Social Deviance
Journal Entry 4
Labeling theory affects the individual based on what the label attached to that individual is and can lead to the individual to conform to the label's expectations. Individuals labeled a specific label may be blocked from opportunities and others. The referenced authors Sampson and Laub are stated to have researched how adolescent intervention may be more detrimental to the individual than intended and may increase their interest in deviance. Labeling an individual during a critical period as deviant may be the reason why they become deviant later in life and can reduce their access to opportunities that may better them such as employment and higher education. The lack of education leads to the lack of employment opportunities, removing the potential of having access to well paying and stable jobs. Students that are labeled deviant may be stigmatized and excluded at their school, leading to them having less access to educational opportunities. Students labeled delinquent are given harsher punishments such as suspension and expulsion. These harsher punishments lead to them losing the educational opportunities given to their peers and resulting in them losing access to stable and well-paying employment opportunities, especially when considering that employers avoid individuals who are known to be deviant. The research study hypothesized that adolescent intervention would increase the likelihood that the individual would become involved in crime, leading to the individual to experience a negative impact in their education and employment opportunities. It was found in their study that the adolescent intervention that occurred did have a negative impact on the individual's education and employment opportunities.
Similar to the book, the article does not discuss why the individual begins to become deviant. The book points out that the labeling theory does not discuss why individuals become deviant, only the social implications imposed on individuals that lead to them becoming deviant because of the negative sanctions implied on the individual. The article discusses the affects of how social influence on adolescents, specifically those who are labeled deviant but does not explore why these individuals are labeled as deviant in the first place. The book and the article do discuss how individuals labeled as deviants are reinforced as deviant and reinforce this label themselves. Adolescents that are intervened continue to act as if they are deviant because they are labeled as one. Because they act deviant, they are then punished for being deviant because of their actions, continuing the descent into deviance.