LABELING THEORIES

We tend to live in an ordered society. That makes it necessary to set rules and regulations, and to "label" not only the measures of conformity, but deviations from the norm. In criminology, such deviations are carefully studied- both for their origins and the results. Many recent journal articles (including the ones selected for discussion here) now tend to blur the line between sociology and criminology- assuming there was a division line in the first place. So, perhaps one should begin with what is an acknowledged definition of the labeling theory. One looks to Howard Becker as the modern developer (1963) of what he also refers to as social reaction theory in his book Outsiders: Studies in the Sociology of Deviance. His landmark book views deviance as the creation of social groups and not the quality of some act or behavior. He criticizes other theories of deviance for accepting the existence of deviance and that by doing so, accepting the values of the majority within the social group.

In the three journal articles about labeling and its theories (how it has evolved since the 1960s) we will see the role of deviance in the labeling process.

Miethe's investigation of recidivism risks in drug courts states :"On of the most perplexing issues in criminology is the relationship bet6ween social control efforts and criminal behavioraLabeling theoryaassumes that official reactions have a deviance-amplification effect throu

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nities. Third, the effects of reintegrative shaming are significantly reduced when not conducted by someone who is closely related or highly respected by the defendant. (Miethe 11) Crime and deviance are the subjects of Social Learning and Social Structure: A General Theory of Crime and Deviance by Ronald L. Akers, and reviewed by John Simpson favorably in the U. of North Carolina publication, Social Forces. Beginning in the 1960s, "a distinct style of knowledge creation was consolidated in sociology. The central defining element of this phenomenon was simple, elegant, and thoroughly modern: testable theories." (Simpson 1) Akers, in this book, the development and the expansion of the social learning theory of deviance. This theory has been (and continues to be) tested in areas including juvenile delinquency, adolescent drug, drinking, and smoking behavior; elderly drinking behavior; and sexual aggressiveness of male university students. In the past several decades, as Simpson describes it, there have been two "contenders" for sociological (and criminological) dominance- the social learning theory versus the self control theory. "The question 'Who wins?' admits no easy answer
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Approximate Word count = 1633
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)

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