Labelling theory suggests that deviancy is a social process usually related to power differences but it doesn’t explain the causes of crime. It does however explain why some people or actions are described as deviant, and can help in understanding crime and deviance. Becker suggests that there is really no such thing as a deviant act. An act only becomes deviant when others perceive it as such. The application of a label to someone has significant consequences for how that person is treated by others and perceives him or herself. Lemert drew a distinction between primary and secondary deviance through a study of stuttering amongst a Native American nation. He observed that public oratory was important among the nation the displayed high levels of stuttering. When young boys showed any speech defect parents reacted with such concern that the child became worried about it and more nervous causing him to stutter. Therefore the primary deviance of the speech defect was not that important, it was the effect of the worried parents, labelling the child, causing the nervousness, leading to the secondary deviance of stuttering. Thus showing that if people are labelled in a certain way and treated accordingly it has greater consequences than the original deviance.…
through a means of mass communication, the media. This connection is well established due to the media informing the community in regards to the extent and types of crimes that are committed, establishing perpetrators, people at risk, pathways for solutions, penalties and closure. Marxism is a theory used in new criminology, it describes media as a dominant model that is based on ideologies. The media is dominated and owned by ruling interests of wealthy, providing others with a false…
decrease in social bonding. The labeling theory was influenced by Cooley, Mead, Tannenbaum, and Lemert however; Becker’s work was much more influential (Stogner, 2016). There are many people in the world today who are struggling to live a meaningful life because of being labeled. Some people have committed crimes that cannot be reversed. Once a person is labelled, he or she will become the thing that they are described as being (Stogner, 2016). So, what is the purpose of labeling an individual?…
Bitter (1970) stated that he believes crime is a normal aspect of human society. Bittner suggested that in the past and present, opinions on the police are mostly negative because of the rising crime rates in which the police are inadequately prepared for. Bitter states that the role for the police in society is to maintain peace keeping and control crime. However, he believes the views of the public remain mostly negative as there is still always crime in society. He states that the order and…
people have minor experiences of serious criminal victimization. Meaning that our fears of crime are higher than the reality of crime; due to misconceptions, manipulated headlines and statistics, labelling and the smokescreen effect. This can affect people’s lives in different ways; making the fear of ‘crime’ become a greater ‘crime’ itself. Being fearful of crime is influenced by various, “social and demographic variables- perceptions…
Social problems generally could be considered as behaviors or conditions which could have negative impacts on a large number of people and need to be addressed, for example, climate change, poverty, population ageing and so on. With the continuous development of society, social issues are changing and theoretical perspectives to them are changing as well. A major shift in social problems approaches could be the change from realism to constructionism. This paper will review the development of…
behaviour. This assignment will investigate not only how and why deviance has occurred but also to see if deviance within youths is on the climb. There are many theories that claim they have the answer to why youths are deviant. One some tend to agree with is the labelling theory, the Labelling theory looks at why and how people commit crime but only few are deemed as deviant. It also investigates the…
These are all negative reasons for offending and probably felt unavoidable for the offenders at the time; however, I now realise that there are individuals out there who like to commit crimes just for the adrenaline rush or to enhance their reputation of being a criminal. It makes me wonder what good they could possibly see in a bad reputation or what drove them to choosing this path. This may be where society comes in. Durkheim, talked about ‘anomie’, a claim in which individuals end up feeling…
The second case study that will be discussed is a male rape victim’s perspective of Dean Eastmond and how this will be relevant to the labelling theory and stigmatisation. Eastmond was 16 years-old at the time, invited his friend to his parent’s home to grab a quick lunch or to chat for an hour or so. However, Eastmond realised the friend he thought was friendly, became too distant. Unfortunately, Eastmond was raped and initially at the time, Eastmond was a closet homosexual. This was his first…
Cohen (1972-80) recognized the beginning of mass media involvement, this was referred to as the ‘initial deviation or impact phase’. This later lead to the ‘inventory’ stage; this stage relies on how the media portrays similar groups or crazes. A majority of the public form their opinions of what is deviant through “processed or coded images” (Cohen, 1972-80, p. 30), the media also can exaggerate events by using eye drawing headlines and melodramatic language. Although the acts committed by…