Labeling Theory Of Deviance

Many people in the United States are born with disabilities. People with disabilities have impairments that may be physical, cognitive, mental, emotional, developmental, or some combinations of these. In order, for someone to be diagnosed disabled he/ or she must see a doctor, who will label them disabled. In American culture having an impairment is out of the social norm. Society sees people with disabilities as inadequate or not quite human. Society creates deviance by making the rules, and anyone who breaks those rules of social norms are consider deviant. Society applies those rules to people with disabilities and labels them an outsider. “Deviance is not a quality of the person commits, but rather a consequence of the application by others …show more content…
Labeling is when a deviant status or stigma is imposed on an individual or a group that may or may not be breaking rules or may be seen an outcast by society. The reaction to the behavior or the person is the key in defining deviance. There are two types of deviance involved in the labeling theory, the first is primary deviance and the second is secondary deviance. “Primary deviance refers to common instances where individuals violate norms without viewing themselves as being involved in a deviant social role” (Inderbitzin, Bates, Gainey, 2015 p.139). “Secondary deviance occurs when a person begins to engage in deviant behavior as a means of defense, attack, or adjustment to the problems created by reactions to him or her” (Inderbitzin, Bates, Gainey, 2015, p.139). Labeling can alter an individual’s self-concept, by limiting conforming opportunities, and by encouraging involvement in a deviant sub-culture. Labels are more likely to apply to the powerless, the disadvantage, and the …show more content…
“Residual rule breaking is essentially deviance for which there is no clear category- it is not a crime, but it may be behavior that draws attention and makes the societal audience uncomfortable” (141). A person who has just been labeled mentally disabled is not deviant, until he or she behaves in a way that society thinks disabled people should act. Once the doctor creates limitations and the individual believes that he or she must need assistance, the individual has now accepted the label of being mentally ill. Labeling creates a self-fulfilling prophesy. “It sets in motion several mechanisms which conspire to shape the person in the image people gave of him” (Becker, 1963/1973). A normal person can be having a rough week and they may be feeling a bit down than usual. This person shows signs of depression and his or her peer may see them sadder than usual and label them depressed. The peer may bring the persons depressive behavior to their attention and the individual may then believe that he or she is suffering from depression, a mental illness. The peer now treats the individual as if she is fragile, and on edge. Now that the individual is convinced that he or she is depress, he or she will conform his or her behavior to fit that of what society believes a depressed individual should be. The individual may be a