SOCI 2445 Lecture Notes - Labeling Theory, Symbolic Interactionism, Anomie
17 Apr 2013
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Positivism is one set of perspectives to understanding deviance and criminal behaviour. All crimes are deviant, but not all deviance is crime. Deviant behaviour is more widespread than criminal behaviour; there are more examples of deviance. Deviance can also apply in positive or negative terms, whereas criminal behaviour is generally negative. We like to think that we are above animals greater than them. However, there is nothing that compares to the atrocities capable by the species of homo sapiens (humans). Symbolic interactionism, a. k. a labeling theory, was developed by howard s. becker. 1960"s, becker was studying drugs particularly marijuana and drug users. In his interviews with drug users, he discovered that they viewed society as the outsider or outlier . All social groups make rules and attempt at various times to enforce them. When a rule is enforced, the person who is supposed to have broken it is seen as a special person. -becker.
