Interactionism - labelling theory

What is an interactionist?

They see our interactions with one another as based on means or labels. For example, ‘criminal’ is a label that some people (such as police officers) may attach to others (such as young males) in their interactions with one another.

What did Becker argue

He argued that social groups creates deviance by creating rules which breaks social norms and rules.

Becker argues that crime is a subjective concept; agents of social control such as the police and judges label certain acts as deviant or criminal.

What did Lemert argue?

Lemert says labelling is a cause of crime and deviance as it encourages certain people to become so. He distinguishes between primary and secondary deviance:

Primary deviance:

It is a deviant act that is not publicly labelled. A norm is broken but people often tolerate it such as using illegal streaming websites or drinking underage

Secondary deviance:

Results from labelling. People treat the offender solely in terms of his/her label, which becomes his/her master status and can lead to a self fulfilling prophecy. As a result the offender can be rejected from society so would be forced to join deviant subcultures for instance, prison. Therefore, the self fulfilling prophecy is complete and the result of recidivism (reoffending) becomes higher

Master status: Status that plays the greatest role in shaping a person’s life and determining their social identity. E.G. The individual is seen as, say a thief, overriding all their other status such as mother, workmate, daughter etc.

What is the deviance amplification spiral?

This is the idea where any attempt to control deviance through a ‘crackdown’ leads to it increasing rather than decreasing.

This becomes an escalating spiral.

How it works:

Social reaction to deviance within society

As a result, the deviant group feels isolated from society

This leads to resistance to society, they resists the social reaction and the way society is treating them

This leads to more deviance - resistance

Society tries to control the deviance such as creating more laws

This leads to moral panic of certain groups deviant behaviour

The media reports the deviants and identifies them as a threat to society called ‘folk devils’.

Then the cycle continues.

Deviant amplification spiral case study

Mods and rockers -

Mods and Rockers in 1964 were two competing groups which started moral panic by one small fight in Clacton. The media took this and distorted the events, claiming two groups had gone there deliberately to fight. This led to many British youth identifying with one group or the other.

The reports in the media influenced the police and let to increased arrests. According to Cohen this was not because of more trouble but because police were more likely to arrest youths who fitted either the mods or the rockers stereotype.

Cohen claims this led to the deviancy amplification spiral

Strengths of labelling theory

Strengths:

Law is not a fixed set of rules to be taken for granted, but something whose construction we need to explain

It shifts the focus on how the police creates crime by applying labels based on their stereotypes. This explains why working class and minority groups are over-represented

How attempts to control deviance can trigger deviance amplification spiral and therefore more deviance

Limitations of labelling theory

It fails to explain why people commit crime/deviance in the first place - they commit it before they are labelled

By assuming that offenders are victims of labelling, it ignores the fact that this may be not due to labelling but their choice

It ignores the victims of crimes - lads the potential to romanticise crime or victimise the offender

It tends to be deterministic as once someone is labelled, a deviant career is inevitable