SOC 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Labeling Theory, Research Question
Document Summary
Many theories focus on why people depart from societal norms. Labeling theory focuses on how society creates deviant categories/labels. Deviance shaped by response of society to particular behaviors. Behaviors deviant because society responds to them negatively. Thus we must consider how people react to certain behaviors. As well as the process by which deviant labels are defined and applied to people. Power is a driving force behind the labeling process. Differences in power translate into differences in ability to define deviance and label. Groups whose social position gives them power are best able to define and enforce their rules. Distinction of age, gender, ethnicity, and class: religion/physical appearance. Power to label varies by context and social positions. After defining the label, it must be applied to some person/group in order for actual deviance to occur. Both were matters of class differences, not labelling. Methods: observations of members of the saints and roughnecks in high school and their trajectories after.
