Labeling Theory

The basic idea of this theory is that if an authority or institution defines a person in a particular way, then that person adapts himself according to that definition, and a corresponding change occurs in his self-respect and behavior. He tries to live up to the name or label that is attached to him. This idea was presented in 1962, and some experts supported it, stating that when a person is labeled as mentally ill, he inevitably begins to display symptoms of mental illness. Even if he becomes normal, he cannot express his normality.

In the words of one expert, social groups create deviance by formulating rules and applying them to particular individuals, thereby labeling them as outsiders. According to this viewpoint, deviance is not a quality of the act that a person commits; rather, it is the result of the rules that others apply to him. Thus, a deviant is a person on whom others have successfully affixed a label.

This theory has also been heavily criticized. Some of the main points are as follows:

• This theory is an extension of the ideas of the Chicago School. According to George Herbert Mead, the self is not a fixed entity but a continuous process that is constantly changing.
• It explains the continuation of crime after the first act of law-breaking, but it does not explain the causes behind a person’s initial violation of the law.
• A label can be applied, but it may produce results that even those who apply the label do not anticipate. Consequently, the cycle of crime continues.
• The only way left for the reform of a criminal is that a person’s deviance should not be dramatized.

From this theory, it can also be inferred that being deviant or criminal is, to a large extent, an attributed process. It reflects not only the individual’s deviant act but also society’s reaction to that act.

According to Erikson, deviance is not an inherent quality of a particular behavior; rather, it is a characteristic that others assign to an act. Thus, from a sociological perspective, the determining factor is the audience in society that decides whether a particular behavior is deviant or not.