Labeling Theory: Theories of Deviance In sociology and criminology, labeling theorists were among the first to suggest that crime was not produced by inherent defects within the individual’s biology or character, but rather was a social construction. Labeling theorists suggested that crime was the result of society’s need to label certain individuals as deviant. This labeling became a self-fulfilling prophesy, to the point that the labeled individuals made their deviant label

Labeling Theory and Juvenile Crime Do we perform to expectations? One study of gifted children suggested that this was the case: in an experiment, teachers were told that certain pupils in their classroom had tested as 'gifted.' Almost immediately, the teachers began to treat these children differently, and the children began to perform at a higher standard. However, the teachers had actually been intentionally misinformed -- the children had been selected

Individuals Become Terrorists? As the costly global battle against terrorism continues, the question is constantly begged, "Why do some individuals become terrorists while others do not?" Certainly, there are some generic attributes that distinguish many individuals who are considered terrorists in the eyes of the international community, including being young and male, but the generalities tend to stop there because women and even children have also been involved in terrorist

This in turn more often than not leads the stigmatized to acquire more and more deviant and possibly criminal identities (Lanier & Henry, 1998). There can, of course, be other antecedents prior to labeling that can enhance the process of delinquency in juveniles. Mental and/or psychological impairments must also be considered as a contributing factor. Certain of these attributes can also contribute to highly suggestible levels in regards to behavior

My Views on Hate Crimes Although hate crime is often associated with some sort of violent crime motivated by a desire to hurt a group or person based on that group or person’s identity, Green, McFalls and Smith (2001) admit that hate crime is actually difficult “to define, measure and explain” (p. 479). The reason for the difficulty is that hate, in the obvious sense of a person persecuting another because

For example, the young woman knows it is wrong because her friends have spoken to her in the past about how awful stealing is. They have seen her steal before and told her that she is wrong. Among her friends, she is known as a thief. Deviance here has less to do with self-determination than the judgment of others. It is this external judgment of the audience that acts