Interactionist Explanations of Crime

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Interactionist Explanations of Crime

Interactionists believe in labelling.

Labelling

Interactionists believe in labelling.
This is where people or acts are given a tag that defines them as deviant based on the time, place, culture etc.
They look at people’s relationships and try to establish what is perceived as crime and how people react to it.

Example

Findings of the BCS (British Crime Survey):
- Young black males are stopped and searched more often in comparison to any other group because police seem to think it is more likely for them to engage in criminal activities.

Criticisms of interactionist explanations

They put the blame on those who define an act as deviant rather than the deviant person.
They believe that an act isn’t deviant until others perceive it as such.
They don’t explain why one becomes deviant.

Labelling Theory (Becker, 1963)

Becker was an interactionist who believed in labelling.
Becker H S, Outsiders, New York, The Free Press, 1963.

Becker

Becker was an interactionist who believed in labelling.
He believed that once a label (such as 'delinquent' or 'criminal') is attached to someone, it is likely that they will live up to this label.
This is known as a self-fulfilling prophecy; even if they don't want to become this, they cannot shake the label and they become it.
Interactionists study the effect of individuals’ interactions on their behaviour.

Interactionism and deviance

Because he was an interactionist, Becker believed that an act only becomes deviant when others define it as such.
I.e. who commits the act, when and where it is committed, who observes it, and the negotiation between the actors involved in the interaction.
He thought that all these factors come together to determine whether the deviant/criminal label will be applied.

Example

For example, the actions of young people that are convicted for breaking the law, lead to those young people to be labelled.
The agents of social control, e.g. the police and the courts, have the power to make the label stick.
This label then becomes a master status, i.e a label that overrides all the other labels that one has, and this eventually affects how others see them.

Self-fulfilling prophecy

As a consequence the individuals will live up to this label, producing a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The individual who has been labelled as deviant is rejected from society because of negative assumptions about their future behaviour; which may then encourage further deviance, which leads to a deviant career.

Deviant subculture

This might lead him to join an organised deviant group by forming a deviant subculture, which develops beliefs and values which justify and support deviant behaviours.

1The Sociological Approach

1.1Introduction to Sociology

1.1.1What is Sociology?

1.1.2Culture & Socialisation

1.2Sociological Approaches

1.2.1Marxism

1.2.2Marxism 2

1.2.3Functionalism

1.2.4Feminism

1.3The Consensus vs. Conflict Debate

1.3.1The Consensus vs. Conflict Debate

1.3.2End of Topic Test - The Sociological Approach

2Families

2.1Functions of Families

2.1.1Functionalist Views on Family

2.1.2Marxist Views on Family

2.1.3Feminist Views on Family

2.2Family Forms

2.2.1What is a Family?

2.2.2Nuclear Family

2.2.3Families in a Global Context

2.2.4The Rapoports & Family Diversity

2.2.5Causes of Family Diversity

2.2.6End of Topic Test - Family Forms

2.3Conjugal Role Relationships

2.3.1Conjugal Roles

2.4Changing Relationships Within Families

2.4.1Timeline

2.4.2Domestic Abuse

2.4.3Symmetrical Family

2.5Criticisms of Families

2.5.1Functionalist Views of Families

2.5.2Marxist Views of Families

2.5.3Feminist Views of Families

2.5.4Declining Marriage Rate

2.5.5End of Topic Test - Criticisms of Families

2.6Divorce

2.6.1Reasons For Rise in Divorce Rate

2.6.2Consequences of Divorce

2.6.3Functionalist Views

2.6.4Marxist Views

2.6.5Feminist Views

2.6.6End of Topic Test - Divorce

3Education

3.1Roles & Functions of Education

3.1.1The Functionalist Approach

3.1.2Evaluating Different Perspectives

3.1.3Types of School

3.1.4Alternative Education

3.1.5State & Private Schools

3.2Processes Within Schools

3.2.1Internal Processes

3.2.2External Processes

3.3Educational Achievement

3.3.1Measuring Educational Success

3.3.2Social Class & Education

3.3.3Social Class & External Factors

3.3.4Gender & Education

3.3.5Ethnicity & Education

3.3.6Parental Choice

3.3.7History of UK Education Policy

3.3.8Recent UK Education Policy

3.3.9End of Topic Test - Education

4Crime & Deviance

4.1The Social Construction of Crime

4.1.1Defining Crime & Deviance

4.1.2Sociological Explanations of Crime

4.1.3Interactionist Explanations of Crime

4.1.4Alternative Explanations of Crime

4.2Social Control

4.2.1Informal Social Control

4.2.2Formal Social Control

4.2.3End of Topic Test - Social Construction of Crime

4.3Criminal & Deviant Behaviour

4.3.1Explanations of Crime

4.3.2Social Class & Crime

4.3.3Gender & Crime

4.3.4Ethnicity & Crime

4.3.5Age & Crime

4.3.6Criminal Responsibility

4.3.7The Prison System

4.3.8Media Reporting of Crime

4.3.9Functionalist Explanations of Crime

4.4Data on Crime

4.4.1Measuring Crime

4.4.2End of Topic Test - Criminal & Deviant Behaviour

5Social Stratification

5.1Social Stratification

5.1.1What is Social Stratification?

5.1.2Functionalism

5.1.3Socio-Economic Class

5.1.4Socio-Economic Class 2

5.1.5Life Chances

5.1.6The Affluent Worker

5.1.7End of Topic Test - Social Stratifictaion

5.2Poverty as a Social Issue

5.2.1Defining Poverty

5.2.2Factors Affecting Poverty

5.2.3Explanations of Poverty

5.2.4Impact of Globalisation

5.2.5End of Topic Test - Poverty as a Social Issue

5.3Power & Authority

5.3.1Weber

5.3.2Sociological Perspectives

5.3.3Power Relationships

5.3.4End of Topic Test - Power & Authority

6Sociological Research Methods

6.1Research Methods

6.1.1Research Design

6.1.2The Scientific Method

6.1.3Other Considerations

6.1.4Primary Sources

6.1.5Secondary Sources

6.1.6Surveys

6.1.7Sampling

6.1.8Questionnaires

6.1.9Interviews

6.1.10Observation

6.1.11Statistics

6.1.12Case Studies

6.1.13Longitudinal Studies

6.1.14Ethnography

6.1.15Experiments

6.1.16Small Scale Research

6.1.17End of Topic Test - Research Methods

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