The Sociology Book

282

A

lthough many people
in society break the
law—for example, by
exceeding the speed limit or
stealing stationery from work—
only some are regarded as real
criminals. Labeling theory,
which emerged from a mistrust
of government powers in post-war
Britain and the US in the 1960s
and 70s, considers why this is so.
Proponents of labeling theory
argue that criminologists once
tended to conceptualize criminals
as types of people, asking why
particular individuals, or groups

of people, committed crime. In

contrast, labeling theory questions

why some acts are thought to

be deviant and who has the power

to label some people’s behavior

as deviant; it then examines

the impact of such labeling

on society and the individual.

Consider this example: If a

group of young, middle-class

men on a stag night are drunk

and disorderly in a town center,

the authorities are likely to

attribute their behavior to youthful

exuberance. But if a similar

disturbance is caused

by young, working-class men, they

are far more likely to be labeled

as hooligans or criminals.

According to labeling theorists,

this is because rule-makers, such

as judges and politicians, tend to

be middle or upper class and treat

the infractions of their own kind

more leniently than the deviance of

working-class people. Our concept

of deviance comes, the theorists

argue, not so much from what

people do, as how others respond to

it—labeling is a political act. This

school of thought—which has

connections with the work of Émile

HOWARD S. BECKER

Our identity and behavior

are determined by how we are

described and classified.

Powerful people

in society

define certain acts

as deviant.

So they internalize

the label and

behave accordingly.

Individuals are

found guilty of these

acts and labeled

as outsiders.

All their future

actions are tagged

with the label.

IN CONTEXT

FOCUS

Labeling theory

KEY DATES

1938 Austrian-US historian

Frank Tannenbaum argues

that criminal behavior is

the result of conflict between

one group and the community

at large.

1951 Social Pathology, by

US sociologist Edwin Lemert,

introduces the idea of primary

and secondary deviancy.

1969 Authorities create

deviant identities, says US

sociologist David Matza in

Becoming Deviant.

1976 US sociologist Aaron

Cicourel suggests that

the police operate with a

stereotype of the deviant as

a young, working-class male;

these youths are therefore far

more likely to be sentenced

than middle-class youths

who commit crimes.