The Contribution of the Labelling Theory to Our Understanding of Crime and Deviancy

Labels, these are names or tags given to people that look walk or talk in a

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

Using material from Item A and elsewhere assess the view that crime and deviance are the product of labelling processes.

Assess the view that crime and deviance are the products of the labelling process (21 marks)

The social construct of crime - the process constructing crime was subjected to the constraints of a legitimate nature which allowed by law for the fairness between both the powerful and their less powerful counterparts. This was done with specific mechanisms to control the behaviour of the powerful, this process made laws such as environmental laws possible.

In this essay, the comparison between and contrast between strain theory and labelling theory. The essay will start with the key features of each theory and then it will go into the main comparison of the two theories. It will go into to detail on the similarities and differences between the two theories. Strain theory is the theory developed in 1938 by Robert K Merton. It’s the theory that society puts pressure on people to achieve socially accepted goals. Labelling theory is the theory that the public act in the way that society has labelled them, which gives negative connotations towards that person. Both the theories, judge crime on the type of people and how they have been deemed, both theories try to explain crime from social perspectives.

Labeling theorists explore how and why certain acts are defined as criminal or deviant and why other such acts are not. As such, they also who is identified as a criminal, and who is not. They question how and why certain people become defined as criminal or deviant. Such theorists view criminals not as evil people who engage in wrong acts but as individuals who have a criminal status forced upon them by both the criminal justice system and the community at large. From this point of view, criminal acts themselves are not significant; it is the reactions of the rest of society to acts defined as criminal that are most crucial. Crime and its control involve a process of social definition, which involves a response from others to an

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

Labelling perspectives and its theorists focus on individuals who have been deemed as criminals and labeled by society (Tannenbaum, 1938, p. 20). Frank Tannenbaum (1938) has been widely regarded as the first labelling theorist, believing that criminal behaviour is learnt through individuals interacting within communities where crime was prevalent (Lee, Menard & Bouffard, 2014, p. 4). Tannenbaum believed when an individual had been

Labeling Theory The labeling theory is another important theory in the groups of sociological theories. It essentially states that no acts is intrinsically deviant, but rather are established by those in power through the formulation of laws and the interpretation of those laws by police and criminal justice system (Schmalleger, 2014). In other words until someone or a group in society says that XYZ is an illegal act then it is considered non-deviant (Schmalleger, 2014).

Deviance and crime are wide-ranging terms used by sociologists to refer to behavior that varies, in some way, from a social norm. Cultural Norms are society's propensity towards certain ideals; their aversion from others; and their standard, ritualistic practices. Essentially the 'norm' is a summation of typical activities and beliefs of group of people. This essay will evaluate the sociological theories associated with crime and deviance and to compare and contrast these main theories. And find links between these theories to today’s society. There are various Sociological deviance theories, including Structuralist: why do some people break the rules? ,

Moffitt’s developmental taxonomy suggests that many people behave antisocially but this can either be temporary or persistent. Temporary antisocial behavior is common among adolescents and many of them grow out of it. If the antisocial behavior is persistent, it can later predict criminal behavior down the road. Moffitt’s developmental taxonomy is an integrated theory made up of strain and social learning theories with a positivism approach. Consistent, stable antisocial behavior is found among a small amount of males whose behavior is extremely problematic (Moffitt, 1993). Temporary versus persistent antisocial persons have two qualitatively different types of individuals and none of them, up to this point, have obtained the research of

Crime is a social construct because it is an idea that is established by a society to control the behaviors of the people within the society (“Radical Concept of Crime”). What is considered to be criminal varies within different area and cultures and even time. Things that were legal two hundred years ago are illegal now. For example, in the 18th and 19th century when slavery was allowed in America, there were a lot of people who saw nothing wrong with it because they had been socialized to accept and justify it. If you ask most Americans now about slavery, they would say that it was a tragedy or that they just cannot understand how it happened. This is because we are now being socialized to think of slavery as wrong. Even though many citizens

For the most part, biological theories of crime and deviance have had an unsuccessful and undistinguished career among sociologists. The Italian physician Cesare Lombroso suggested that someone who is born criminal possesses atavism or primitive evolutionary characteristics that produced violent, savage, and apelike tendencies in humans (Goode, p. 27). In addition, biological theories of deviance see crime and deviant behavior as a form of illness due to pathological factors to certain individuals. The biological theory is another example of Charles Whitman actions. Smart, strong, and talented, Charles Whitman seemed like a perfect all-American boy stereotype.

In studying crimes and deviance, sociologists look to explain what types of behavior are defined as deviant as opposed to criminal, who defines deviant behaviors, why people become deviant, and how society deals with deviant behavior. Deviance is defined by sociologists are behavior that significantly goes against expected rules and norms. Criminal behavior is behavior that violates the law. Sociology studies groups as opposed to individuals, so when studying crime and deviance, sociologists are looking at the factors that influence groups as a whole to engage in crime and deviant behavior. In defining deviant behavior, the definition may vary throughout different groups. Not all groups of people will consider the same behaviors