SOCY 275 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Labeling Theory, Social Distance, Dependent And Independent Variables
WEEK 12
Labeling Theory (Gove, Becker, Lemert)
- Independent variable
o Primary deviance
▪ People engage in crime and this theory is not that concerned with why
people engage in crime
▪ Make the argument that once people are caught for breaking the law,
they are going to be labelled and their subsequent crime
▪ The label of being deviant, increases the likelihood they will engage in
deviance
▪ We emphasize their deviant characteristics
o Secondary deviance
- Degradation Ceremony (erikson)
o A trial
o Some sort of formal confrontation between the person engaged in the crime
and a representative of the community
o The representative is then going to make a judgement and provide a verdict
o Then put the person in some hostile placement (institution, segregation from
community
o This label becomes the person’s Master Status
▪ It is how the community sees them and how they see themselves
▪ We see them as a deviant and they see themselves as a deviant
o With a deviant status it is hard to get a job, get a good education, and form
conventional relationships
o The label changes the way we see ourselves
o The segregation makes us spend time with people who are also segregated –
the comfort group is limited to people who are also deviant
- All this above is an EXCLUSIONARY SOCIETAL REACTION
o Want to exclude the deviant from our society
o Characteristics
▪ Lack of intensity in interactions – we are polite to the person when
talking but don’t speak to them directly
▪ High attitudinal hostility – we really do not like what they have done
▪ Within our interactions, we are not going to express that hostility
▪ Increase the likelihood of further crime
o For the most part our criminal justice system is exclusionary
- Inclusionary societal reaction
o Want to sanction, and punish the people but we do not want to kick them out
of our society
o Characteristics
▪ High degree of interaction and intensity between the parties
▪ Low degree of attitudinal hostility
- Dependent variable – who is likely to get labelled
o Power and resources of the person who gets in trouble
▪ Less power and fewer resources = more likely to be labelled
o Social distance between labeller and potential labellee
▪ The more different they are, the more likely to be labelled
▪ Socioeconomic, ethnic, racial
o Tolerance in community
▪ There are some things that are deviant, that people in certain areas will
tolerate
▪ If there is little tolerance, you are more likely to be labelled
o Visibility of the deviance
▪ If practicing the deviance in private = less likely to be labelled
Social marginality
Actual deviance
High
Low
High
100
0
Low
100
0
Actual deviant may not matter, what is important is the marginality
Social marginality
Actual deviance
High
Low
High
100
50
Low
50
0
If low marginality and you commit a crime, you will be labelled
Social marginality
Actual deviance
High
Low
High
100
50
Low
30
0
What it is actually like
Labelling can cause crime – it can increase behaviour
Criminal justice system tends to label certain types of people more often than others – means that
those people are more likely to become involved in crime
Situation action theory (Wikstrom)
- Key is the idea of morality, moral actions
- People are going to make certain choices depending on certain things
- Action alternatives
o Habitual actions
▪ May commit crime out of habit – don’t think about it
Document Summary
Increase the likelihood of further crime: for the most part our criminal justice system is exclusionary. Inclusionary societal reaction: want to sanction, and punish the people but we do not want to kick them out of our society, characteristics, high degree of interaction and intensity between the parties, low degree of attitudinal hostility. If there is little tolerance, you are more likely to be labelled: visibility of the deviance. If practicing the deviance in private = less likely to be labelled. Actual deviant may not matter, what is important is the marginality. If low marginality and you commit a crime, you will be labelled. Labelling can cause crime it can increase behaviour. Criminal justice system tends to label certain types of people more often than others means that those people are more likely to become involved in crime. Key is the idea of morality, moral actions. People are going to make certain choices depending on certain things.