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Labeling theory paper
Labeling theory paper
Major sociological perspective
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The labeling theory was first developed in the early 1960s. Interaction is when a person does an activity that isn’t normal. It involves more than persons act. Positivist sociologists tend to focus on a deviant person a lot and that is not the right thing to do. Sometimes the labeling starts off because of law enforcement. When ever someone does something bad police officers label them as deviants. People who always get labeled are drug addicts, criminals, juvenile delinquents, prostitutes, and patients with mental illnesses. People with power such as rich, white, and law enforcement agents are the ones who usually label people as deviant. Black, poor, and powerless people also get labeled as deviants. Poor or black people are always
more likely to get arrested and put in jail than a white person who has money and power. They can also be prosecuted and convicted as a criminal. Labeling a person can be very bad because that name will stick with them in their heads for the rest of their life’s and that isn’t something good. Labeling a person can bring lots of negative consequences into their life’s. Once a person has been labeled deviant it makes them commit more crimes and it also makes them change their act even more. The more they are labeled the worst their acts get because they think that they are very bad and dangerous criminals. Once a person has been labeled a deviant they will continue with their bad behavior and they will engage more in doing bad things because that is how they haven been labeled. Labeling theory has became very popular and a good topic to a lot of sociologists. Studies show that labeling always encourages people to continue doing bad things. Other studies show the complete opposite they think that labeling someone has nothing to do with their deviant behavior.
criminal. This theory also states that people who have been labeled such names, also contributes
Sociology is the study of society and the interactions that occur within society itself. There are numerous methods of analyzing societies and the way the function, nonetheless, most methods fall in micro and macro level theories. Micro level theories allow sociologist to study smaller relationships such as individual or compact groups of people. On the other hand, macro level studies permit for larger scale investigations to take place. With both of these theories there are three theoretical perspectives used in sociology. Micro level theories include symbolic interactionism which focuses in interactions done with language and gestures and the means which allow such interactions to take place. Macro level theories include structural functionalism
There exists conflicting theories among sociologists in the area of determining why a person is considered to be a deviant, and the reasons behind why he or she has committed a deviant act. From a positivistic perspective, deviance is based on biological or social determinism. Alternatively, from a constructionist perspective, deviance is created and assigned by society. Both perspectives seek to give a theory for why a person may become known as deviant. Although they both view similar acts as deviant, the basic differences between positivists and constructionists theories are clear.
As we read the novel, “The Scarlet Letter,” we were acquainted with the manner the Puritan society branded their sinners contingent on the immoralities they have committed. They believed that punishing these sinners by humiliation was the prominent way for them to bear the cost of their debauchery. Resembling this past our present has been subject to this same form of branding and labeling. We judge the way the Puritan society strictly punished its citizens by putting them on scaffolds where they were publicly humiliated. We hypocritically judge this form of punishment when we are practicing these same immoral acts. Although we are not putting them on scaffolds or literally branding people we are causing them the same kind of degradation and bestowing on them labels that will hurt them the same way.
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
If we were just talking about drug users then that would fall under the Labeling Theory, which in terms would leave something out. For it to be deviant, the crime would have to be something out of the norm, that people aren’t used to. The behavior that’s considered deviant varies from the type of people involved, the time, and the society. Drug dealing, is the most common type of deviant because it is an accepted goal with accepted means.
Interactionists, therefore, ask different questions to those asked by structuralist sociologists. They're less concerned with how the family fits into the structure of society or how the structure of society affects the family - they're much more likely to look at what actually goes on inside families - the day-to-day interactions of family life and how people negotiate their roles within the family.
Labelling theory is how an individual’s behaviour and self-identity maybe determined or influenced by the labels used to classify them. The concepts of the self-fulfilling prophecy and stereotyping can be associated with this theory. This theory focuses on the tendency to label negatively, minority groups or those that are perceived as deviant from cultural norms. Developed in the 1950s and 1960s by sociologists, with Howard Beckers book in 1963, Outsiders: Studies in the Sociology of Deviance being influential in the development of this theory as its used today. Henslin (232) states that symbolic interactionists as having developed labelling theory, which focuses on the significance of the labels (names, reputations) that are given. Deviance from these processes result from the way people socially interact. Thereby meaning that deviance is not a quality of what a person does, but of how other people interpret what someone is doing. The end of WWII saw norms and values changing as great social and political changes began to happen. Women started working outside the home, the sexual revolution, the use of drugs become socially acceptable within some groups, not necessarily legal. These social changes saw new attitudes and behaviours appear and some were determined to be deviant, therefore attracting such labels as drug addicts, alcoholics, delinquents, prostitutes, sex offenders, and psychiatric patients. Symbolic inter actionists labelling theory, focuses on the significance of these given labels. Deviance from them is a process that results from the way people socially interact. By this, it is meant that deviance is not a quality of what a person does, but of how other people interpret some ones actions. These labels then influ...
Deviance is the behavior and the standards of expectations of a group or society. It is also behavior that is considered dangerous, threatening or offensive. The people that are deviant are often labeled to be weirdos, oddballs, or creeps. In the United States, people with tattoos, drug addicts, alcoholics, and compulsive gamblers are all considered deviant. Sociologists believe that everybody is deviant from time to time. They believe each person will violate a social norm in certain situations. People are considered deviant if they don't stand for the national anthem at a sports event, dress casually to a fancy restaurant, or skip classes. One category of deviance is Crime. Crime is a violation of norms that have been formally enacted into a law. Another category of deviance is humorous. Deviance is relative, what is deviant in one group or society may not be deviant in another group or society.
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.
It is amazing how there are so many different views on what is considered deviant, bad or good. There are so many cultures with different beliefs as to how people should act and that has a huge influence on the perception of deviance in the world today.
In conclusion, once an individual is labelled deviant, the pressure within society to conform to the ‘said norm’ is an ever demanding and increasing pressure. Whilst the intention of the said individual may well be to follow the path of ‘ normal individuals’, once labelled, for whit ever reason it is ever increasingly difficult to return to the ‘normal way of life’ without this shadow overwhelming most.
The deviant is one to whom that label has successfully been applied deviant behaviour is behaviour that people so label. This statement made, is evident that society is the cause of deviant behaviours. Labelling an individual based on the actions and behaviour of an individual, does not make that individual a deviant person, who should be labelled as a criminal or homosexual, and so on. Hence why labelling theory is no longer popular, because of how society use the labelling theory. A theory that society seem to be stereotypical towards, but do not use the correct term to define a deviant
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.
Labelling theory holds deviance results not so much from the actions of deviant, as from response to others labelled rule breaker deviant (Brym and Lie 2015: 101). There are many stories of students being labelled in the past by teachers. Students; however, have labelled teachers, but labelling a student and not understanding what has influenced this behavior is being judgmental. There have been incidents where a teacher had labelled a child in front of the classroom, is that right? Without understanding the behavior of a child this could be preparing them to reject teachers in the fear of being labelled again, and being powerless. In “Reconstructing the ‘Monsters’ and the ‘Failures’: Concerns and Issues for Professionals” by Jill E. Gelormino