It does however explain why some people or actions are described as deviant, and can help in understanding crime and deviance. According to item A labelling has changed the theoretical base for the study of criminals. Becker emphasises the significance of crime being a social construct; an action only becomes criminal or deviant once society has labelled it so, and that crime can be argued to be a social construction. He introduced the concept of a master label, referring to the label which a person is given which overrides all other labels. When a person is labelled as negatively, society tends to tend them as such, and this master label often becomes internalised, and then a self-fulfilling prophecy occurs.
Crime can only be a social problem if it breaks rules in the social system. The human societies often have different minds to what a social problem consists of. There are many known definitions of social problems throughout different societies and worldwide. Criminology in the narrow sense is concerned with the study of the phenomenon of crime, and of the factors or circumstances which may have influence on or be associated with the criminal behaviour and the state of crime in general. The understanding of criminology is to see social problems and cause of the crimes and how they have affect on people in society.
The humanist approach doesn’t describe deviance as a behavior, rather defining it by the reaction and it being a subjective experience. The positivists focus on the high consensus deviance, the deviance that the majority agrees upon, such as hurting yourself or someone else. They want to explain the behavior and believe that it’s caused by the social environment. One theory used to explain behavior by the positivists is control theory. Control theory helps explain “crime, deviance, and especially delinquency” (56) In 1969, Travis Hirschi developed control theory.
As time goes by, the "deviant" takes on traits that constitute deviance by committing such deviations as conform to the label(so you as the audience have the power to not label them and you have the power to stop the deviance before it ever occurs by not labeling them) . Individual and societal preoccupation with the label, in other words, leads the deviant individual to follow a self-fulfilling prophecy of abidance to the ascribed label. This theory, while very much symbolically-interactionist, also has elements of conflict theory, as the dominant group has the power to decide what is deviant and acceptable, and enjoys the power behind the labeling process. An example of this is a prison system that labels people convicted of theft, and because of this they start to view themselves as by definition thieves, incapable of changing. "From this point of
The deviant is one to whom that label has successfully been applied; deviant behavior is behavior that people so label." – Howard Becker, 1963. Labeling theory has its roots in Emile Durkheims studies into suicide where he expressed the view that deviance and crime is not so much about a specific violation of a penal code but more of an act that differs exceptionally from the social norm. Many people are labeled deviant even if they have not broken a specific law or even committed a crime. Society generally labels an individual as deviant if they differ from the social norms in appearance or behavior.
Assess the usefulness of subcultural theories in understanding crime and deviance Point | Explain | Research/Evidence | Challenge/Link | Intro: Subcultural strain theories see deviance as the product of a delinquent subculture w/different values from those of mainstream society | Delinquency subcultures are seen as a way for groups (l/w) to gain status they cannot achieve legitimately | They seek to build on and criticise Merton’s theory | However, they have been criticised for over focusing on lower class members and assuming everyone has the same goals | Albert Cohen criticises Merton who sees deviance as an individual response to strain – ignoring the fact much deviance is committed in or by groups – especially among the young | Hence why Cohen focuses on deviance among working-class boys. He argues they face anomie in M/C dominated school system | Status frustration: Suffer - Cultural deprivation + lack of skills to achieve in M/C world = bottom of status hierarchy Lack of status = ‘frustration’ Resolution = rejecting M/C values & joining/forming a subculture of others in same position = alternative status hierarchy – gain status through deviant behaviour (joy riding, vandalising, fighting and substance abuse) | Strength: Cohen offers an explanation of non-utilitarian deviance amongst W/C – unlike Merton (innovation – crime w/profit motive)Cohen ‘s ideas of status frustration and alternative status hierarchy help to explain non-economic delinquency such as vandalism, fighting and truancy Weakness: like Merton, Cohen assumes that W/C boys start off sharing M/C success goals – only to reject these when they fail. He ignores the possibility – they didn’t share these goals in the first place & so never saw themselves as failures | Like Cohen, Cloward & Ohlin take Merton’s ideas as their start point. They agree that W/C youths are
In this model the perspective is that most of the citizens share same values, morals, beliefs and is made up of a diverse group, and those who have conflict with the values and belief are considered damaging to society that will result to criminal acts. The consensus model argues that the majority of citizens will agree on which activities should be outlawed and published as crimes. The Consensus Model also assurmes that all people will group together to form a perfect society and those who actions deviate from recognizing the expectations and values will be considered threat to the well- being of society and need to be punished. The society will then pass laws in agreement with the group to control and prevent deviant behavior, criminals (Schmallager, 2009). On the other hand Consensus Model is made up of a diverse group, but Conflict Model is not and has a different
CRIME AND DEVIANCE Deviancy is any behaviour that defies the norms of a particular social group. It is anti-social behaviour/or non-normative behaviour or behaviour that does not conform to societal expectations. Definition: American sociologists Marshall Clinard cited in Haralambos and Holborn (1995:387) defines deviancy as, “Any behaviour that is in a disapproved direction and of a sufficient degree to exceed the tolerance limit of that community. This definition has been criticised for ignoring those forms of deviancy which are tolerable. - Deviancy should be viewed as arelative act i.e.
All crime is deviant but not all deviance is crime. Becker stated; “Social groups create deviance by making rules whose infraction constitutes deviance and by applying those rules to particular people and labelling them as outsiders. From this point of view deviance is not a quality of the act a person commits, but rather a consequence of
So how can we avoid this behavior if and when we recognize it as such? First we need to identify all the components Prejudice is usually a negative incorrect unjustified attitude or prejudgment directed towards someone based on personal views of a particular social group or groups. Someone that’s prejudice towards others may not act according to their beliefs, but still may not discriminate against them. One line of logic that is used is to justify ones prejudice and stereotypes is to justify the system used; by using social inequalities, they legitimizing beliefs, attitudes and myths. By placing emphasizing a lower-status groups weakness, according to their weaknesses and flaws, they justify those that are in a higher status maintaining the status quo and in doing so allowing the higher status individual to feel secure in their position.