case study related to labeling theory

According to Becker, the labelling theory of deviance looks at what happens to individuals after they are labelled as deviant (Skatvedt & Schou, 2008) The symbolic interactionist approach focuses on the role of social labels and sanctions that pressure individual gang members to continue engaging in deviant . Whether or not the police stop and interrogate an individual depends on where the behaviour is taking place and on how the police perceive the individual(s). Bernburg, J. G. (2019). The effect of arrest and justice system sanctions on subsequent behavior: Findings from longitudinal and other studies. As we will discuss in more details below, some scholars are skeptical of the labeling theory and accentuate that it would not be as affective and perhaps may cause individuals to engage in deviant behavior. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Notably, Paternoster and Iovanni (1989) argued that large portions of labeling research were methodologically flawed to the extent that it offered few conclusions for sociologists. The final part of a moral panic is when the authorities respond to the publics fear, which will normally involve tougher laws, initiatives and sentencing designed to prevent and punish the deviant group question. In the elaboration phase, each hypothesis is tested and either confirmed or contradicted, and through this process the typing of each student is refined. This was very helpful for my research, thank you. In a low-income neighbourhood, a fight is more likely to be defined by the police as evidence of delinquency, but in a wealthy area as evidence of high spirits. Later, Sampson and Laub (1997) argued that defiant or difficult children can be subject to labeling and subsequent stigma that undermines attachments to conventional others family, school, and peers. This original research found that arresting suspected perpetrators of domestic violence had a deterrent effect. Hi Ive used as my sources the main A-level sociology text books for the AQA syllabus, details are on the about page. Consider primary deviance, which is an. Sampson, R. J., & Laub, J. H. (1997). 0. case study related to labeling theory. The term moral panic was first used in Britain by Stan Cohen in a classic study of two youth subcultures of the 1960s Mods and Rockers. Hercontributions to SAGE Publications's. The notion behind this concept is that the majority of people violate laws or commit deviant acts in their lifetime; however, these acts are not serious enough and do not result in the individual being classified as a criminal by society or by themselves, as it is viewed as normal to engage in these types of behaviours. This increased involvement in deviant groups stems from Two-Factors. Overview of Labelling Theories, www. Criminology, 45(3), 547-581. He also found that teachers made their judgments not necessarily on any evidence of ability, but on appearance (whether they were neat and tidy) and whether they were known to have come from an educated, middle class family (or not). A life-course theory of cumulative disadvantage and the stability of delinquency. Labelling Theory or The Social Reaction Theory as it is more often known has been around and has developed over time from as early as 1938. It has been criticized for ignoring the capacity of the individual to resist labeling and assuming that it is an automatic process. Rather than taking the definition of crime for granted, labelling theorists are interested in how certain acts come to be defined or labelled as criminal in the first place. American Sociological Review, 680-690. As those labeled as deviants experience more social interactions where they are given the stereotypical expectation of deviance, this can shape that persons self-concept. (1982). Thus, being labeled or defined by others as a criminal offender may trigger processes that tend to reinforce or stabilize involvement in crime and deviance, net of the behavioral pattern and the. Once these labels are applied and become the dominant categories for pupils, they can become what Waterhouse called a pivotal identity for students a core identity providing a pivot which teachers use to interpret and reinterpret classroom events and student behaviour. related in particular ways may be sound, their methods in seeking to validate it are weak in- deed. In order for a moral panic to break out, the public need to believe what they see in the media, and respond disproportionately, which could be expressed in heightened levels of concern in opinion polls or pressure groups springing up that campaign for action against the deviants. All of this has led labelling theorists to look at how and why rules and laws get made especially the role of what Becker calls moral entrepreneurs, people who lead a moral crusade to change the law in the belief that it will benefit those to whom it is applied. Teachers also had higher expectations of girls than boys. Labeling theory is associated with the work of Becker and is a reaction to sociological theories which examined only the characteristics of the deviants, rather than the agencies which controlled them. Labeling theory suggests that criminal justice interventions amplify offending behavior. Similarly, recidivism was also higher among partners in unmarried couples than those in married couples, unrestricted by the conventional bond of marriage. Labeling theory recognizes that labels will vary depending on the culture, time period, and situation. At the simplest level labelling involves that first judgement you make about someone, often based on first-impressions are they worth making the effort to get to know more, are you indifferent to them, or are they to be avoided. Most studies found a positive correlation between formal labeling and subsequent deviant behavior, and a smaller but still substantial number found no effect (Huizinga and Henry, 2008). Secondary deviance, however, is deviance that occurs as a response to societys reaction and labeling of the individual engaging in the behaviour as deviant. Labelling. Crime & Delinquency, 62(10), 1313-1336. We are committed to engaging with you and taking action based on your suggestions, complaints, and other feedback. Critical to this theory is the understanding that the negative reaction of others to a particular behaviour is what causes that behaviour to be labeled as criminal or deviant. Furthermore, it is the negative reaction of others to an individual engaged in a particular behaviour that causes that individual to be labeled as criminal, deviant, or not normal. According to the literature, several reactions to deviance have been identified, including collective rule making, organizational processing, and interpersonal reaction. That agents of social control may actually be one of the major causes of crime, so we should think twice about giving them more power. thank you in advance, Toni Popovi. It follows that Cicourel found that most delinquents come from working class backgrounds. Bernburg, J. G., Krohn, M. D., & Rivera, C. J. Howard Becker argued that the deviant label can become a master status in which the individuals deviant identity overrules all other identities. These labels are informal (Kavish, Mullins, and Soto, 2016). If you like this sort of thing, then you might like my Crime and Deviance Revision Bundle. Labelling Theory is one of the main theories taught as part of the education module, and it is one of the main in-school process students need to understand, alongside banding and streaming and student subcultures. As members in society begin to treat these individuals on the basis of their labels, the individuals begin to accept the labels themselves. A classic study which supports the self fulfilling prophecy theory was Rosenthal and Jacobsons (1968) study of an elementary school in California. Social bonding theory, first developed by Travis Hirschi, asserts that people who have strong attachments to conventional society (for example, involvement, investment, and belief) are less likely to be deviant than those with weak bonds to conventional society (Chriss, 2007). Studies related to labeling theory have also explained how being labeled as deviant can have long-term consequences for a person's social identity. In his article Becker defines deviance as being created by society. Research in one American Kindergarten by Ray C. Rist (1970) suggested that the process of labelling is not only much more abrupt than suggested by Hargreaves et al, but also that it is heavily influenced by social class. Journal of research in crime and delinquency, 33(3), 324-332. Please click here to return to the homepage ReviseSociology.com. In summary deviance is not a quality that lies in behaviour itself, but in the interaction between the person who commits an act and those who respond to it. The labeling theory had made it more difficult to compare studies and generalizes finding on why individual committed crime. Edwin Lemert is widely recognized as the . This can replace the role that the conventional groups who have rejected these youths would have otherwise served (Bernburg, 2009). So useful. When individuals have little social support from conventional society, they can turn to deviant groups, where having a deviant label is accepted. Symbols, meaning, and action: The past, present, and future of symbolic interactionism. Thomas, Charles Horton Cooley, and Herbert Blumer, among others. However, according to Interactionists, when new laws are created, they simply create new groups of outsiders and lead to the expansion of social control agencies such as the police, and such campaigns may do little to change the underlying amount of deviant activity taking place. These theorists shaped their argument around the notion that even though some criminological efforts to reduce crime are meant to help the offender (such as rehabilitation efforts), they may move offenders closer to lives of crime because of the label they assign the individuals engaging in the behaviour. Basically the public, the police and the courts selectively label the already marginalised as deviant, which the then labelled deviant responds to by being more deviant. Today, sociologists apply conflict theory to a multitude of social problems that stem from imbalances of power that play out as racism, gender inequality, and discrimination and exclusion on the basis of sexuality, xenophobia, cultural differences, and still, economic class . This notion of social reaction, reaction or response by others to the behaviour or individual, is central to labeling theory. It fails to explain why acts of primary deviance exist, focussing mainly on secondary deviance. Gang Case Study. Factors associated with a typical delinquent include being of dishevelled appearance, having poor posture, speaking in slang etc. The labelling theory of crime was initially a reaction against consensus theories of crime, such as subcultural theory. House conservatives have been targeting actions by the Justice Department to falsely suggest that the agency is slapping the "terrorist" label on parents who simply raise concerns about school . teachers will push students they think are brighter harder, and not expect as much from students they have labelled as less-able. In some cases entry tests, over which teachers have no control, pre-label students into ability groups anyway, and the school will require the teacher to demonstrate that they are providing extra support for the low ability students as judged by the entry test. case study related to labeling theory. The process of defining a young person as a delinquent is complex, and it involves a series of interactions based on sets of meanings held by the participants. Students can also use this material to illustrate some of the key ideas of social action theory more generally when they study social theory in more depth in their second year. Theories help us explain why juveniles are engaging in delinquent behavior and it is important to understand why because it helps us explain the motives for their actions. For You For Only $13.90/page! Although different designs reveal some common underlying characteristics, a comparison of such case study research designs demonstrates that case study research incorporates different scientific goals and collection and analysis of . This manifests both on the societal and individual level. Labeling theory is an approach in the sociology of deviance that focuses on the ways in which the agents of social control attach stigmatizing stereotypes to particular groups, and the ways in which the stigmatized change their behavior once labeled. The colonial model views racial stratification and class stratification under capitalism as separate but related systems of oppression. (2006). Most interactionist theory focuses on the negative consequences of labelling, but John Braithwaite (1989) identifies a more positive role for the labelling process. Key Terms: Moral Panics, Folk Devils and The Deviancy Amplification Spiral. Labelling theory is one of the main parts of social action, or interactionist theory, which seeks to understand human action by looking at micro-level processes, looking at social life through a microscope, from the ground-up. For a brief time, labeling theory became a dominant paradigm in the field. Is it Hargreaves, Waterhouse or someone else, or is it the synthesizing of their ideas? Consistent with labeling theory, children whose parents see them as someone who gets into trouble or breaks rules and children who feel as if their friends, parents, and teachers see them as someone who gets into trouble or breaks rules tend to have higher levels of subsequent delinquency. This finding which implies that formal labeling only increases deviance in specific situations is consistent with deterrence theory. Cicourel based his research on two Californian cities, each with a population of about 100, 000. both had similar social characteristics yet there was a significant difference in the amount of delinquents in each city. (2006). Becker argues that there are 5 stages in this process: Labelling theory has been applied to the context of the school to explain differences in educational achievement (this should sound familiar from year 1!).