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Labeling Theory of Crime and Criminal Behavior
Crime and criminal behavior has always been an issue of discussion in society. In the study into crime and criminal behavior that seems to come with many open questions. It is with open questions such as, why does crime happen and what causes criminal behavior in individuals of society that forms many answers and reasons into crime and criminal behavior, but are the answers logical and scientifically proven? Labeling theory are one of the means into understanding crime and criminal behavior through the study and analysis of self-identity and behavior of individuals.
The labeling theory is one of many social theories that attempts to answer why crime happens and what may cause criminal behavior
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One of the factors that could contribute to a labeling effect of individuals is thought the theory of ‘intergenerational transmission theory’. Intergenerational transmission theory is defined by behavior or tendencies of individuals being influenced or passed on by an older generation, such as children of convicted parents might have a higher risk of offending. It with the two perspectives of labeling theory and intergenerational transmission theory that explores and investigates whether labeling effects might be stronger for children who have convicted parents compared with children whose parents have not been convicted (Besemer, Farrington, & Bijleveld, 2017).
Criticism of Labeling Perspective
When it comes to criminal behavior of individuals, can the views and labels placed on individuals by society be explained by stigmatizing labels? With the introduction of “the reflected appraisals process” as intervening between the label and
Bohm and Brenda L. Vogel, the Labeling theory is used to explain why people commit crimes and conceive themselves as criminals. Overall the Labeling theory consists of social groups creating rules and then applying those rules to particular people and labeling them as outsiders. This theory is split into two types of deviances: primary deviance and secondary deviance. Primary deviance is the initial criminal act, for example, a man robs a bank. A secondary deviance is committing a crime after the first criminal act and accepting the label of a criminal. Following the previous example, after the man robs the bank, he decides to do it again because he now sees himself as a criminal bank robber and wants to continue doing it and is okay with being seen that
People can easily be judged based on their community, how they dress, how they talk, and who they surround themselves with, it is human nature. There becomes a problem when whole groups of people are labeled as delinquents based on how they are perceived by the rest of society, and they start to be confined to that role. This is the basis of labeling theory described in the book Criminology Goes to the Movies Theory and Popular Culture by Nicole Rafter and Michele Brown as a concept of perception of criminality as a permanent identity of people based on their background. This theory is shown on the movie American Me about the rise of the Mexican mafia, and the influence of its members. The movie presents how Mexican communities have to embrace
Labelling theory: The theory that the terms crime, deviance, or punishment are labels, variously applied by act of power and not some natural reflection of events – American criminologist Howard Becker
Bernburg, J., Krohn, M. D., & Rivera, C. J. (2006). Official Labeling, Criminal Embeddedness, and Subsequent Delinquency: A Longitudinal Test of Labeling Theory. Journal Of Research In Crime & Delinquency, 43(1), 67-88. doi:10.1177/0022427805280068
Labeling theory of deviance suggests that when one is labeled constantly on the basis of any minority it gives rise to deviant behavior in order to prove the strength of the minority. The minority has been labeled so by people for a long time. They have been labeled because of their race. The gang is labeled anti-social because of their criminal behavior which turns them further to deviance. The use of the labeling theory can be seen being implemented very judiciously
As mentioned in lecture, labeling theory asks two critical questions: what is crime, and who is criminal? This is the central tenet of labeling theory because the focus is on what activities constitute criminal behaviour within the context. This means that over time, the general perspective changes in regards to what can be labeled 'crime.' For instance, society is known to react negatively towards prostitution in the past; whereas the contemporary reaction is primarily to legalize it.
Label theory is based in the idea that behaviors are irregular when the society labels them as irregular. The label theory implies that a person commits a crime in some time of a life, but that person is not seen as deviant, while other people are deviant. Label theory explains how a behavior of a person conflicts with the norms of the society. For example, A black young men, who lives in a neighborhood controlled by gangs may be labeled as a gang member. In consequence, that young man can start to act as gang member or became one. He incorporates the label that was given to him.
In conclusion, social learning theory and labeling theory are both widely viewed. Society should understand why crime happens as it pertains to theories of crime in order to mitigate it. There are many examples that prove both theories. Lastly, there are programs which are beneficial to people of society and that with these programs we can mitigate the crime around
Labelling theory was suggested by Edwin Lemert (1912- 1996) in 1951 and it was then developed by Howard Becker (b.1928) in 1963. This theory is related to the Social Action perspective. The labelling procedure includes deviancy and crime, certain acts are criminal because they have been labelled in that way, these labels are created by the powerful in society, such as the government. Frank Tannenbaum (1893- 1969) stated the self-fulfilling prophecy could occur when somebody is labelled as a 'criminal'. Self-fulfilling prophecy is when a prediction of something which then becomes a fact. If you have the label of 'delinquency' or 'crime' then the individual may find it difficult to get a job therefore earning less money which could result in them returning to crime. People in society will expect 'criminals' to behave in a certain way. The people with this label may find it challenging to fit into society. Moral panics is a definition which is given when a group of people become known as a threat to societies beliefs.
The Labeling Theory is the view that labels people are given affect their own and others’ perception of them, thus channeling their behavior either into deviance or into conformity. Labels can be positive and/or negative, but I’ll focus on the negative aspects of labeling in high school. Everybody has a label in high school whether it is the “slut”, “pothead”, “freak” or the “jock”; it is one of the most apparent time periods in which individuals get labeled. Students have the mentality that whatever label is placed on them is going to be stuck with them forever, which then leads into a self-fulfilling prophecy. This, I feel, is a fear of being a “loser” that has been instilled throughout years by the principals, teachers, etc. An example of this is the pressure students are given to get a good grade. In order to get into an honors class they need to pass a certain test, should they not get into honors class the following year, then all throughout the rest of their remaining school life, they’ll never be able to be in honors class. They’ll then no longer be seen as the “smart” students they were “before”(even though they still are), they’ll now be labeled as “dumb” and eventually start to believe, and become their label. Another example of this is being labeled a “slut”. When a girl has been labeled a slut, early or in the middle of her school life, the label sticks with her all throughout her remaining school years. At first, she could reject this label, and try to “change”...
Labelling theory, stemming from the influences of Cooley, Mead, Tannenbaum, and Lemert, has its origins somewhere within the context of the twentieth century. However, Edwin Lemert is widely considered the producer and founder of the original version of labelling theory. This paper, not a summary, provides a brief history of labelling theory, as well as, its role in the sociology of deviance. It attempts to explore the contributions made by labelling theorists, the criticism towards labelling theorists, and the discussion surrounding its reality as an actual theory. In essence, the main focus of this paper besides proving an understanding of Howard Becker, is to describe and evaluate `labelling theory` to the study of crime and deviance, by way of an in depth discussion.
Therefrom, Becker (1963) notes ‘Social groups create deviance by creating the rules whose infraction [breaking] constitutes deviance, and by applying those rules to particular people and labelling them as outsiders.’ Implying that deviant individuals have accepted their given label of ‘deviant’ and therefore act upon this creating deviant acts. This is then why labelling theorists take a constructionist approach to crime and
Criminal labelling encourages the continuation of criminal behaviour, and is most applicable to youths, although labelling theory does have its limits. The societal reaction
The main focus of the essay will be the implications of labelling theory and how it affects individuals. It also will be focusing on the creation of particular categories of criminals when labelling theory is applied, in addition it will outline what labelling theory is, how it affects people and how it effects the creation of criminal categories. The purpose of this essay is to allow a better understanding of labelling theory and its implication on creating criminal categories.
Different schools of thought propose varying theoretical models of criminality. It is agreeable that criminal behaviour is deep rooted in societies and screams for attention. Biological, Social ecological and psychological model theories are key to helping researchers gain deeper comprehension of criminal behaviour and ways to avert them before they become a menace to society. All these theories put forward a multitude of factors on the outlooks on crime. All these theories have valid relevancy to continuous research on criminal behaviour.