1. Hypothesis - A hypothesis is defined by the Criminal Justice Today textbook as "An explanation that accounts for a set of facts and that can be tested by further investigation. Also, something that is taken to be true for the purpose of argument or investigation" (Schmalleger 73). It is, essentially, a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation. In terms of law and criminal justice, The Law Dictionary website defines the term as "A supposition, assumption, or theory; a theory set up by the prosecution, on a criminal trial, or by the defense, as an explanation of the facts in evidence, and a ground for inferring guilt or innocence, as the case may be, or asindicating …show more content…
Labeling Theory - Labeling theory, as defined by the textbook, is "A social process perspective that sees continued crime as a consequence of the limited opportunities for acceptable behavior that follow from the negative responses of society to those defined as offenders" (Schmalleger 94). It was a theory created by Howard Becker in 1963 which takes the view that people become criminals when labeled as such and when they accept the label as a personal identity. Terms that are directly correlated with labeling theory include, primary and secondary device, stigmatization, as well as retroactive and prospective labeling, all of which relate to the reasoning behind ones criminal behavior. A website titled sociology.about.com states that "Labeling theory is one of the most important approaches to understanding deviant and criminal behavior... [It] begins with the assumption that no act is intrinsically criminal. Definitions of criminality are established by those in power through formulation of laws and the interpretation of those laws by police courts, and correctional institutions" (About.com). Furthermore, the theory denotes that labels are imposed in part because of the status of those doing the labeling and those being labeled, as well as the fact that deviant labels create problems that the one being label must adjust to and deal with, and that under certain conditions labels can lead to greater involvement in crime and deviance. An example of labeling theory would be a …show more content…
Rational Choice Theory - Rational choice theory, as defined by the textbook, is "A perspective on crime causation that holds that criminality is the result of conscious choice. Rational choice theory predicts that individuals will choose to commit crime when the benefits of doing so outweigh the costs of disobeying the law" (Schmalleger 76). It is an economic principle that assumes that individuals always make prudent and logical decisions that provide them with the greatest benefits or satisfaction and that are in their highest self-interest. It should also be noted that most mainstream economic assumptions and theories are based on rational choice theory. According to the lawdictionary.org, rational choice theory "attempts to explain social phenomenon in terms of how self-interested individuals make choices under the influence of their preferences. All parties try to maximize their advantage, and to minimize their disadvantages" (lawdictionary.org). An example of rational choice theory would be a person stealing money from a company that they work for, with the intent of having the benefit of getting rich at no cost. The person believes that he or she will not get caught, thus not having to pay any costs, making it a rational decision or choice in their
According to the text, Rational Choice Theory is comprised of two main thoughts, and they are, although people consider and are fully aware of the repercussion of the crimes they are about to commit, they proceed with the act, the second thought is that people will chose to commit a crime if they believe the benefit is greater. (Vito, 2007). In an article titled “Choosing White Color Crimes”, the rational choice theory has always been the acceptable method of interpreting and sustaining programs that help to combat crime (Shover, n.d.). Criminologists, Derek Cornish and Ronald Clark, clarify the two categories of the decision making process, the first one being criminal involvement, and the second one being criminal event.
The theoretical study of societal reaction to deviance has been carried out under different names, such as, labelling theory, interactionist perspective, and the social constructionist perspective. In the sociology of deviance, the labelling theory of deviant behaviour is often used interchangeably with the societal reaction theory of deviancy. As a matter of fact, both phrases point equally to the fact that sociological explanations of deviance function as a product of social control rather than a product of psychology or genetic inheritance. Some sociologists would explain deviance by accepting without question definitions of deviance and concerning themselves with primary aetiology. However, labelling theorists stress the point of seeing deviance from the viewpoint of the deviant individual. They claim that when a person becomes known as a deviant, and is ascribed deviant behaviour patterns, it is as much, if not more, to do with the way they have been stigmatized, then the deviant act they are said to have committed. In addition, Howard S. Becker (1963), one of the earlier interaction theorists, claimed that, "social groups create deviance by making the rules whose infraction constitute deviance, and by applying those rules to particular people and labelling them as outsiders". Furthermore, the labelling theoretical approach to deviance concentrates on the social reaction to deviance committed by individuals, as well as, the interaction processes leading up to the labelling.
Labeling theory of deviance suggests that when one is labeled constantly on the basis of any minority it gives rise to deviant behavior in order to prove the strength of the minority. The minority has been labeled so by people for a long time. They have been labeled because of their race. The gang is labeled anti-social because of their criminal behavior which turns them further to deviance. The use of the labeling theory can be seen being implemented very judiciously
As mentioned in lecture, labeling theory asks two critical questions: what is crime, and who is criminal? This is the central tenet of labeling theory because the focus is on what activities constitute criminal behaviour within the context. This means that over time, the general perspective changes in regards to what can be labeled 'crime.' For instance, society is known to react negatively towards prostitution in the past; whereas the contemporary reaction is primarily to legalize it.
Labelling theory: The theory that the terms crime, deviance, or punishment are labels, variously applied by act of power and not some natural reflection of events – American criminologist Howard Becker
The labelling theory is based on the idea of giving a name or labelling a person or a set of individuals for their actions for instance, an individual who has breached the law, will be known as a criminal according to the society. Labelling separates the normal people and the people that have committed deviant action as well as criminals.
Personal choice to commit a crime shows the person’s ability to rationalize; indicating they are knowledgeable that the act is illegal, and those consequences can ensue, According to (e.g.. TRAVIS HIRSCHI, 1986) he stated that, because rational choice theory assumed that people are free to choose their course of action, people consider first their own profit or pleasure, which is a personal choice to commit a crime. An example could be a mother of an infant who is in desperate need of milk for her new born. She decides to steal formula from the supermarket for her new born. Because of her personal choice, she decided that committing a crime was a better option than her infant going hungry despite the consequence of theft.
Criminological Theory is noteworthy on the grounds that the vast majority of what is done in the territory of criminal equity depends on criminological speculations (Bohm and Haley, 2002, p. 70). In any case, I think labeling Theory is the most legitimate clarification of criminal conduct. As characterized, Labeling Theory expresses the individuals who take after the naming hypothesis of criminology ascribe to the way that an individual will progress toward becoming what he is marked or what other anticipate that him will end up being; the peril originates from calling a wrongdoing a wrongdoing and criminal a criminal.
Edwin Schur modifies Becker's labeling theory in Labeling Deviant Behavior (1971) by shifting some of the focus to the individual deviant. Schur (1971) also theorizes that as persons labeled deviant gain power and organize, they progress in social definition from an uprising, social movement, and civil war to the formation of a mainstream political party. Schur argues in Labeling Women Deviant (1983) that women in America are automatically labeled deviant by the male-dominated society. Women accept the deviant label as their master status and limit their life chances (Schur 1983). Social scientists disagree on the future of labeling theory. Pfohl (1994) recognizes labeling theory as very influential in today's studies of deviance. Some social scientists view labeling theory as declining in importance due to lack of empirical support and a conservative political climate (www.mpcc.cc.ne.us ). Becker (1963) believes the future of labeling theory lies in the widespread empirical study of deviance and kinds of deviance.
Some studies found that being labelled a criminal increased subsequent crime (Crime Causation: Sociological Theories - Labeling Theory, n.d.). A reason why labelling theory became popular. Social construction played an important role in labelling theory. This is because labelling theory is closely linked to this term, where people are labelled by Becker (1962, as cited in Plummer n.d. p.191) stated “Social groups create deviance by making the rules whose infraction constitutes deviance, and by applying those rules to particular people and labelling them as outsiders… Deviance is not a quality of the act the persons commits, but rather a consequence of the application by others of rules and sanctions to an “offender.”
Labelling theory emerged in the early 1960s challenging the positivist stance on criminology, thus creating a paradigm shift in the way that crime and deviance was viewed in society. Disparate from their positivist criminological predecessors, labelling theorists were solely interested in deviance, rather than crime (Coleman and Norris 2000). The willingly accepted, deterministic approach of traditional criminologists was highly contested by labelling theorists due to their recognition of temporal, situational and spatial variation. Consequently, labelling theorists claimed that deviance is merely a social construction, whereby no behaviour is intrinsically deviant (Becker 1963). Actions only become deviant as a response to the process of
The most surprising aspect of my internship was observing the distinct types of parolees I encountered. Despite everyone being on supervision, each case was unique. I remember learning the difference between situational and career criminals in an Introduction to Criminal Justice course. This difference was easy to see by definition, but is not highly noticeable in all probation cases. For example, there were individuals who constantly made it to their appointments, paid fees and never found themselves in trouble. Yet, there were also individuals who only reached out for help with certain situations that they could not solve on their own. Other individuals constantly needed help with a crisis or problem. There is nothing wrong with any type,
Theory is an important part of discovering and understanding why people commit crime. It is difficult to understand how a prejudice or bias towards someone can be linked to criminal behavior. The general theory of crime coined by Travis Hirschi and Michael Gottfredson can be applied to hate crime. The general theory of crime explains that people are born pre-disposed to crime and that they have natural tendencies to commit crime (Tibbetts, 2015, p 161). The only difference between those who are criminals and non-criminals would be their self-control (Tibbetts, 2015, p 161). Self-control is a key component to the general theory of crime. Not everyone acts on his or her thoughts of someone criminally, or even at all. The difference between people who do not choose to commit crime, would be their difference in self-control. People who commit crime have low self-control, and people who are law-abiding citizens have high self-control.
Rational choice theory directly evolved from classical theory which is a theory of crime suggesting that criminal behavior is a matter of personal choice, made after the individual considers its cost and benefits, and that the criminal behavior reflects the needs of the offender. It focuses on internal and external factor- poverty, IQ Education, rather than personal choice and decision-making.
Labelling theory outlines the sociological approach towards labelling within societies and in the development of crime and deviance (Gunnar Bernburg, and D. Krohn et al., 2014, pp. 69-71). The theory purposes that, when an individual is given a negative label (that is deviant), then the individual pursues their new (deviant) label / identity and acts in a manner that is expected from him/her with his/ her new label (Asencio and Burke, 2011, pp. 163-182).