ATS1281 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: The Negotiation, Frank Tannenbaum, Symbolic Interactionism
8 May 2018
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UNDERSTANDING CRIME: LECTURE 8
Labelling Theories
Consensus vs Conflict Perspective
• Consensus Theorists: values are held in common in a society, dominant values are
ageed upo soiets ees
• Conflict theorists: political interests come first, and interests precede values. The
interest of wealth for state or business is clearly not representative of common
interests, but rather such wealth serves those with power to control the state.
• We label soe ehaious good o appopiate ad othes deiat o iial
Symbolic Interactionism
• A sociological perspective that aims to explain how people interpret and define their
social reality and the meanings they attach to it in the process of interacting with
one another.
Labelling Theories
• Deviance is socially constructed through reaction instead of action.
• Fouses o soiets eatio to the deiat ehaiou athe tha the udelig
behaviour itself
• Centre on the social reaction (or group reaction) to a particular individual
• Focus on labelling research concerns the interactions between individuals, and
espeiall, the foatio of a deiat idetit of a peso labelled deviant
Labelling Perspectives
• Labelling perspectives primarily address two key questions:
1. How do official agencies and society use and apply labels to individuals?
2. What effect does labelling have?
Labelling Theory: History and Context
• Early statements:
• Frank Tannenbaum, 1938
• Edwin Lemert, 1949, 1967
• Howard Becker, 1963
• Social Context:
• Labelling/Societal reaction theory became very popular in the late 1960s and
1970s.
Tannenbaum (1938)
• Makig the iial is a poess of taggig, defiig, idetifig, segegatig,
desiig, ephasisig…ad eokig the e taits that ae oplaied of
• The person becomes the thing he is described as being
• Childe iitiall patiipate i plagoups o the steet
• As teenagers, they become high risk-takers, which is potentially dangerous, but they
still see the atiit as ioet pla
• Adults fist defie the situatio as good kids doig ad
• The situation escalates, conflict between the kids and adult rise and the adults
eetuall defie the ouths theseles as ad
• Youth act the part
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96WPpn1dQ-A&feature=related
Secondary Deviance Hypothesis, Lemert (1951)
• What is primary deviance?
• Criminal or deviant behaviour that originates from biological, psychological or
social factors
• What is secondary deviance?
• Reaction to primary deviance facilitates secondary deviance
• Peso takes o deiat self-iage
• Primary Deviant Act Society Reacts Aept ad Itealise the Deiat lael
conform to new identity Secondary Deviance
Oe a At has ee laelled as Deiat
• The deiat ato a see theseles as a deiat peso = aste status
• Retrospective interpretation
• Self-fulfilling prophecy – behaviour lives up to the label
• Deviance is more organised, persistent and serious
• Media contribution?
•
•
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
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