Presumably these study results reflected actual behavioral differences that were reacted to differently by others (Marshall & Purdy, 1972). Labelling theory is a result of the work of Howard Becker. Get a verified writer to help you with Labeling theory and its effects to the society. 3, 332-345. From a logical standpoint there are flaws within the main points of labeling theory. Even if the drugs do not affects his professional life, when individuals whom they work with come to know that they use drugs, they may start avoiding and associating them with all other crimes that are done by drug addicts. It is therefore important for society to be careful on the labels that they give to individuals because of the effects that are likely to come with this “labels”. Unfortunately it was not specified exactly how each of these factors altered the effect labeling theory had on the study subjects. Labeling theory is a theory to understand deviance in the society, this theory is focused more on trying to understand how people react to behavior that happens around them and label it as ‘deviant’ or ‘nondeviant’. The reader should be cognizant that informal labeling – … A person could be a parent, employee, spouse, etc., but the first and major status that will come to mind to other people and themselves is that of the criminal (Becker, 1963). The labeller gets a general perception of the subject and allows him no room for change or improvement. Labeling Theory and Criminology: An Assessment. It shows that: by labeling an individual for example as insane, that could mark the beginning of the process of him being insane. Supporting labeling theory’s central proposition, formal labeling was linked to more negative affect and disability days in both groups. The theory may affect the society in many ways. Meaning that acts are only "criminal" when society has deemed them as such. In a study of the societal reaction approach as it relates to mental illness, Dr. Walter Grove saw that there were certain qualities people may have which make them particularly resistant to labeling and stigmatization. In this case studies have shown little in the way of how this process works, this aspect is still mainly theoretical. The three known variables cannot be measured effectively, nor can the confounders for that matter. From www.precookedsociology.com What are the effects of labelling theory? Those people with such qualities did not see themselves as deviant despite what anyone else may have thought (Broadhead, 1974). What really matters is which outlaws are arrested and processed by the criminal justice system (Becker, 1963). A Theoretical Critique of the Societal Reaction Approach to Deviance. Henceforth they will act in a fashion deemed "normal" (Foster & Dinitz & Reckless, 1972). Additional materials, such as the best quotations, synonyms and word definitions to make your writing easier are An example of this would be the study by Dentler and Erickson, who concluded that " groups, and society at large will frequently try to accommodate, normalize, and in general resist making an overt reaction to people exhibiting deviant behavior" (Broadhead, 1974). In such cases rehabilitative therapy and out-of-court settlements would be preferable. Unfortunately, this theory of affect labeling struggles to explain affect labeling's benefits on stimuli that do not apply to the self. An identity change will take place in which the person now accepts the label of criminal. (984), 4.9 Social Problems, Vol. Boosta Ltd - 10 Kyriakou Matsi, Liliana building, office 203, 1082, Nicosia, Cyprus. Nathaniel Ascani . Retrieved from http://studymoose.com/labeling-theory-and-its-effects-to-the-society-essay, Copying content is not allowed on this website, Ask a professional writer to help you with your text, Give us your email and we'll send you the essay you need, Please indicate where to send you the sample. This theory is most commonly associated with the sociology of crime since labeling someone unlawfully deviant can lead to poor conduct. An example is an individual who is perceived to be a drug addict. All rights reserved. Although the individuals may be determined to do things right, it may be difficult to abide by that (Becker, 1963). New York: MacGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc. Marshall, H. & Purdy, R. (1972). Does this mean that if a murder is committed where the killer has successfully avoided anyones suspicion that the act is then not criminal and the killer will not think of him/herself as such? also offered here. These theories attempt to explain why crime happens in the way thatit does and – from that – what can be done t… The Effects of Labeling Students Upon Teachers' Expectations and Intentions New York: The Free PressBroadhead, R. S. (1974). Ashley Crossman. Updated February 03, 2020. Initially the theory states that no acts are inherently criminal (Wellford, 1975). This theory explores the journey to social deviance in two stages; primary deviance and secondary deviance, which are both incorporated into Labeling Theory as well. 68, No. The biggest question one must ask when evaluating any theory is "has it been empirically validated?" This is a theory that Becker created in 1963. In a later work Lemert finally conceded that "primary deviation, is polygenetic, arising out of a variety of social, cultural, psychological, and physiological factors" (Broadhead, 1974). This paper is going to look into the components of labeling theory and its effects. An act which has been labeled as deviant or criminal is committed by a member of society. (1973). "This becomes a means of defense, attack, or adaptation to the problems caused by societal reaction to primary deviation (Lemert, 1951)". An example is a homosexual individual. The advantages of labeling can be summarized as follows: 1. These relationships were not spurious products of preexisting serious symptoms, refuting a psychiatric explanation. Labelling Theory and the Self Fulfilling Prophecy . Help. When the labeled person is unable to continue to rationalize and deny this criminal label, often as a result of altered interactions with the "audience" who consider the person in question to be criminal, they finally accept this label as a part of themselves. These are people who lead a moral ‘crusade’ to change the law in the belief that it will benefit those to whom it is applied.• The new law however has two effects:1. 19, No. Critics tended to dismiss the early work on labeling theory as unscientific. Poor results in the work place have been brought about by discrimination that an individual has received from his colleagues because of the label of a “homosexual” that he had acquired. Devia… Do they become criminals or try to "rationalize" as stated by Foster, Dinitz, and Reckless (Foster & Dinitz & Reckless, 1972)? Labelling may seem to be a trivial matter, but its effects are not trivial at all. (345). Any other statuses a person occupies are no longer heeded. In a study of a sample of 196 boys who had engaged in delinquent activities brought before a court of law, it was found that the majority of the subjects peers and parents exhibited little change in how they viewed and treated the delinquents (Foster & Dinitz & Reckless, 1972). conforming. The second is the audiences reaction to this act and subsequent treatment of the person who committed it. A. He proposes that this label becomes a persons master status, meaning that this is a constant label, affecting and over-riding how others will view them. Most any theory of criminology focusing on the individual you could care to name, there are dozens with hundreds of variants) claims. 3, 287-312.Foster, J. D., Dinitz, S. & Reckless, W. C. (1972). The third variable is currently open to debate. This is because of the effect that the theory has on an individual like in the example above of a drug addict who will be forced to engage in dangerous activities because of discrimination by the people around him/her. Labelling theorists note that most people commit crimes at some time in their lives but not everyone becomes defined as a deviant or a criminal. Labeling theory, a sociological model, ... purpose of this study is a synthesis of research related to the effects of the label. Being a homosexual may not have an effect on an individual’s professional life, but if his colleagues become aware of that fact, it may be difficult for the said person to comfortably work therefore his work will also suffer as a result. So how does this process of defining a person as deviant work? Their claims cannot be justified because there is a possibility that the individual may not be what the society perceives him/her to be. The Danger of Labeling Others (or Yourself) A new study shows the surprising power of our core attitudes. Because the person now thinks of him/herself as a criminal, he/she is now likely to continue in his/her criminal behavior (Becker, 1963). Students looking for free, top-notch essay and term paper samples on various topics. Rather than taking the definition of crime for granted, labelling theorists are interested in how certain acts come to be defined or labelled as criminal in the first place. When leading to secondary deviance, this criminal label is placed on an individual during what is known as a "degradation ceremony" in which the accused is officially labeled as a criminal. Thoughcriminology is not a formal part of the police officer exam, it nonetheless isa subject that every aspiring officer should study. Perhaps a court declaration or letter that the offender is hereby rehabilitated could be used after the offender has served his/her punishment (Broadhead, 1974). It is, after all, the studyof the nature, control, management, and prevention of crime. Labelling people causes them to lose motivation and self-esteem as it closes the mind of the person who sticks the label. Social Reaction (Labeling) Theory: Pros, Cons, and Effects On Society, Publish your own unique high quality original work and get rewarded with great exposure, our community is a great friendly place so join us now, Publish professional web pages about your favourite topics. For the sake of argument, if self labeling is possible and a person has obtained a self-initialized criminal master status/label, how do they react to it? Labeling theory holds that society, by placing labels on juvenile delinquents, stigmatizes them, leading to a negative label for a youth to develop into a negative self-image. For instance, the regulatory effects of labeling external stimuli, such as faces or aversive images presented during an experiment, are unlikely to be explained by a self-reflective process. 4, 541-553.Scimecca, J. Social Problems, Vol. New York, NY: The Free Press Becker, H. S. (1964). Posted Jun 13, 2014 Secondary deviance has only occurred when both society and the individual share the view that the offender is a criminal. Don’t waste Your Time Searching For a Sample, Get Your Job Done By a Professional Skilled Writer. The results of this stigmatization is a self-fulfilling prophecy in which the offenders come to view themselves in the same ways society does. 465-466) because individuals that have been labelled seek others that are like them, to gain support and eventually they form …show more content… It also brings out the linguistic tendency of the majority in society to label those who are perceived to be minority or with behaviors different from the rest, negative labels. It would be presumptuous to say that this theory is not testable as several studies have been performed in attempts to see how greatly labeling theory affects different portions of the populace. Sometimes the persons criminal master status may compel them to conform more closely to societys norms in an attempt to show others that the person may have made mistakes in life, but such mistakes will not happen again. This is secondary deviance. Labeling enables professionals to communicate with one another because each categorical label … It may lead to increased crime rate among individuals and society. An example of this would be an exotic dancer, who while labeled as deviant, does not consider herself so by claiming it is a legal profession that she must perform in order to maintain an income. Labeling theory provides a distinctively sociological approach that focuses on the role of social labeling in the development of crime and deviance. In this way it is possible to use labeling theory in a more productive manner. The implications of this being that criminal law is dynamic and ever-changing, differing from society to society. Though these children did experience feelings of stigmatization from members of law enforcement, having undergone the degradation ceremony in a court of law, they reported these feelings were negligible compared to those whose family members no longer viewed them in the same light. As one might expect, this aspect of Labeling Theory is still being debated. The status people use to identify and classify a person will always be that of a criminal. As it has already been explained, if the audience doesnt know of the crime then this is as far as the process goes. Such an identity change could be signaled by a person losing contact with their former conformist friends and beginning to associate with other criminal labeled deviants (Becker, 1963). He claims that many laws are established for such purposes, and that behavior that is defined as criminal is dynamic and changes throughout time. Labelling theory sees deviance as … In fact, they can be very harmful. In addition to lower expectations, the student may develop low self-esteem and experience issues with peers.Low Self-EsteemLabeling students can create a sense of learned helplessness. There have been plenty of studies which evaluate the conclusion of this process, how criminals view themselves both in the primary and secondary deviance stages. The results of these studies are somewhat mixed in that some provide weak validation for this theory given certain circumstances, the strongest of which being the study of delinquent behavior in children by Foster, Dinitz, and Reckless who had experienced primary deviance and stigmatization to a small degree (Foster & Dinitz & Reckless, 1972). Social Problems, Vol. Since then criminologists have been, at the very least, skeptical. References Becker, H. S. (1963). In 1966 Erikson expanded labeling theory to include the functions of deviance, illustrating how societal reactions to deviance stigmatize the offender and separate him or her from the rest of society. Because of this stigmatization, the individual may end up loosing the job and could not be able to secure a decent job in any other place. Secondary deviance, according to Lemert, occurs when a person finally accepts the deviant or criminal label into their self image. First, is the view that people tend to behave the way they are labelled. It is easy to understand and can be quickly explained, breaking down all criminal behavior into primary and secondary deviance with a few simple statements for each. Murder, rape, arson, armed robbery. Through either a personal audience such as family or friends, or a formal one such as a court of law the person undergoes a degradation ceremony which labels the person deviant. The implications of the study results suggest that two things can be done in order to help prevent labeling theory from having negative effects on people whove broken the law. All these are considered crimes in any society or country one could care to name. While many have speculated about the impact of labels in the job market, research still needs to firmly establish the existence of independent labeling effects (Pasternoster and Jovanni Inherent in labelling theory is the notion that deviance depends much upon who, what and how an act or individual is defined as deviant. The one aspect of this theory that could be regarded positively is that it is very parsimonious. Durkheim found that crime is not so much a violation of a penal code as it is an act that outrages society. 4.9 Thus if a student is labelled a success, they will succeed, if they are labelled a failure, the will fail. According to this theory, the stigmatizing or negative labels given to these individuals have a significant effect on them such that some of the individuals may proceed to being deviant (Becker, 1964). 4, 652-659.Wellford, C. (1975). Your Answer is very helpful for Us Thank you a lot! We've changed a part of the website. Social Pathology. In part, advanced analytic techniques have become available, which allow for testing the intervening mechanisms between label and later deviancy (Bartusch & Matsueda, 1996; Gatti, Tremblay, & Vitaro, 2009; Matsue… Self Fulling Prophecy Theory argues that predictions made by teachers about the future success or failure of a student will tend to come true because that prediction has been made. 20, No. Howard Becker is hailed as the founder of modern labeling theory. Labeling Theory Labeling theory looks at the influence that the society has on the development of a certain behavior by an individual because of the society’s perception of him/her. There is one exception to this belief, however most labeling theorists claim that the system is biased toward the lower class, which constitutes the overwhelming majority of arrests and convictions within the American criminal justice system (Wellford, 1975). To better understand Labeling Theory, familiarization with Lemerts Societal Reaction Theory is beneficial. He also developed the term "moral entrepreneur" to describe persons in power who campaign to have certain deviant behavior outlawed (Becker, 1963). This is essentially primary deviance. 4, 447-458.Lemert, E. M. (1951). This leads to feelings of demoralisation and rejection. The scope of this theory is proposed to cover all criminal activity of all people regardless of different; nationality, ethnicity, social status, religion, and age (Becker, 1963). Parsimony simply asks how complex the theory is. This is a review of contemporary theory and studies published in various scholarly journals regarding the labeling effect of criminal justice system involvement at a young age on offenders. (I think this is a restatement of the definitions from earlier in the paper. Labeling theory states that people come to identify and behave in ways that reflect how others label them. But, thanks to theoretical clarity and increased availability of longitudinal data, the past few decades have witnessed an accumulation of rigorous research on the criminogenic effects of labeling. Hardcore followers of the labeling theory still assert that the personality of the individual undergoing stigmatization is irrelevant. Once labelled as deviant, the individual faces all sorts of social reactions ranging from ostracism and ridicule to pity or anger. There are several core variables, each of which is flawed, to be considered. Instead he is interested in why people choose to label their behaviour as deviant and what effect the label has (on the individual and for society). We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. Beckers work pays particular attention to the way society reacts to people with "criminal" labels. To date no study has been attempted to more accurately state the nature of these factors and how they would affect the criminals reaction to primary deviance. This theory has merit in that there is the potential for it to be incorporated into a larger, more inclusive, theory of criminology. There are a number of fundamental issues that the labelling theory attempts to explain. Way an individual people will withhold judgment and stigmatization will not occur, effectively refuting social reactions theory a! Behavioral differences that were reacted to differently by others ( or Yourself ) a new shows. 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