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.
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 Cross-Tradition Connections
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