Interactionist Perspective on Crime & Deviance | Sociology for GCSE/IGCSE - Year 11 PDF Download

Key Thinker: Becker (1997) Causes of Crime

Interactionism and Deviance

Interactionism examines how interactions between individuals shape behavior. Becker (1963), writing from an interactionist perspective, argued that an act is deemed deviant based on:

• Whether others, such as police or teachers, label it as such.
• Society’s reaction to the act.
• Rule-making by powerful social groups.

Becker emphasized small-scale human interactions, negative labeling, and the role of a self-fulfilling prophecy in shaping deviance.

How Deviance is Created

Deviance is a product of societal processes, where certain social groups with power create and enforce rules. These groups, due to their social position, can label others as "outsiders." Power dynamics are influenced by factors like age, gender, ethnicity, and class. For example:

• Adults set rules for youth and can label them as "typical offenders."
• The bourgeoisie wield influence over the proletariat to shape laws.
• Police profiling disproportionately targets Black and Asian individuals during stop-and-search practices.

Some acts, like anti-social behavior by youths, are treated more leniently, while others, like murder, result in individuals being labeled as true outsiders. The application of a deviant label depends on:

• Who commits the act.
• When and where it occurs (e.g., a soldier killing in war is seen as acceptable, unlike a civilian doing the same).
• Who observes the act and who feels harmed by it.

Thus, interactionism suggests that while many people commit criminal acts, only some are caught and labeled as deviant, depending on context and social power dynamics.

Deviant Careers

Becker explored how individuals develop "deviant careers" over time through a series of steps:

1. Labeling by Agents of Social Control: Authorities like police or courts apply a deviant label that sticks. For example, a young man uses alcohol to cope and is caught drunk in public, earning the label of "drunkard."
2. Master Status: The label becomes the individual’s primary identity, shaping how others perceive and treat them. The man is now seen as the local "drunkard."
3. Assumptions and Stereotyping: Others assume the individual has negative traits associated with the label. The man is suspected of stealing to support his habit, leading to rejection by family and friends and job loss.
4. Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: The individual internalizes the label, seeing themselves as deviant. The man may turn to shoplifting or petty theft to sustain his alcohol use.
5. Social Rejection and Subculture Formation: Rejection from mainstream groups pushes the individual toward deviant groups with shared experiences. The man joins a group of alcoholics, identifies with them, and learns how to evade trouble and obtain alcohol illegally. This completes the deviant career as the individual fully integrates into a deviant subculture.

Criticisms of Interactionism

• It does not explain why individuals engage in deviant behavior before being labeled.
• It portrays criminals as passive victims of labeling (e.g., by teachers or media) rather than as individuals who choose to commit crimes.
• It shifts blame from perpetrators, potentially excusing criminal behavior.
• It is deterministic, suggesting that a deviant career is inevitable once a label is applied.
• Structural theories like functionalism and Marxism argue that interactionism ignores the broader influence of social structures on behavior.
• Marxists criticize interactionism for overlooking power inequalities between social classes as a root cause of crime.
• The New Right perspective argues that some ethnic groups are socialized into an "underclass" culture that normalizes criminal behavior, which interactionism fails to address.