.

Question 6

Typifications

Answer 6

Police use typifications of the typical deviant and these people are more likely to be stopped arrested an charged. The wc are more likely to be treated harshly by the police whereas the mc can negotiate justice due to their cultural capital and connections with lawyers

Question 7

Evaluation of typifications

Answer 7

Interactionism lacks any practical social policy focus. Left realists out forward realistic solutions to reduce crime in inner city areas

Question 8

The effects of labelling

Answer 8

Labelling certain people as deviant encourages them to commit more crime and deviance. This causes secondary deviance. Primary deviance is acts that have not been publicly labelled such as faredodging. Secondary deviance is where the act is labelled by society and the committer is shamed. They develop a master status, accept their label, and commit more crime.

Question 9

Evaluation of the effects of labelling

Answer 9

This fails to explain why people commit primary deviance in the first place, before they are labelled

Question 10

Self fulfilling prophecy and the deviant career

Answer 10

Being labelled creates a crisis of self concept and identity for the individual. This resolve this crisis by accepting the deviant label the world sees them as. This leads to them committing more deviant acts. Further societal reaction may lead to them joining a deviant subculture that offers support, role models and a deviant career

Question 11

Evaluation of self fufilling prophecy and deviant career

Answer 11

Right realists would argue that it is not the criminal accepting the label that causes more crime but rather that they have been socialised incorrectly