interationalists - crime and deviance

Question 1

What is interactionism?

Answer 1

A sociological approach that focuses on how meanings are created through social interaction.

Question 2

How does interactionism view crime?

Answer 2

Crime is socially constructed rather than naturally existing.

Question 3

What does “social construction of crime” mean?

Answer 3

An act only becomes a crime when society defines and labels it as such.

Question 4

Why are laws socially constructed?

Answer 4

Because they are created by people in power and reflect social values at a particular time.

Question 5

How can crime vary between societies?

Answer 5

Different societies have different laws, meanings, and moral standards.

Question 6

How can crime change over time?

Answer 6

Acts can become criminal or decriminalised as social attitudes change.

Question 7

What is labelling theory?

Answer 7

A theory that focuses on how being labelled as deviant can lead to further deviance.

Question 8

Who developed labelling theory?

Answer 8

Howard Becker

Question 9

What does Becker mean by “moral entrepreneurs”?

Answer 9

Powerful groups who campaign to create or enforce laws based on their values.

Question 10

What is selective enforcement?

Answer 10

When laws are applied more strictly to some groups than others.

Question 11

Why are working-class and minority groups more likely to be labelled?

Answer 11

Because of police stereotypes and power inequalities.

Question 12

What factors influence who gets labelled?

Answer 12

Appearance, background, ethnicity, age, and location.

Question 13

How does labelling affect police decisions?

Answer 13

Police may stereotype and target certain groups, increasing arrests.

Question 14

What is the negotiation of justice?

Answer 14

The idea that justice outcomes depend on interactions between suspects and authorities.

Question 15

Why might middle-class offenders avoid conviction?

Answer 15

They can use legal knowledge, confidence, and resources to negotiate outcomes.
elaborate code - bernstein

Question 16

What is primary deviance?

Answer 16

Initial rule-breaking that has not yet been labelled.

Question 17

What is secondary deviance?

Answer 17

Deviance that results from accepting a deviant label.

Question 18

What is a self-fulfilling prophecy?

Answer 18

When a label causes someone to act in ways that confirm the label.

Question 19

What is deviance amplification?

Answer 19

When attempts to control deviance actually increase it.

Question 20

How does labelling lead to deviance amplification?

Answer 20

Labels restrict opportunities, pushing individuals towards deviant groups.

Question 21

What is a strength of labelling theory?

Answer 21

It explains how power and inequality affect who is labelled deviant.

Question 22

What is a criticism of labelling theory?

Answer 22

It ignores the causes of primary deviance.

Question 23

Why is labelling theory criticised as deterministic?

Answer 23

Not everyone who is labelled accepts the label.

Question 24

What does labelling theory ignore at a wider level?

Answer 24

Structural causes such as poverty and inequality.