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INTERACTIONISM in Crime - Coggle Diagram
INTERACTIONISM in Crime
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BECKER
Examples
- A brawl in professional sports, such as ice hockey, is not seen as deviant - but if this was replicated on the high street it would be seen as deviant
- To those involved in the brawl, the act itself is not deviant - but the reactions of others make it so
Labelling
+Law Making
- Governments and legal systems apply labels to deviant activities through criminalising them
- Becker (1963): outlined how marijuana usage in the USA had been deemed to be deviant in the 1930s
- Laws were created as part of a moral crusade to stamp out usage as the use of marijuana went against trad American values
- Once an activity is labelled as deviant, this label is attached to the person who enacts it
- Based upon the initial deviant action, the individual nay be labelled as 'violent' or 'a thief' or a 'junkie'
- This then becomes their master status - one that overrides all other characteristics
- Individual is labelled as deviant → blocked opportunities → further deviance- deviant career
EVALUATIONS:
- Focus on the 'underdogs' of society which gave sociology a greater understanding of how criminals were stigmatised
- Provides little explanation as to why the initial acts of crime happened
- Often sided with criminals rather than the 'real' victims of crime
About
- Becker examined the impact of labelling on individuals in education
- Also examined social reactions to deviance in his work ‘The Outsiders’
- Claimed that acts are only deviant because society deems them to be - individuals do not consider the act to be deviant
LEMERT
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
About
- 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
Societal Reaction
- How individuals act determines the reaction of the individual
- Act is condemned by society or those closest to individual
- could lead to rejection, disapproval of individual or even isolation
- This then becomes a label that potentially is internalised - e.g. thief
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
Secondary Deviance
- Societal reaction - identifying the person as deviant - could impact on future deviance
- E.g. 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
- He suggests the primary focus of criminology should be to examine the conditions surrounding secondary deviance
- Societal reaction determines the future deviant careers of the individuals
- Once labelled a thief, people dont trust an individual and the individual needs to steal to satisfy basic needs
CICOUREL
Case Study
- Brock Turner found guilty of sexually assaulting a girl at Stanford University
- Parents stood up in court and suggested his life should not be ruined for '20 minutes of action'
- Received 6 month sentence which he attempted to appeal (maximum sentence was 14 years.
Negotiation of Justice
- While there were similar rates of delinquency in different areas, Cicourel found more consistent in 'bad areas'
- In these areas, delinquents were more likely to be arrested and charged with offences
- These were low income areas with occupations in the lower strata of American society
About
- He examined reactions to deviant behaviours in different areas of California
- Found middle class were able to 'negotiate the justice system' better than working class
- Impacts of stereotypes on police officers, juvenile officers and others in justice system
'Typical Delinquent'
- Those arrested in low income areas were more likely to fit into an image of a 'typical delinquent'
- Language, appearance, and attitude were judged by both police officers and juvenile officers to be consistent with their image of a delinquent
'Youthful high spirits'
- In middle-class areas, parents were able to convince those in the justice system that their child was 'having a tough time' and had a bright future
- The police were convinced parents could deal with the situation themselves, so less likely to be charged
- Reflected lower rates of middle-class delinquency
EVALUATIONS:
- Evidence for different rates of offending by social class and by ethnic group
- Assumption that all members of justice label delinquents in the same way
- Offers limited explanations of why crimes were committed in first place