A theory developed by Howard S. Becker in his 1963 book Outsiders, holding that deviance is not a quality inherent in an act or a person but the result of others successfully labeling that act or person as deviant. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Core ClaimSourced to the subject's own accountDeviance is created by social response and labeling, not by any inherent quality of the act or the person. 1 Origin YearSourced to the subject's own account Standing CritiqueSourced to the subject's own accountCritics, addressed by Howard Becker himself in a 1973 response, argue labeling theory fails to explain the origin of deviant behavior and only accounts for its consequences once a label has been applied. 1 Connections
Developed By
Source Wikipedia: Edwin Lemert
Source Wikipedia: Frank Tannenbaum
Source Wikipedia: Howard S. Becker
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Howard S. Becker
Outsiders 1973 chapter, response to critics
Becker responds to critics who argue that labeling theory fails to provide an etiological explanation of deviance or an explanation of how individuals come to commit deviant acts in the first place.
Lead section
Becker's 1963 book Outsiders provided the foundations for labeling theory.
- Developed By: Howard S. Becker
In Group: Learning, Neutralization and Labeling Theories, Lead sentence
Becker's 1963 book Outsiders provided the foundations for labeling theory.
View the SourceWikipedia: Edwin Lemert
Developed By: Edwin Lemert, Main body, quoting Lemert's own definition of secondary devianceQuote, Developed By: Edwin Lemert, Main body, quoting Lemert's own definition of secondary deviance
his deviation is secondary
Wikipedia: Frank Tannenbaum
Developed By: Frank Tannenbaum, Legacy sectionQuote, Developed By: Frank Tannenbaum, Legacy section
His conception of the 'Dramatization Of Evil' led to the further development of the symbolic interactionist labeling theory, widely used in both sociology and social psychology.
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