SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF CRIME - INTERACTIONALISM - LABELLING

Question 1

what did Becker argue?

Answer 1

that no act is criminal or deviant in itself, it only becomes so when labelled as such by others

Question 2

what did piliavain and briar argue?

Answer 2

that agents of social control - police and judges label certain groups as criminal.

Question 3

what does labelling by agents of social control lead to ?

Answer 3

the law being enforced against one group more than others - creating criminal label in individuals

Question 4

what does lemert argue ?

Answer 4

that by labelling a person as deviant, society encourages them to be more deviant, and so they become what the label says they are - known as the self-fulfilling prophecy.

Question 5

what is a master status?

Answer 5

People may treat an offender solely in terms of their label, becoming their ‘master status’ or controlling identity.

Question 6

what is the result of labelling in criminality?

Answer 6

As a result, the person is rejected by society and forced into the company of other criminals, which leads to criminality. Prison is an extreme example of this

Question 7

Name a strength?

Answer 7

Labelling theory shows that the law is a social construct that needs explanation, not a fixed set of rules to be taken for granted. It highlights that the law can be applied in a discriminatory way.

Question 8

name a weakness

Answer 8

The ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’ does not always apply – people can fight against the label they are given by the police.