In this essay I will talk about labelling theory‚ a criminological method of explaining how people get labelled by other people in particular manner‚ as a response to the way they present themselves to the society by the way the act or how they dress. I will attempt to outline and explain the main features of labelling theory‚ as well as critically assess those features in an attempt to outline its strengths and weaknesses. Key terms: Labelling theory- it is a theory explaining how a person’s self-identity
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One problem is that no one is quite sure what causes depression. Everyone knows‚ or will likely know one day‚ what it feels like to be depressed. This is why depression is often referred to as "the common cold of mental illness." This essay examines the main features of the labelling theory and how this has contributed to the study of anxiety and depression. It aims to summaries modern perceptions of mental health as depicted in two recent newspaper articles. It will also discuss contributing
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the looking glass self is that people define themselves according to society ’s perception of them (www.d.umn.edu ). Cooley ’s ideas‚ coupled with the works of Mead‚ are very important to labeling theory and its approach to a person ’s acceptance of labels as attached by society. George Mead ’s theory is less concerned with the micro-level focus on the deviant and more concerned with the macro-level process of separating the conventional and the condemned (Pfohl 1994). In Mind‚ Self‚ and Society
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Labeling theory had its origins in Suicide‚ a book by French sociologist Émile Durkheim. He found that crime is not so much a violation of a penal code as it is an act that outrages society. He was the first to suggest that deviant labeling satisfies that function and satisfies society ’s need to control the behavior. As a contributor to American Pragmatism and later a member of the Chicago School‚ George Herbert Mead posited that the self is socially constructed and reconstructed through the interactions
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Does School ’Socialise ’ Children? By Susan Wight‚ Bendigo‚ Victoria‚ Australia One of the meanings of the term "socialisation" is the process by which the accepted culture is passed on to the next generation. For centuries this process was a natural one performed by families and an increasingly wider circle as children grew to adulthood. Children learnt about the world by living and working in it. The culture passed on was always relevant to the particular child and the community in which
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LABELING THEORY Labeling theory‚ which is also known as social reaction theory‚ explains how criminal careers are based on destructive social interactions and encounters. EVOLUTION OF THE LABELING THEORY- Howard Becker developed his theory of labeling in the 1963 book Outsiders: Studies in the Sociology of Deviance. Becker’s theory evolved during a period of social and political power struggle that was amplified within the world of the college campus. Liberal political movements were embraced by
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The labelling theory was a hypothesis proposed and developed by sociologists including Howard Becker and Edwin Lemert in the 1960’s. Eventhough Howard Becker became to successor of this theory‚ is was Edwin Lemert who had proposed the main concepts of labelling. It wasn’t until around 10 years later in the 1970’s that this theory became more prominent and developed. It is a theory of how the determination of an individuals behaviour or self identity‚ can be influenced greatly by terms used to classify
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Labelling theory is a concept where by an individual’s behaviour is constructed by the words that society use to classify and identify them as. It is proposed that the labelling theory states that deviance is not characteristic to an action of the individual; but is formulated by the powerful majorities that categorises certain behaviours as deviant‚ which goes against the standard norms of the society (Becker‚ 1963). In essence the crucial point in the labelling theory is that the concept of deviance
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Relevance Labelling theory proposes that deviance is socially constructed through the surrounding reactions on a certain behaviour instead of the action. In other words‚ the theory claims that behaviours are not inherently deviant on its own. But‚ instead‚ it is the reaction to the behaviour that makes it deviant. Edwin Lemert’s labelling theory distinguishes two types of deviant labelling and explains how being negatively labeled can cause long-term consequences for a person’s identity in the society
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DESCRIPTION OF HYPOTHESIS/TOPIC My hypothesis was created as we looked at labelling theory in school and closely linked it to crime. This made me think that labelling is unfair as it can affect a person’s future and social lifestyle due to them being labelled as deviant or a criminal. This topic is also a major concern for many Sociologists as they have investigated and carried out a varied amount of studies to prove the theory of labelling linked with crime. Crime is specifically associated with behaviour
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