NCJ Number
45781
Date Published
1978
Length
53 pages
Annotation
THE BASES, THEORETICAL AND RESEARCH, OF THE LABELING PERSPECTIVE OF SOCIAL DEVIANCE ARE PRESENTED: LABEL ORIGIN, SOCIAL REACTION CONTINGENCIES, AND THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE REACTIONS ARE EMPHASIZED.
Abstract
THE RATHER AMORPHOUS ENTITY WHICH CONSTITUTES LABELING THEORY HAS BECOME A MAJOR SCHOOL OF DEVIANCE THOUGHT IN THE PAST 15 YEARS. IT IS REVOLUTIONARILY DIFFERENT FROM PREVIOUS ORIENTATIONS TOWARDS DEVIANCE IN THAT DEVIANT BEHAVIOR IS DEFINED AS ANY ACT THAT THE MEMBERS OF A SOCIAL SETTING LABEL AS DEVIANT; SIMILARLY, A DEVIANT IS ONE TO WHOM THE LABEL HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY APPLIED. IN ESSENCE, LABELING THEORISTS HAVE ARGUED AGAINST THE POSITIVISTIC AND NORMATIVE APPROACHES WHICH DIVORCE DEVIANCE FROM THE CONTEXT OF EVERYDAY LIFE AND WHICH ERR IN CONTENDING THAT THERE EXIST HOMOGENEOUS GROUPS OF SOCIAL CONTROL GROUPS AND THAT RULE-BREAKING AND DEVIANCE ARE ANALAGOUS CONCEPTS. WHILE NORMS AND LABELS ARE RELATED, THEY MAY NOT BE EQUATED. BOTH NORMS AND LABELS ARE NECESSARY CONDITIONS OF DEVIANCE, BUT NEITHER ARE SUFFICIENT, BECAUSE THE IMPUTATION OF DEVIANCE IS ALSO REQUIRED. FOUR TYPES OF LABELS MAY BE IDENTIFIED: PUBLIC OR PRIVATE, DEVIANT OR NONDEVIANT LABELS. THE TYPE OF LABELING IS DEPENDENT ON THE SOCIAL CONTEXT, FOR INSTANCE A CHILD MAY BE CONSIDERED RETARDED IN SCHOOL AND NORMAL IN HIS OWN NEIGHBORHOOD. IN ADDITON, OPINIONS AS TO WHAT CONSTITUTE DEVIANCE MAY CHANGE OVER TIME OR ACROSS CULTURES OR SUBCULTURES. SEVERAL BROAD CONTINGENCIES OF SOCIAL REACTION TO THE INDIVIDUAL INCLUDE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ACTOR, (1.E., SEX, RACE, AGE, APPEARANCE, ETC.), THE PERCEIVER OF THE ACTOR, AND THE ACT; THE MANNER IN WHICH THE LABELING OCCURS; THE SEVERITY OF THE ACT; THE AUDIENCE INVOLVED; THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE VICTIM; AND THE ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH THE ACT OCCURS. THUS ANY COMPLETE EXAMINATON OF THE INFLUENCE OF CONTINGENCIES ON THE LABELED INDIVIDUAL MUST INCLUDE AN EXAMINATION OF BOTH INDEPENDENT FACTORS AND VARIABLES AND THEIR INTERACTIVE EFFECTS. ONCE LABELED, THE LABEL ITSELF INTERACTS WITH THE RELEVANT VARIABLES IN SUCH A MANNER THAT A DEVIANT IDENTITY CAN LEAD TO COMMITMENT TO A CAREER OF RULE-BREAKING. FURTHER, REACTION MAY BE FUNCTIONAL FOR THE SYSTEM BY MAINTAINING NORMATIVE BOUNDARIES AND INCREASING SOCIAL SOLIDARITY. CONSEQUENCES FOR SOCIETY MAY ALSO BE DYSFUNCTIONAL OR IRRELEVANT OR MAY BE BOTH FUNCTIONAL AND DYSFUNCTIONAL. A PARADIGM EMBODYING THE BASIC CONCEPTS, DEFINITION, SUBSTANTIVE CONCERNS, AND PROBLEMS IN A BRIEF QUESTION AND ANSWER FORMAT IS PRESENTED, AND THE NECESSITY AND UTILITY OF THIS PARADIGM OF LABELING THEORY ARE BRIEFLY DISCUSSED. A SUBSTANTIAL LIST OF REFERENCES IS INCLUDED. (JAP)