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Interactionism and labelling theory (social construction of crime (Police…
Interactionism and labelling theory
social construction of crime
no act is deviant
deviance is a social construct
Becker (1963)
create deviance
creating rules - applying to outsiders
Differential enforcement
Labelling theorists
social control agencies
label certain groups as criminal
Piliavin and Briar (1964)
Piliavin and Briar (1964)
police decisions to arrest based on racial stereotypes
Typification
Cicourel (1976)
Police stereotypes
'typical delinquent"
WC, ethnic minority juveniles
broken homes - more likely o be be charged
middle class juveniles
less likely to fit typification
EVAL: locate origins of label? (Marxists)
Police patrol WC areas
WC = typifications
more WC arrests
cycle
not valid picture
cannot take at face value
Dark figure of crime
difference between the 'real' rate of crime
and that in official statistics
Therefore victim surveys and self report studies can be used!
EVAL: these alternatives also have limitations
the effects of labelling
Lemert (1972)
labelling people as deviant - encourages more so
causes 'secondary deviance'
Primary deviance
not been publicly labelled
do not see selves as deviant
Uncaught
EVAL: why does it happen in the first place
Secondary deviance
results from societal reaction
e.g labelling
becomes controlling identity
SFP
crisis for self concept
live up to the label
reinforce outsider status
deviant career
Young (1971)
Hippy Marijuana users
life style = primary deviance
police prosecution as junkies
societal reaction
retreat into closed groups
drugs the central activity (SFP)
produced the opposite to law abiding behaviour
DAS
Deviancy amplification spiral
Folk Devils and Moral panics
Cohen (1972)
Mods and Rockers
exaggeration // distortion of media
police response = more arrests
'folk devils' = further marginalisation
functionalists: deviance as producing social control
Labelling theorists: produces further deviance
Mental illness and suicide
Douglas (1967): meaning of suicide
meaning for deceased
reject OS
mere social constructs
Qualitative methods
analysis of notes, interviews with relatives
Atkinson (1978)
coroners common sense knowledge
to construct social reality
typical suicide affected verdict
mode, location etc. typical
ANALYSIS: SFP for coroner
Mental illness
Interactionists reject use of OS
attaching labels to person
'schizophrenic"
Paranoia
how a person becomes labelled
Lemert (1962)
socially awkward can be excluded
negative response = fear for mental health
mental patient = master status
Institutionalisation
Goffman (1961)
affects of being in total institution
e.g psychiatric hospital
'mortification of self'
old identity is killed off
new one: ' inmate'
EVALUATION: Goffman shows the process is not deterministic
some inmates resist institutionalisation