This is a light summary on labelling theory. It highlights key concepts and scholars within the field to allow a easy introduction to the topic. This is a first year level summary.
Labelling theory concerns how someone committing a certain cat can be labelled as deviant
as a result of the act being labelled as deviant in society. As emphasised by Becker pg2 45.
what makes an act deviant is the social reaction to the act. This however can leave people
feeling a sense of injustice as deviant varies from culture to culture, fortunately or
unfortunately it is a select few that actually decide what acts are punishable by law and
what aren’t- usually the elite. This often leaves a large section of society unaccounted for in
term of the law and what is seen as criminal.
Research (e.g. Erikson and Kai) states that sociologists should focus on the community and
their reaction to crimes rather than the offender themselves as ultimately they decide what
acts are labelled as deviant
Criminal offenders
This theory focuses heavily on the offender and how the social reaction can lead to a self
fulfilling prophecy where the deviant adopts the mindset and ideas society has created of
them because of their deviant acts. Symbolic interactionism- Mead
Lermet focuses on the concept of secondary deviance where an offender responds to labels
by being deviant.
Victims of crime
It is hard to decipher who is the real victim of the crime with this theory. The more basic
answer is that the victim of the crime is the recipient of the deviant act. On the other hand it
can be argued that the offender themselves is a victim of the labels placed onto the by
society.
Informal social control
Theory doesn’t say much about informal social control. Friends and family can also be part
of the community that make delinquent believe their label by treating them differently.
Everyone has committed primary deviance however not everyone results in committing
secondary deviance and this may be due to the support some people receive from friends
and family, which would be considered as an informal social control. For example parents
keeping an eye on their child an ensuring they stay away from deviant behaviour.
Formal social control
There is the idea that formal social control only helps reinforce the image of a criminal in the
offenders mind leading to a self fulfilling prophecy. This is mainly because institutions that
enforce formal social control define what is deviant and aim social policy on these
definitions.
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