sociological perspectives on deviancy amplification and moral panics

marxisst

• they argue that deviancy amplification and moral panics are used as a form of social control to support capitalism

• they argue that the effect of the media is to distract people from the real issues that crate inequality in society

• deviancy amplification is an example of strategies that highlight issues that have been exaggerated and have the effect of making the real problems that affect people on the daily basis

• Cohen - argues that studying moral panic and deviancy amplification allows people to identify and conceptualise the lines of power in any society , they ways we are manipulated into taking things seriously and others, not so seriously’

neo-Marxists

• they see it as important to investigate who ahs the power to define deviance and toe explain how some groups become to be made out as ‘folk devils’ 

• hall- believes that moral panics serve an ideological function to support capitalism

• emergence of the word ‘mugging’ in the uk and its direct association with young black working class men to cause division in working classes between white and black young men  

• they suggested that the moral panic took attention away from economic problems caused by capitalism and allowed laws to be introduced that could be used to repress other groups that opposed capitalism

interactionist sociologists

• they believe in labelling which can lea to certain groups being victimised as criminals and deviants

• for example, police may label black youths as more likely to be criminals resulting in them being more likely to be charged with a criminal offence

• they contend that labelling can cause an individual to be singled out as deviant , which could result in self-fulfilling prophecy , where they adopt the behaviour given to them as a result of a label

• they argue that targeting a certain group by agents of social control can lead to deviancy amplification

• this means that some members of the audience are attracted tot his victimised group and repeat deviant behaviour

evaluation

• Marxist views are criticised for failing to acknowledge that moral panics can be the result of real concerns in society

• Marxist take an over-conspirational view where members of the ruling class get together and decide on the course of action that creates moral panic, but there’s no evidence that this occurring 

• interactionalists failed to explain why some people are labelled as deviant and why some aren’t 

• interactionalism fails to explore the power relations behind the labelling process

• pluralists argue that moral panic occur because the media id reflecting the values and concerns of their audience and that the media cannot create such panic if it doesn’t match the perspective of their audience