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Labelling Theory Essay

1035 Words5 Pages

In this assignment, I will be outlining and explaining the main features of the Labelling Theory. In addition to this I will also be critically assessing the strengths and weaknesses of this theory. Another name for the Labelling Theory is ‘The Social Reaction Theory’ as it is usually not the action that is important but more so society and their reaction towards it. This theory proposes the idea that deviancy is a social method in relation to power differences but doesn’t touch a reason as to why crimes occur which then leads to labels being given. Deviance is defined as “one that differs from a norm, especially a person whose behaviour and attitudes differ from accepted social standards.” (Collins English Dictionary, 2014) “Social groups create(d) deviance by …show more content…

I will now go on to highlight some of each for the Labelling Theory. One strength of this theory is the fact that it analyses all forms of crimes and criminals rather than looking at only solely official statistics on crimes/criminals. Doing that doesn’t portray a real look at actual crime as there are many crimes that do go unreported for a wide variety of reasons. As a result, this in a way spotlights the weaknesses of official statistics, hence here the National Crime Survey (NCS) comes into action. In addition to this is also does focus on the different reasons for deviance to occur within and between different cultures/lifestyles. One of the disadvantages is that labelling individuals does in fact give the labelled individual a rep/status in some walks of society. Thus, all the focus is then on the offender/labelled individual rather than the victim who is the innocent party in the situation. An example of this being in the circumstances of a gang, when a member robs an item such as a phone, jewellery or money from someone, within their group they are given some form of ‘good rep’ and deem the victim as weak or not

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The labeling effect is very important because it is determines people’s way to deal and understand things. The people who live outside of the so-called “poor/crime zoon” are hard to understand the people who live inside of these zoon, that is because the other function of the labeling effect, to create gaps between people from different social groups. When people who labelled by the same environment live together, they can create their own rules which are suitable for the corresponding environment. Most of people will qualitative some behaviors as criminal behaviors however, for the people who come from the “crime zoon” these

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In the reading, “The Saints and the Roughnecks” by William J. Chambliss, the ideas of labels and their consequences are discussed. Chambliss observes two groups of high school boys (the Saints and the Roughnecks) for two years and notices how although they are both engaged in behaviors known as deviant, only the Roughnecks seem to be labeled as deviant by their community. The question Chambliss then raises is “What was the cause of this disparity?”. The answer lies in that the group was labeled as deviant due to numerous factors (i.e. social class, visibility due to lack of funds, behavior toward authority, etc.), and because of this, the community could never see them as otherwise, and the boys became a self-fulfilling prophecy. Although

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Deviance which refers to violation of norms, differs within cultures and groups of people in the same community. One such deviance is crime and it can be explained using the labeling theory. Labeling theory explains how reputations force people either into deviance or away from it. In the case of white-collar crimes, many reputed figures and institutions are able to excuse themselves from crimes without getting penalized. These crimes may not include burglary and shooting in public, but the white collar crimes are often committed in disguise.

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Labeling Theory In general, labeling theorist focus on how and why certain acts are defined as criminal. Under labeling theory, nit everyone who commits an offense is punished for it. Becker (1963) stated that social groups create deviance by creating the rules whose infraction constitutes deviance and by applying those rules to particular people and labeling as outsiders. As a result, once a certain label is placed on an individual, he or she eventually accept the label as personal identity.

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Evaluating Criminological Theories: A Critical Assessment of Rational Choice Theory and Labeling Theory. Criminology theories provide frameworks to understand the complexities of criminal behavior. A robust theory should offer explanatory and predictive power, empirical support, and applicability to policy-making. This essay argues that Rational Choice Theory represents the "best" criminology theory due to its broad applicability and strong empirical foundation. Conversely, Labeling Theory, despite its significant contributions to understanding societal reactions to deviance, is critiqued as the "worst" based on its limited utility in predicting criminal behavior and guiding effective interventions.

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Labeling theory stems from symbolic interactionism and does not focus on the deviant behavior, but rather how society reacts to that behavior. The deviants then take in how others labeled them and accept the label as being true. The addicts behave the way that others with their label should behave. People utilize social controls to attempt to regulate the deviant’s thoughts and behaviors that can limit deviance. This includes labeling people as addicts, shooting dirty looks, or holding interventions to point out their deviant behavior.

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Social reaction (labeling) theory are negative or positive labels that can influence the person to become a criminal. For example, a seven-year-old boy steels a candy bar from the store and gets caught and media puts him in the paper. Now all the children call him a robber and later he commits a more serious offense like stealing a car. Usually social reaction/labeling is associated with a primary and secondary deviances. A primary deviance would be the poor boy took the candy bar because he was hungry and living on the streets, but never committed another crime after he became wealthy.

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Moreover, when deviance is punished it reaffirms currently held social norms, which also contribute to society. (Durkheim 1893) Lastly, Conflict Theory states that social and economic factors are the cause of crime and deviance. Unlike functionalist, conflict theorist do not see these factors as positive functions of society, it is seen as inequality in the system, which racial and socioeconomical factors play a part. (Akers1991)

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Deviance has many functions in society. Although deviance violates social norms, without it, we would not have rules, so it helps form, guide, and shape society’s norms and goals. Social norms are different from culture to culture. Norms that may be acceptable in one culture may be frowned upon in another. Emile Durkheim quotes that “deviance and deviant behavior is an integral part of all healthy societies (Adler, 2014, p74).”

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A significant theory discussing the importance of labels would be Howard Becker’s (1963) labelling theory who uses an Interactionist approach when explaining labelling. "Labelling is the process by which others usually those in powerful positions come to impose an identity upon us". (O’Byrne, 2011) The labelling theory could be used to illustrate the problematic stigma attached to youths, as it has subsequently become a dominant paradigm in the explanation of deviancy. (Abercrombie et el, 2006).

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It explains criminal careers in terms of destructive social interaction and stigma-producing encounters (Brown, Esbensen, & Geis, 2010). Social reaction theory explains why people choose criminal careers because of labeling. Negative labels have enduring effects in a person’s social interactions and self-image. Social reaction is concerned with how self-identity and behavior of people can be determined or influenced by the terms that are used to describe or classify them and is associated with the idea of a self-fulfilling prophecy and stereotyping (Brown, Esbensen, & Geis, 2010). It distinguishes between primary deviance and secondary deviance.

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responsibility of the individual committing or partaking in the crime. Though this is a common thought it is simply untrue because it eliminates many of the social and environmental factors that encourage deviant behavior. The truth is, society plays a significant role in whether or not deviant behavior stops or continues for a specific individual who has already committed a crime. Ideas and concepts under the Labeling theories emphasis society’s roles and states that, “efforts [of] social control (…) ultimately trigger processes that trap individuals in criminal careers” (Cullen, Agnew & Wilcox 2014). Essentially, society forces invasive labels and social reactions that then cause many Individuals with criminal past to create self-fulfilling

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