The_Labeling_Theory

The Labeling Theory Deviance, like beauty, is in the eyes of the beholder. There is nothing inherently deviant in any human act, something is deviant only because some people have been successful in labelling it so. J. L Simmons The definition of the situation implies that if you define a situation as real, it is real only in its consequences. INTRODUCTION Labelling theory, stemming from the influences of Cooley, Mead, Tannenbaum, and Lemert, has its origins somewhere within the context of the twentieth century. However, Edwin Lemert is widely considered the producer and founder of the original version of labelling theory. This paper, not a summary, provides a brief history of labelling theory, as well as, its role in the sociology of deviance. It attempts to explore the contributions made by labelling theorists, the criticism towards labelling theorists, and the discussion surrounding its reality as an actual theory. In essence, the main focus of this paper besides proving an understanding of Howard Becker, is to describe and evaluate `labelling theory` to the study of crime and deviance, by way of an in depth discussion. THEORETICAL IMAGES The theoretical study of societal reaction to deviance has been carried out under different names, such as, labelling, deviant, theory, deviance, theorists, becker, behaviour, been, social, individual, however, way, act, study, people, individuals, suggests, label, furthermore, fact, example, being, 1963, sociology, matter, labelled, criminal, society, situation, should, reaction, person, one, interaction, criticism, although