The Definition Of Labeling Theory In Crime And Crime

830 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: How personality development explain theory of deviance

Labeling theory is derived from the idea that people see themselves through the eyes of others. Individuals have different meanings set aside for similar situations. For example, society might define something as criminal, while other individuals do not. This is the case for several moral vices, such as marijuana, or the use of the death penalty as a method of punishment. When there are negative meanings and interpretations for actions, people tend to label others based on their “evil” actions. When society labels an individual’s action as delinquent or evil, it begins to take on as a personal identity. The “dramatization of evil” occurs in a society because the community and its young individuals do not interpret situations, such as crime, in the same way. Their ideas clash, as most youth do not see their activities as criminal. They mostly respond with “it 's not hurting anyone” or “we’re just having fun.” As young delinquents engage in their initial criminal act, Labeling Theory recognizes this as their “primary deviance.” Once the community becomes aware of the primary deviance, they view the individual as nothing more than a delinquent. A secondary deviance can then …show more content…

Robert’s primary deviance was participating gang related criminal activities. He was arrested, charged, and convicted for aggravated assault at the age 17. By that time, his community had already given him a master status of “big-time drug dealer” (Anderson, 1999, p. 290). He had a reputation and he upheld it well. Robert was considered a strong, dangerous drug dealer who was not to be messed with. For this reason, many feared him. His master status changed in prison, as he went through many humiliations and constant bad treatment from white prison guards. Robert began to reconsider his lifestyle and dedicated his time to reading the Bible, studying, and putting his old life

Show More
Related

  • The Theme Of Stereotypes In Punished By Victor Rios

    1418 Words  | 3 Pages

    Stereotypes within our society have shaped the way we perceive each other. Throughout the book Punished by Victor Rios, a lot of stereotypes were not only reinforced but also used against a lot of the boys. A lot of the boys presented throughout the book had never actually committed a crime but they were treated as if they had. These boys were constantly labeled and categorized, like folders into a filling cabinet or a bin. Sure Oakland, California had a lot of gang-infested areas but that does not mean everyone in that area is part of a gang or is committing a crime. Thus, this book really demonstrates how one can be perceived or labeled as a criminal due to his or her surroundings and how these stereotypes can destroy one’s chance of freedom.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Myths, Misfits And Masks

    731 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Labeling theory,” which states that our self-identity and behavior can be altered by the names or terms that people use to describe or classify us. Labeling is using descriptive terms to categorize or classify something or someone. Sometimes these labels can have positive impacts on our life or as Amanat’s mentioned that these labels can limit our full potential to do anything by believing that people’s expectation about us is how we should define ourselves. In doing so, we act against our true nature because we’re trying to live up to others expectations or deny their assumptions.

    Read More

  • Crime is a contested and complex concept. Discuss

    820 Words  | 2 Pages

    Crime is an irrelevant concept as it is tied to the formal social control mechanism of the State; deviance is a concept that is owned by sociology thus our study should be the sociology of deviance, rather than criminology

    Read More

  • Demonization Of Youth

    698 Words  | 2 Pages

    Demonization of youth had its rise during the emotional outbursts of frustration and anger to the response to youth crime. Juvenile crime is portrayed as the rebellion of subculture group. The creation of a drama of the evil events conducted by juveniles

    Read More

  • The Conflict Theory Of Deviance In American History X

    1043 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • A Comparison of Conflict and Labeling Theory in the Context of Youth Gangs

    1544 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Mustard Slinger Sports Media Analysis

    1890 Words  | 4 Pages

    The methodology involved with the research of this paper will differ from the vast majority of papers done for this assignment. While it takes some time for deviance and criminal behavior to rear its ugly head, it would not be appropriate to explain this story without first supplying the background narrative.

    Read More

  • The Labelling Theory: The Labeling Theory

    2096 Words  | 5 Pages

    The labelling theory is a significant approach for researchers in an effort to broadening the understanding of delinquency and unusual behavior. Besides, it’s worth noting that the labeling theory was a major breakthrough for many decades, thus its symbolized both theoretical and methodological aspect for criminologist, and in fact, it was known as a theoretical view of crime and deviance, particularly in the 1960s up to the early 1980s. During that era, the conclusion among scholars are that no behavior is intrinsically illicit. Also, “definitions of criminality are established by those in power through the formulation of laws and the interpretation of those laws by police, courts, and correctional institutions” (google, labeling theory, 2016). During that time, the view on deviance was not necessarily narrow down to a particular individual or a group of folks but instead a process of interactionism among deviant and none-deviant acts and the situation in which misconduct interpreted. While labeling theory is a significant concept that emphasizes that social deviations that derived of offender’s being labeling as a lawbreaker; however, scholars who have extensively research this philosophy, they have a slightly differ of opinion of the labeling theory view that is actually doing the opposite of what it was meant to be.

    Read More

  • Societies and Moral Panic

    3409 Words  | 7 Pages

    their acts as criminal and extending this judgement to them as people. Having been labelled, there is an expectation that this criminality must be expressed. With this attached stereotype, the general population will perceive them to be criminal and treat them accordingly. This produces unanticipated effects: the label of criminal is intended to prevent individuals from participating in criminal activities but it actually creates the very thing it intended to stop. It produces a self-fulfilling prophecy which is defined as a false definition of a situation, evoking a new behaviour that makes the original false assumption come true (Burke, 2005).

    Read More

  • Gattaca

    1385 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Labeling Theory

    3342 Words  | 7 Pages

    The theoretical study of societal reaction to deviance has been carried out under different names, such as, labelling theory, interactionist perspective, and the social constructionist perspective. In the sociology of deviance, the labelling theory of deviant behaviour is often used interchangeably with the societal reaction theory of deviancy. As a matter of fact, both phrases point equally to the fact that sociological explanations of deviance function as a product of social control rather than a product of psychology or genetic inheritance. Some sociologists would explain deviance by accepting without question definitions of deviance and concerning themselves with primary aetiology. However, labelling theorists stress the point of seeing deviance from the viewpoint of the deviant individual. They claim that when a person becomes known as a deviant, and is ascribed deviant behaviour patterns, it is as much, if not more, to do with the way they have been stigmatized, then the deviant act they are said to have committed. In addition, Howard S. Becker (1963), one of the earlier interaction theorists, claimed that, "social groups create deviance by making the rules whose infraction constitute deviance, and by applying those rules to particular people and labelling them as outsiders". Furthermore, the labelling theoretical approach to deviance concentrates on the social reaction to deviance committed by individuals, as well as, the interaction processes leading up to the labelling.

    Read More

  • The Implications of Labelling Theory and how It Affects Individuals

    1254 Words  | 3 Pages

    Labelling theory outlines the sociological approach towards labelling within societies and in the development of crime and deviance (Gunnar Bernburg, and D. Krohn et al., 2014, pp. 69-71). The theory purposes that, when an individual is given a negative label (that is deviant), then the individual pursues their new (deviant) label / identity and acts in a manner that is expected from him/her with his/ her new label (Asencio and Burke, 2011, pp. 163-182).

    Read More

  • Secondary Deviance In Research

    96 Words  | 1 Pages

    Now when you look at secondary deviance this occurs when the same person moves to another area or different school and people around them don’t like smoking and shun them out. Now the person is labeled and continues their behavior even know it is not acceptable. The person knows the behavior is deviant, but still continues.

    Read More

  • Deviance In Sociology

    1137 Words  | 3 Pages

    Labeling theory basically revolves around one singe idea which is that a behavior is only really considered to be deviant when society labels it as deviant. In an article written about label theory, Labeling Theory in Deviance Research, Nanette J. Davis discusses how in labeling theory “deviance is a property conferred on acts by selected audiences” (Davis, 1972) meaning that it is the audience holds control as to what is known as deviant. David goes forward to discuss how “Audience reactions, definitions, categorizations, stigmatizations, and exclusionary strategies, are procedures that label a behavior as deviant” (Davis, 1972). These are all factors that can help label a behavior as deviant. Overall in the remainder of the article Davis discusses different cases in which the labeling theory has labeled certain behaviors deviant. This theory ties back into my experiment in the way that I will be performing a behavior that is not considered to be very normal, if the labeling theory is correct the audience will choose to label me as something, could be a student, a tired worker, a homeless man, etc. This label will the be the basis of how they respond to my action and whether or not they consider my behavior to be deviant. An example of this labeling theory could be seen if we imagine two men sleeping on a bench on a park, all other factors like time, place, audience are the same only difference is that one of the men is a business professional while the other is a homeless man. Because of that the labeling theory predict the homeless man is more likely to be negatively labeled as being deviant just because of the stigma that exist against the homeless and not the business

    Read More

  • criminology theories

    1368 Words  | 3 Pages

    Criminology is the scientific study of why people commit crime and why they act the way they do. The origins of criminology are usually placed in the eighteenth to the mid- nineteenth century. This was also a point of scientific discoveries and the creation of the new scholarly field of studies. One of these was criminology. Criminology was an act against the wild system of law, punishment, and justice that existed before the French revolution. (Adler, Mueller, Laufer & Grekul, 2012). There are many criminology theories that explain why an individual commit a crime. Anomie/stain theory and labelling theory are two important theories in criminology. There are two different kinds of theories, psychological theories and biological theories. Both of those theories share the assumption that such behaviour is caused by some underlying physical or mental condition that separates the criminal from the non-criminal. They seek to identify the kind of person who becomes a criminal and to find the factors that caused the person to engage in criminal behavior. (Adler et al.,).

    Read More

More about The Definition Of Labeling Theory In Crime And Crime

Open Document