Deck 8: Labeling Theories

Question 1

Which criminological theory does the following statement refer to? "The causes of deviant careers are to be located in the reaction of society to the initial act of deviance."

A) Control theory
B) Social disorganization theory
C) Strain theory
D) Rational theory
E) Labeling theory

Answer 1

E

Question 2

Which of the following was a key influence on labeling theory?

A) Cooley's notion of a "looking-glass self"
B) Evolutionary theory
C) Blumer's work on symbolic interactionism
D) Mead's social behaviorism
E) All of the above

Answer 2

E

Question 3

According to labeling theorists:

A) human beings are unconstrained rational actors that freely make choices.
B) the naturalist approach is most appropriate to studying criminal behavior.
C) laws and norms are the result of a societal consensus about what is right and wrong.
D) society plays a minor role in perpetuating criminal behavior.
E) free will is irrelevant because behavior is determined completely by labels.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Labeling theories struggle to explain:

A) why people keep committing crime.
B) how reactions from society serve to perpetuate criminal behavior.
C) how the dynamics of the criminal justice system and the political process contribute to the crime problem.
D) the origins of criminal behavior.
E) chronic offending.

Question 5

The dramatization of evil refers to:

A) the drama that is created in an offender's family when they commit crime.
B) the evil that results from an offender's criminal activity.
C) the tendency of society to overreact to minor forms of crime, thereby exacerbating the crime problem.
D) the tendency of offenders to view their lives as overly dramatic.
E) the notion that positive reactions to criminal behavior can create evil people.

Question 6

Which of the following is false with regard to research conducted on labeling theory?

A) Drug use is a way to fit into a group and is not a way of asserting one's individuality.
B) Although negative labels can alienate people from society, they can also open up opportunities for subcultural participation.
C) Physiological effects of drug use are mediated by individual perception, social expectations, and norms.
D) Recent research has suggested that labels are associated with structural disadvantage.
E) It has traditionally been qualitative rather than quantitative.

Question 7

Influences on policy and practice offered by labeling theory include:

A) indeterminate sentences.
B) determinate sentences.
C) probation.
D) parole.
E) decriminalization of victimless crimes.

Question 8

Net widening refers to:

A) the tendency of society to criminally label people who commit victimless crimes.
B) the notion that we could drive the crime rate down if we identified and imprisoned chronic offenders.
C) the introduction of more people into the criminal justice system through the use of diversion programs.
D) all of the above.
E) none of the above.

Question 9

Cooley borrowed his notions of the "I" and "me" from psychiatrist Sigmund Freud.

Question 10

Labeling theories became popular during the 1950s, a time of conformity and peace.

Question 11

The naturalist approach embraced by labeling theorists is a challenge to earlier positivist approaches in criminology.

Question 12

Labeling theorists are primarily interested in explaining individual criminality and tend to ignore dynamics around the emergence of criminal law.

Question 13

According to labeling theorists, there are clear differences between criminals and noncriminals.

Question 14

Primary deviance refers to the initial act of deviance and is initiated by negative reactions from others in society.

Question 15

Master status refers to a defining characteristic or trait that causes people to jump to conclusions about an individual.

Question 16

Labeling theories are best viewed as one aspect of a larger explanation of criminal behavior.

Question 17

What are the differences between the approach used by labeling theorists and approaches used by other social process theorists?

Question 18

What is master status, and how does it apply to the labeling process?

Question 19

Describe the relationship between symbolic interactionism and labeling theory.

Question 20

What is the dramatization of evil? What is the difference between primary and secondary deviance?