(education, local authority and Government). Label theory suggests deviancy is normal in child/adolescent development but poor children and ethnic minorities are more likely to be labelled deviant (ThoughtCo 2017) Cicourel argues that CJS pre conceptions explain why the majority of delinquents come from the working class. Police assumptions are based on preconceptions of location (class) and visual information (age, race, gender), and result in discrimination. This is seen in the rates of young black and minority ethnic males forced into ‘Stop and Search’ in Inner city areas and their over representation in the CJS. (Taylor, 2006) Stereotypical beliefs around delinquency perpetuate the cycle. Middle class delinquents may be perceived as having “accidentally strayed from … …show more content…
Others may treat them differently thus reinforcing the label. The individual may feel alienated, accepting the label and perceiving themselves as deviant, therefore fulfilling the expectations of the label, displaying deviancy amplification, and becoming the self-fulfilling prophecy. (Hectic Teacher n.d.) naming and shaming’ offenders is objected to within labelling theory as it creates a misconception they are different and can cause further deviance. Many youngsters engage in activities that break the law and do not grow up to be criminals (Robins, 1978) and labelling theory is clear that policies should attempt to prevent labelling minor delinquent acts. Cicourel states “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” (Revise Sociology, 2017) It is the societal reaction that affects the rate of delinquency. It is the agencies of social control that produce delinquents.” Cicourel also questions the meaning placed on statistics (Get Revising, 2017) and there
Corporate crimes are largely omitted, while street crimes are emphasized (Morris, 2000). This disproportionately targets marginalized populations (homeless, drug addicted and the poor) (Tabibi, 2015c). The current system is immoral in that the caging of people is highly depersonalized and troubling (Tabibi, 2015c). This is considered to be a barbaric practice of the past, however it is still frequently used in North America (Morris, 2000). Another moral consideration is the labelling of youth as offenders in the criminal justice system (Morris, 2000).
Labeling theory in criminal justice, tries to describe the connection between being labeled as a deviant and becoming the very thing the stereotypes suggest “deviant”. Labeling theorist argue that deviant behaviors can be a result of the way one view themselves in society (Bernburg, J. G., & Krohn, M. D., 2003). For instance, being label as a social misfit can contribute to individual believing that he/she must engage in misfit behaviors. Arguing that stereotypes can changes self-perception.
Labelling theory, stemming from the influences of Cooley, Mead, Tannenbaum, and Lemert, has its origins somewhere within the context of the twentieth century. However, Edwin Lemert is widely considered the producer and founder of the original version of labelling theory. This paper, not a summary, provides a brief history of labelling theory, as well as, its role in the sociology of deviance. It attempts to explore the contributions made by labelling theorists, the criticism towards labelling theorists, and the discussion surrounding its reality as an actual theory. In essence, the main focus of this paper besides proving an understanding of Howard Becker, is to describe and evaluate `labelling theory` to the study of crime and deviance, by way of an in depth discussion.
Bernburg, J., Krohn, M. D., & Rivera, C. J. (2006). Official Labeling, Criminal Embeddedness, and Subsequent Delinquency: A Longitudinal Test of Labeling Theory. Journal Of Research In Crime & Delinquency, 43(1), 67-88. doi:10.1177/0022427805280068
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 acts (Skatvedt & Schou, 2008).The labelling theory suggests that when an individual is labeled as deviant they are more likely to be rejected by families, friends, and societies which ultimately leads to further deviant acts (Becker, 1973). The deviant identity is thus complete when the individual gang member integrates himself into the gang subculture (Becker, 1973). Two high school gangs, the Roughnecks and the Saints, were constantly involved in deviant acts such as drinking, petty theft etc.,; however, high school teachers labelled the Saints as those headed for success and the Roughnecks as those headed for trouble (Chambliss, 1973) After high school, almost all of the Saints went to college and became doctors, lawyers, etc. while only two Roughnecks went to college and others were involved in killings and dropped out of school and so forth (Chambliss, 1973) This case study demonstrates that labels are powerful; they can trigger a greater involvement in deviant acts through social
Chapter one focuses on white juvenile delinquency. Pamela Preston begins by acknowledging the relevancy of school shootings in the 1990’s, and presents many recent similar incidents involving white male youths as shooters within schools. This phenomenon is the exception to the otherwise decrease in overall self-reported white juvenile delinquency. While self-reported delinquency has dropped, White juvenile arrests have increased. A proposed reason for this is the possible prejudicial response to these particular shootings. Preston then compares juvenile crime arrests occurring within rural, suburban, and urban areas followed by a breakdown of substance abuse statistics. Causes of White delinquency are then explored. As a result, Preston cites the Differential Association Model, Control Theory, and Social Learning Theory; inferring that having a positive attitude toward school, being involved in conventional activities, having involved parents, and having been arrested all contribute to less of a tendency
What does it mean to be a “teen mom”? People can put others into groups and to some degree label them without even consciously thinking about it. There are even television shows about this topic including, “Sixteen and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom”, at times these shows show the affect the situation has on the father as well. Some individuals say this idolizes this situation, others say it shows a realistic picture of what life would be like to be a mom at 16. This is something that people may categorize or label as soon as they see or assume someone is a “teen mom”. This label may end up having a negative effect on the parent(s). To many people this can be a sign of irresponsibility or poor judgment, but obviously everyone in this situation is not the same. Some are irresponsible and do not change; but some do take on the responsibility and change themselves to become a better person and a more responsible parent.
their acts as criminal and extending this judgement to them as people. Having been labelled, there is an expectation that this criminality must be expressed. With this attached stereotype, the general population will perceive them to be criminal and treat them accordingly. This produces unanticipated effects: the label of criminal is intended to prevent individuals from participating in criminal activities but it actually creates the very thing it intended to stop. It produces a self-fulfilling prophecy which is defined as a false definition of a situation, evoking a new behaviour that makes the original false assumption come true (Burke, 2005).
The Labeling Theory is the view that labels people are given affect their own and others’ perception of them, thus channeling their behavior either into deviance or into conformity. Labels can be positive and/or negative, but I’ll focus on the negative aspects of labeling in high school. Everybody has a label in high school whether it is the “slut”, “pothead”, “freak” or the “jock”; it is one of the most apparent time periods in which individuals get labeled. Students have the mentality that whatever label is placed on them is going to be stuck with them forever, which then leads into a self-fulfilling prophecy. This, I feel, is a fear of being a “loser” that has been instilled throughout years by the principals, teachers, etc. An example of this is the pressure students are given to get a good grade. In order to get into an honors class they need to pass a certain test, should they not get into honors class the following year, then all throughout the rest of their remaining school life, they’ll never be able to be in honors class. They’ll then no longer be seen as the “smart” students they were “before”(even though they still are), they’ll now be labeled as “dumb” and eventually start to believe, and become their label. Another example of this is being labeled a “slut”. When a girl has been labeled a slut, early or in the middle of her school life, the label sticks with her all throughout her remaining school years. At first, she could reject this label, and try to “change”...
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
If the agents of social control define youngsters as delinquents for breaking the law, those youngsters become deviant. They have been labelled as such by those who have the power to make labels stick. However Becker argued ‘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’. From this point of view, deviance is produced by a process of interaction between the potential deviant and the agents of control. Becker then examined the possible effects on an individual being labelled as deviant and that a deviant label can lead to further deviance.
...azerolle &ump; Piquero, 1998; Piquero &ump; Sealock, 2000) as well as non-offending populations, including youths (Agnew and White, 1992; Aseltine et al., 2000; Brezina, 1996; Paternoster and Mazerolle, 1994), college students and adults (Mazerolle and Piquero, 1998; Broidy, 2001). The theory has also been examined across gender (Ganem, 2010; Broidy and Agnew, 1997; Eitle, 2002; Hoffman and Su, 1997; Mazerolle, 1998; Hay, 2003; Piquero and Sealock, 2004) and race (Jang and Johnson, 2003), and for property crimes, and other deviant behaviors.
The labelling theory became dominant within society during the 1940’s and 1950’s, when a group of graduate students from the Chicago school tried a different approach to applying theory to deviant behaviour. Within this group was a highly influential young man, Howard S.Becker who became the person most recognised for his work with the labelling of crime (Williams.F. McShaneM. 2010.p110). Becker argued that labels could be applied through the social reaction of others when a deviant or criminal act had been committed he stated that “Labelling is the process of identifying, categorising and stereotyping social categories such as delinquents” (Davies.M.et.al.2010.p30). When an individual becomes labelled a criminal, people do not consider all the praiseworthy things they may have done previously, they just see that they have committed some form of deviance and are now judged within societ...
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).
I now know that criminology prefer to highlight the correlations between crimes’ social climates and criminals’ psychological states of mind. While some argues that criminal behavior is a result of individuals’ association with criminal peers, other claims that crime is a reflection of an individual’s genetic disadvantages. I have come to learn that there are no universally agreed formulas on decoding crimes and criminal behaviors. What we have, however, is a manual full of academic opinions and subjective views that have emerged alongside of the development of criminology. At the same time, the volume of conflicting perspectives that I have stumble upon in studying criminology reminded me again that the success of our current assessment models has yet to be determined. Thus, the study of criminology is an appropriate practice that will further prepare me to conduct meaningful research on legal studies and to provide accurate and in-depth findings in the near