1.
Labeling Theory
Labeling
is a process of social reaction by the "social audience," the people
in society exposed to, judging and accordingly defining (labeling) someone's
behavior as deviant or otherwise.
Labeling theory in the work of
learnt (1951), Becker (1963), and Matza (1964), as well as other writers. It is
mostly in the fields of criminology and the sociology of deviance that the
theory has been developed. A basic proposition is that deviant behavior has the
characteristics of a transaction between the deviant person and another or others.
Particular behavior is deviant because it is defined as such by groups in
society, particularly by those groups who have some power to establish that
their definitions carry weight.
Labeling
theory is a pretty simple theory that is based on social deviations which
result in the labeling of the outsider. Becker defines deviance as being
created by society. Social groups create deviance through the establishment of
social rules, the breaking of these rules results in the perpetrator being
labeled as a deviant.
Because
of the objectivity involved it is needless to say that these labels are not
always accurately applied to people. Once a label is given to an individual they
become part of all the generalizations that go with that label. For example,
some one who has been convicted of a crime might be seen as someone who has no
respect for the law. These labels also
present a self fulfilling prophecy. Being identified as a deviant, a person is
usually ostracized from conventional social groups, and therefore is forced to
become part of less desirable ones. Being a member of less desirable social
groups will only reinforce that they are a deviant, and increase their chances
of engaging in deviant behaviors. “Deviance is not a quality of the act the
person commits, but rather a consequence of the application by others of rules
and sanctions to an ‘offender’. The deviant is one whom the label has
successfully been applied: deviant behavior is behavior that people so label.
(Baker, 1963)
Labeling theorists do not like labels, but they say that labeling is a
social fact, especially when we talk about social institutions like law
enforcement, social service agencies, and mental health facilities. So
therefore they study the power of labels in our society
Labeling Activity Affects Those Labeled in Various Ways
An individual does not become
labeled as a deviant simply by breaking a rule, or even several rules. Many
people break rules, but only some are subsequently labeled. The social process
that follows the breaking of a rule may involve individuals in negotiating,
rejecting, accepting, reinterpreting or modifying. A key assume for Lemert (1972)
is whether primary deviation becomes secondary deviation.
n Edwin Lemert coined some important terms linked to the theory:
Ø Primary
deviance
Behavior that does not conform to the social
norms, but the behavior might be temporary, fleeting, exploratory, trivial, or
especially, concealed from most others. The person who commits the deviant act
does not see him/herself as deviant; put differently, it is not internalized as
a part of the person's self concept .Primary deviance is a deviant act that
provokes little reaction and has limited effect on a person’s self-esteem. The
deviant does not change his or her behavior as a result of this act.
Ø Secondary
deviance
Behavior
that does not conform to the social norms, but the behavior tends to be more
sustained over time. The person continues to do the deviant behavior even after
being caught and labeled by a social institution. The person accepts the
deviant label, incorporating it into the person's self concept. Secondary
deviance includes repeated deviant behavior that is brought on by other
people’s negative reactions to the original act of primary deviance.
2.
Control Theory
Control Theory in sociology can
either be classified as centralized or decentralized or neither. Decentralized
control is considered market control. Centralized control is considered
bureaucratic control. Some types of control such as clan control are considered
to be a mixture of both decentralized and centralized control.
Decentralized control or market
control is typically maintained through factors such as price, competition, or
market share. Centralized control such as bureaucratic control is typically
maintained through administrative or hierarchical techniques such as creating
standards or policies. An example of mixed control is clan control which has
characteristics of both centralized and decentralized control. Mixed control or
clan control is typically maintained by keeping a set of values and beliefs or
norms and traditions.
A
functionalist like Merton, U.S. sociologist Travis Hirschi assumed that the
family, school and other institutions can greatly contribute to social order by
controlling deviant tendencies in all of us. If such control is lacking or
weak, in Hirschi’s view , people will commit deviant act.
According to Hirschi, the best control
mechanism against deviance is our bond to others or by extension society. There
are four types of social bond in control theory.
1.
Attachment
The first bond is attachment
to conventional people and institution.
Teenagers for
example, may show this attachment by loving and respecting their parents,
making friends with conventional peers, liking school or working hard to
develop intellectual skills.
2.
Commitment
The second is commitment to conformity.
This commitment can be seen in the time and energy devoted to conventional
activities( getting an Education,
developing an occupational skill, improving professional status, building a
business, or acquiring a reputation for virtue )
3.
Involvement
The
third is involvement in conventional activities. Following the maxim that
“idleness is the devil’s workshop” , people keep themselves so busy doing
conventional things that they do not have time to take part in deviant
activities or even think about deviance.
4.
Belief
The fourth belief in the moral validity of
social rules. This is the conviction that the rules conventional society should
be obeyed. People may show this moral belief by respecting the laws.
Many societies
have support Hirschi,s theory that the
lack of social bond cause of deviance, but most of these studies have ignored ,
as be the effect of delinquency. Just as the loose of bond can cause the youth
to commit delinquency, delinquency can cause the youth to lose their
boned to society.
3. Conflict
Theory
Conflict theory suggests that human behavior in
social contexts results from conflicts between competing groups. The basic theory of deviance in social conflict
centers around class warfare, in which the lower classes rebel against the
upper classes who set the rules upon which society operates; laws are then
generated to settle these conflicts. Any violation of these laws is seen as a
deviant act. Conflict theory suggests that deviant behaviors result from
social, political, or material inequalities of a social group. In response to
these inequalities, certain groups will act deviantly in order to change their
circumstances, change the social structure that engendered their circumstances,
or just to “act out” against their oppressors.
Conflict theory argues that society is not best understood as a complex system striving for equilibrium but rather as a competition.
Conflict theory argues that society is not best understood as a complex system striving for equilibrium but rather as a competition.
The following are three primary assumptions of modern conflict theory:
1.
Competition:
Competition
over scarce resources (money, ) is at the heart of all
social relationships. Competition rather than consensus is characteristic of
human relationships.
2.
Structural
inequality:
Inequalities in
power and reward are built into all social structures.
Individuals and groups that benefit from any particular structure strive to
see it maintained.
3.
Revolution:
Change occurs
as a result of conflict between social class's competing interests rather than
through adaptation. It is often abrupt and revolutionary rather than evolutionary.
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