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The Basis Of Labeling Theory As A Whole Is Practically

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The basis of Labeling Theory as a whole is practically exactly as it sounds, the labeling, or stigmatizing, of a person or group of people throughout their life. This labeling is the result of how that person, or group of people, identifies and behaves throughout their life. This idea of the Labeling Theory comes from Becker, who claims that individuals will conform with what is said and assumed about them. Becker’s theory states the idea that those who are labeled throughout life as deviant will become deviant and take on a known selfhood as deviant. This idea also claims that those labeled as deviant will act more deviant than if they had not been labeled this way. The Labeling Theory uses social characteristics such as class and race to …show more content…

Logical consistency, also known as internally consistent, generates the basis that the theory is filled with internally sound and consistent ideas throughout (Akers et. al.). These ideas must make sense in a logical aspect that does not allow the general ideas to conflict with each other in a way that confuses the ideas. Labeling theory follows the concept of logical consistency by sticking with labeling being the reasoning behind why people act the way they do, deviant or not deviant. As stated previously, if an individual is labeled as deviant they will then act deviant. There is no contrast to this idea throughout the theory, which allows it to be logically consistent. Another known obstacle is that of scope. Scope is known as the range of distribution that the theory covers. For example, if a theory focuses specifically on juveniles for a specific crime, such as theft, then the theory would be considered to have a very limited scope. Labeling theory would be considered to have a generally wide scope because of the fact that it covers all ages, all races, and all genders. The theory also covers a wide scope because it references all deviance. Theorists have stated that, “agents of control, who function on behalf of the powerful in society, impose the labels on the less powerful” (Akers et. al, 2017). This points to the idea that it is not just one specific group of people, but simply those of higher

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