Interactionist Perspective on Crime & Deviance (WJEC Eduqas GCSE Sociology): Revision Note

The interactionist approach to crime and deviance

• Interactionism focuses on individual and social interactions rather than social structures

• Becker (1963) wrote from an interactionist perspective and claimed that an act only becomes deviant when others define it that way

• Crime and deviance depend on:

  • who commits the act

  • when and where it happens

  • who observes it and who feels harmed by it

• Deviance is socially constructed

  • It is society’s reaction, not the act itself, that makes something deviant

• Some groups (e.g. the police, teachers, the media) have the power to define and label others as deviant

  • Becker called these people moral entrepreneurs

How deviance is created

• Certain groups have more power to make and enforce rules (rule-making and rule-applying)

• This power links to class, gender, ethnicity, and age:

  • Adults make rules for young people

  • The bourgeoisie influences laws that protect their interests

  • Police profiling leads to ethnic minorities being disproportionately stopped and searched

• Some acts are seen as more serious than others:

  • E.g., anti-social behaviour among youths is often exaggerated

  • But crimes like murder are universally condemned and create "true outsiders"

• Therefore, most people break rules at some point — but only some are caught and labelled

The ‘master status’ label

• A master status is the dominant label that overshadows all other aspects of a person’s identity

• Once someone is labelled as a “criminal” or “deviant”, this becomes the main thing others see about them

• The label affects:

  • how others treat them

  • how they see themselves (self-concept)

• E.g., once someone is seen as a thief or addict, society often refuses to see anything beyond that label

The self-fulfilling prophecy

• Once labelled, people may start acting in line with the label, even if it wasn’t true at first

• This process is known as a self-fulfilling prophecy

• Becker suggested that being labelled can push someone into a deviant career – a life where deviance becomes part of their identity

The stages of a deviant career

1. A person is caught and publicly labelled

   • E.g., a young man is caught drunk in public and labelled as a 'drunkard'

2. The label becomes their master status

   • The community sees him only as an alcoholic, not as a son or friend

3. They are rejected by family, friends, or employers

   • He loses friends and work opportunities

4. They internalise the label, accepting it as part of their identity

   • Rejected by others, he lives up to the label – stealing to buy alcohol

5. They begin associating with other deviants, learning new deviant skills and values

   • He starts hanging out with heavy drinkers and learns new deviant behaviours

6. A deviant subculture develops, where members support and reinforce each other’s deviant identity and behaviour

   • His behaviour is accepted and encouraged, strengthening his identity as a “drunkard”

Criminal stereotypes

• There are strong stereotypes about what a “typical criminal” looks like:

  • Young

  • Male

  • Working-class

  • Often from an ethnic minority background

• The media reinforce these stereotypes, influencing how the public, police, and courts view offenders.

• Official statistics can also reflect bias since they often record who gets caught and labelled, not who actually offends

The effects of labelling

• Labelling can have both personal and social effects:

  • It affects self-identity (how people see themselves)

  • It affects social reactions (how others treat them)

• Once labelled, it is hard to escape the stigma — even if the person reforms

• This can lead to:

  • further exclusion from mainstream society

  • increased deviance as people live up to the label

Criticisms

• Critics argue that interactionism doesn't explain why people commit deviant acts before being labelled

• Interactionism sees criminals as passive victims of labelling, ignoring individual choice and motivation

• The explanation is deterministic as it implies that once someone is labelled, a deviant career is inevitable

• Interactionism overlooks the influence of the social structure on behaviour

  • Marxists argue it ignores class inequalities and the role of capitalism in shaping law and enforcement

• The New Right criticise interactionism for ignoring personal responsibility and cultural factors, such as the “underclass” culture of dependency