Labeling Theory

The labeling theory basically categorize individuals who breaks the laws or commit crime. The purpose of the labeling is to cause social humiliation so the individual want commit the crime again. Labels are placed on individuals who commit crime to reduce repeat offenses. A person of prestige that has a high ranking social class is the individual that usually determines how labels are applied. Labeling theory can have a negative effect on the individual who is categorized, the individual is more likely to view them self as labeled. Therefore the individual may go through an identity crisis trying to find their true identity. Some theorist believed that the labeling theory is meant to prevent crime while others believe it encourages crime. When individual conforms to the social stigma he or she engages in deviant acts. Males are more likely to conform to the labels. The negative treatment from members within society can reduce an individual deviant behavior based on the fact that the individual does not want to be judge or mistreatment. This theory does not have a specific method to deter crime. However the form of punishment for the labeling theory is shaming the individual. Individuals who have a criminal label are often looked down on from members within society.it is hard for individual that has a criminal record to find a decent job. To rent a house one must complete a criminal background check. To attend school one must disclose their criminal history. An individual

The “looking-glass self” clearly explains how deviant behavior arises among juveniles. Under this concept, the social self is seen as the image that one internalizes out of how others define him or her (Winters, Globokar, & Roberson, 2014). The society is thus like a mirror or the ‘looking glass’ through which one sees the self. According to the proponents of the labeling theory, the ‘looking glass’ have a significant impact on one’s behavior. For instance, when a person construes that other seem him/her as lazy, that person will likely act lazy in order to fulfill the ascription. This is the same as self-fulfilling. In line with this concept, when youths face arrests, they are kept with other criminals and are labeled criminals. This gives the particular youth different experiences. The youth may develop new friendships while in prison or join gangs. While the youth leaves prison, he/she is likely to continue with criminal behavior.

Labeling theory makes no attempt to understand why an individual initially engaged in primary deviance and committed a crime before they were labeled; this then limits the scope of the theory’s explanations and suggests the theory may not provide a better account for crime. Labeling theory emphasizes the negative effects of labeling, which gives the offender a victim status. Also, the same likelihood exists for developing a criminal career regardless of deviance being primary or secondary. Furthermore, labeling theorists are only interested in understanding the aftermath of an individual getting caught committing crime and society attaching a label to the offender. This differs from the view of social learning theory, which seeks to explain the first and subsequent criminal acts. Many critics also argue that the racial, social, and economic statuses of an individual create labels, as opposed to criminal acts; this theory then fails to acknowledge that those statuses may factor into the labeling process. As a result, the above suggests that labeling theory does not provide a good account for crime and appropriately has little empirical support. Moreover, in terms of policy implications, labeling theory implies a policy of radical non-intervention, where minor offenses

Labeling theory looks at why this person continued to commit crime or was more prone to do so and then come to be defined as deviant, while others do not. Labeling theory is also interested in the effects of labeling on individuals. Labeling theorists note

With respect to the labeling theory it is fact a true theory and, while many scholars have accepted the labeling theory as such. The problem is that it has become a major distraction among scholars and as well critics who have concern of the labeling theory’s effectiveness. At the same time, critics caution that while the labeling theory supposed to be diminishing criminal involvement and state intervention and they concern and their anticipation is that they are afraid that it could actually worsen criminals in having the opposite effect as most criminals typically started to accepted the concept of labeling as the norms, which, in turn leading to more crime.

Tannenbaum was the first major labelling theorist and he stated that when a person is described as a criminal, they automatically become one. That some children who break the law are singled out and are tagged as a criminal. This label then manifests itself into the children who now change their identify to suit the characteristics of a criminal. By defining someone as a criminal can trigger a self-fulfilling prophecy, Merton describes this as “a false definition of the situation evoking a new behaviour which makes the originally false conception come true” (Merton 1968: 477).

It is believed that labeling increased criminal involvement and that it does not have no effect. For that reason labeling has no effect the theory of criminal behavior becomes irrelevant. “Labeling effects are negligible” (Lilly,

Becker emphasises the significance of crime being a social construct; an action only becomes criminal or deviant once society has labelled it so, and thus crime can be argued to be a social construction. He introduced the concept of a master label, referring to the label which a person is given which

According to labeling theory the label you give someone will affect them through out their lives. It becomes apart of their self identity. For Biggie Smalls he was told by many people he was never going to make it, he was going to flunk out of school and sell drugs on the street, unlike others who choose to believe those labels he decided to push through the labels and used them to better himself. He used his experiences and the labels they gave him to become a pretty good

The deviant is one to whom that label has successfully been applied; deviant behavior is behavior that people so label.” Deviance is created by society and they are the ones who determine it, label the individual, apply rules, create laws, and enforce it. Interactions between people are what creates deviance, actions are done in order for society to deem it as deviant, and labeling theory is there to label the individual that goes against society’s norms and values. Once the person is known to have done the deviant act, they are segregated by society and labeled as biker, goth, drug addict, alcoholic, etc. Furthermore, this segregation by society creates “outsiders” or outcasts from society, who then being to associate with others that are treated in the same way. Therefore, the individual ends up in a cycle of deviance through labeling, segregating, and then association with other members that were

The interaction and labeling theories are focused on the meaning of crime and criminality. (Bohm & Vogel). The criminalization process is the primary focus instead of the peculiarities of the criminal actor. They believe that criminals are the product of a negative social reaction.

Labeling theory arose from the study of deviance in the late 1950's and early 1960's and was a rejection of consensus theory or structural functionalism.

The Labeling Theory-also referred to as Social Reaction Theory- asserts that crime is a label attached to wrongdoing, and often the label becomes a stigma that increases criminality. The Labeling Theory became most dominant between the early 1960s and the late 1970s. The labeling theory says that deviant individuals are deviant mainly because they are seen deviant by society; individuals who are labeled as deviant may be likely to reject themselves and act deviantly because of the label. Labeled individuals could include prostitutes, former criminals, nerds, alcoholics, etc. The labeling process can be simplified into six steps: initial criminal act, detection by the justice system, decision to label, creation of a new identity, acceptance of labels, and deviance amplification. Individuals who are used to being labeled negatively have low self-esteem and are more likely to separate themselves from others; they may also act deviant as a result of the label. When someone is labeled by society it makes it difficult to return to label that they once had. Their identity is tampered and changed. Labeling can have a terrible effect on the lives of people and it is a social problem within society. (Hagan 2013)

Labeling theory is an extensive area that is examined in the field of criminology. Philosophers who spent most of their time studying the labeling theory believed that governmental agencies and social processes had a big role in creating deviance and crime in the late 1960’s (Paternoster, 2017). Deviance and crime in labeling theory are sometimes associated with social reaction theories. They reference social reaction theories with labeling theories because majority focuses on the outcomes of rejoinders or reaction to the offense committed. There are three main set of actors in these social reactions. These factors are responses to crime and attaches labels. These labels possess the trait of carrying specific names that become attached to someone’s behavior or character (Paternoster, 2017). Family or peers who disapprove are informal social others which is the first actor playing a role in labeling theory. Prisons, police officers, juvenile detentions centers are institutions or an organization that try to prevent and stop crime. This actor

Although criminal behavior is learned, media consumption also played a major role in influencing crime. Mass media is defined as a set of instruments used to deliver information to the public. This includes the Internet, television, newspapers, advertisements, movies, and radios. When people turn on the television, they learn what is happening in different countries and problems around their surroundings. It raises awareness about an issue, which catches people’s undivided attention. As for advertisements and movies, people watch them for entertainment. Though mass media is a good communicator for a large group of audience, there are detrimental effects it has on society. According to Constructing Crime: Media, Crime, and Popular Culture (2006), it says “The media frequently hold female victims responsible for their victimization while reducing or