Labelling Theory

Labelling theory first came about in the late sixties and 70s as a new approach to crime and aberrancy, and is a brotherly way of thinking about crime. It became the main sociological theory of crime, even though it did not try and read what exactly made pot criminal but to a greater extent than than societies reactions to crime, it looks towards ball clubs reaction to the degenerate more than to the venomous of the deviate [Williams; 2008, Pg.420]. Previously, Functionalists had discussed reasons for deviance being anomie and incorrect enculturation within an individual causing them to be unaware of loving norms and fall away from mainstream society. Marxists had blamed the anti-social acts of working class criminals on the oppression and alienation they are faced with through endure in a capitalist society. Both theories place the avowedly reason for deviance to be within an individual, whereas labelling theory go away from that. Labelling theory, therefore, swi tches the focus away from searching for the causes of crime in peoples social and psychological background, and onto understanding how deviate situations are created.

This involves understanding how behaviour is put into social contexts some(prenominal) deviant and non-deviant through a definition of a situation, severally society creates deviants and criminals by making rules whose breach will cause deviance or criminality. The rules of any particular society at any particular time are not untransferable [Williams; 2008, Pg. 421]. In terms of crime, Thomas [1923] argues that societies provide ready-made defi nitions of situations that capture people t! o both understand whats going on and, more significantly, know how to respond to this behaviour. Labelling theory developed in a time of social and political tempestuousness when umpteen kinds of ceremonious authorities were challenged, The Vietnam War was in full swing, and cultured unrest was breaking out in resistance to the war. The polished rights grounds protests were also breaking out especially...If you want to fetch a full essay, order it on our website: OrderCustomPaper.com

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