This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Labeling theory" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR(March 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
A brief representation of the idea behind labeling theory
Labeling theory posits that self-identity and the behavior of individuals may be determined or influenced by the terms used to describe or classify them. It is associated with the concepts of self-fulfilling prophecy and stereotyping. Labeling theory holds that deviance is not inherent in an act, but instead focuses on the tendency of majorities to negatively label minorities or those seen as deviant from standard cultural norms.[1] The theory was prominent during the 1960s and 1970s, and some modified versions of the theory have developed and are still currently popular. Stigma is defined as a powerfully negative label that changes a person's self-concept and social identity.[2]
Labeling theory is closely related to social-construction and symbolic-interaction analysis.[2] Labeling theory was developed by sociologists during the 1960s. Howard Saul Becker's book Outsiders was extremely influential in the development of this theory and its rise to popularity.
Labeling theory is also connected to other fields besides crime. For instance there is the labeling theory that corresponds to homosexuality. Alfred Kinsey and his colleagues were the main advocates in separating the difference between the role of a "homosexual" and the acts one does. An example is the idea that males performing feminine acts would imply that they are homosexual. Thomas J. Scheff states that labeling also plays a part with the "mentally ill". The label does not refer to criminal but rather acts that are not socially accepted due to mental disorders.
^Source Wikipedia. 2013. Labeling Theory: Social Constructionism, Social Stigma, Deinstitutionalisation, George Herbert Mead, Howard S. Becker, Labelling. General Books LLC. ISBN 9781234583347
^ abMacionis, John, and Linda Gerber. 2010. Sociology (7th ed.). London: Pearson Education Canada.
stereotyping. Labelingtheory holds that deviance is not inherent in an act, but instead focuses on the tendency of majorities to negatively label minorities...
and football hooliganism). Labelingtheory refers to an individual who is labeled by others in a particular way. The theory was studied in great detail...
In the mathematical discipline of graph theory, a graph labeling is the assignment of labels, traditionally represented by integers, to edges and/or vertices...
status). Discrimination, in labelingtheory, takes form as mental categorization of minorities and the use of stereotype. This theory describes difference as...
to describe someone who has broken a law. Labellingtheory is a theory in sociology which ascribes labelling of people to control and identification of...
themselves instead of the nature of the person. The essential notion of labelingtheory is that deviance and conformity result not so much from what people...
being labeled. This theory has been tremendously criticized for not being able to explain what causes deviance early on. However, the labelingtheory's main...
or label them, and their reactions to these labels over time form the basis of their self-identity. It is only through the social process of labeling that...
positions as advocates, consumers, or even agents of change. In response to theory based on medicalisation being insufficient to explain social processes,...
those statuses. Additionally, labelingtheory can play a role in ascribed status and self-esteem as well. Labelingtheory is associated with the concepts...
In criminology, the Broken Windows Theory states that visible signs of crime, antisocial behavior and civil disorder create an urban environment that encourages...
Pyrrhic defeat theory /ˈpɪrɪk/ is the idea that those with the power to change a system, benefit from the way it currently works. In criminology, pyrrhic...
alternatives conceptualisations in terms of labelingtheory viewing illness as a social construction to label socially deviant as inferior, with the medical...
in isotopic labeling may be stable nuclides or radionuclides. In the latter case, the labeling is called radiolabeling. In isotopic labeling, there are...
subcultural theory emerged from the work of the Chicago School on gangs and developed through the symbolic interactionism school into a set of theories arguing...
social control theory, subcultural theory, strain theory, differential association, and labelingtheory. Subfields of criminology and related fields of...
exacerbated individuals' illness: proponents of labelingtheory claim that individuals who are socially "labeled" as mentally ill suffer stigmatization and...
In graph theory, a graceful labeling of a graph with m edges is a labeling of its vertices with some subset of the integers from 0 to m inclusive, such...
behavior. The differential association theory is the most talked about of the learning theories of deviance. This theory focuses on how individuals learn to...
psychology and across other disciplines, different conceptualizations and theories of stereotyping exist, at times sharing commonalities, as well as containing...
Global Information
