Lemert

Edwin Lemert:

• Lemert focused on the social reactions to acts of deviance

• Interested in the impact that others’ reactions had upon those committing deviant activities

• Lemert suggested phases of primary and secondary deviance

Primary Deviance:

• Lemert was not concerned with the causes of deviance, but rather the reactions to the deviant act itself

• Primary deviance refers to the acts that people commit before they are labelled as deviant

• Social reactions define whether the act is deviant or not

• Lemert was more interested in how people perceive an individual once they have witnessed a person committing a deviant act

• This could be an admission, witnessing the act or the person being labelled by others as deviant- e.g a person stealing from another

Societal Reaction:

• How individuals react determines the reaction of the individual

• The act is condemned by society or those closest to the individual- could lead to rejection, disapproval of the individual or even isolation

• This then becomes a label that potentially is internalised- e.g a thief

Secondary Deviance:

• Societal reaction- identifying the person as deviant- could impact on future deviance

• The impact of labelling on ex-offenders limits opportunities to integrate into society and find employment

• This leads to further deviance in order to gain status or for financial gain

• Lemert suggests the primary focus of criminology should be to examine the conditions surrounding secondary deviance

• Societal reaction determines the future deviant careers of individuals

• Once labelled a thief, people do not trust an individual and the individual needs to steal to satisfy basic needs

Evaluations:

• Links to other applications of labelling theory such as education and health

• Soft determinism in that it suggests the reactions of others will shape future deviance

• Critics would suggest that deviance is often overcome and a distinct phase within somebody’s life