3/28/2023 0 Comments Labelist 10![]() ![]() As a result, those from lower-classes and minority communities are more likely to be labeled as criminals than others, and members of these groups are likely to be seen by others as associated with criminality and deviance, regardless of whether or not they have been formally labeled as a criminal. Once arrested, these individuals face more severe sentences regardless of the seriousness of the offense (Bontrager, Bales, and Chiricos, 2007). Lower-class people and those from minority groups are more likely to be involved with police interventions, and when those from minority groups are involved in police interventions, they are more likely to lead to an arrest, accounting for the nature and seriousness of the offense (Warden and Shepard, 1996). ![]() Those with criminal labels are distrusted and distained widely, and individuals may believe that criminals are completely unable to behave morally.Īny misbehavior may be explained entirely by how that individual is labeled as a criminal (Travis, 2002). ![]() That is to say, that a label of deviance (such as being a criminal) can become one that overtakes one’s entire identity. These sociologists define stigma as a series of specific, negative perceptions and stereotypes attached to a label (Link and Pelan, 2001), which can be evident in and transmitted by mass-media or the everyday interactions people have between themselves.Īccording to Becker (1963), “To be labeled a criminal carries a number of connotations specifying auxiliary traits characteristic of anyone bearing the label.” Sociologists generally agree that deviant labels are also stigmatizing labels (Bernburg, 2009). Stigma and Discrimination: The Roots of Labeling Theory Stigma and Discrimination: The Roots of Labeling Theory.Labeling theory stems from the school of symbolic interactionism, which believes that an individual’s sense of self is formed by their interactions with and the labels ascribed to them by other people. The premise of Labeling Theory is that, once individuals have been labeled as deviants, they face new problems stemming from their reactions to themselves and others to the stereotypes of someone with the deviant label (Becker, 1963 Bernburg, 2009). David Rosenhan’s study “ On Being Sane in Insane Places ” (1973) provides a striking demonstration of the power of labeling and the importance of context. Labeling theory recognizes that labels will vary depending on the culture, time period, and situation.It has been criticized for ignoring the capacity of the individual to resist labeling and assuming that it is an automatic process.The central feature of labeling theory is the self-fulfilling prophecy, in which the label corresponds to the label in terms of delinquent behavior.Howard Becker’s (1963) idea is that deviance is a consequence of external judgments, or labels, that modify the individual’s self-concept andĬhange the way others respond to the labeled person.Labeling theory is associated with the work of Becker and is a reaction to sociological theories which examined only the characteristics of the deviants, rather than the agencies which controlled them.Labeling theory is an approach in the sociology of deviance that focuses on the ways in which the agents of social control attach stigmatizing stereotypes to particular groups, and the ways in which the stigmatized change their behavior once labeled. ![]()
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