Course outline
Module 1
Module 1: Introduction to Howard Becker and Labelling Theory
Introduction to Howard Becker and Labelling Theory
Knowledge check
Q1. Which book by Howard Becker is most closely associated with the development of labelling theory?
- A. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life
- B. Outsiders: Studies in the Sociology of Deviance ✓
- C. Suicide: A Study in Sociology
- D. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
Why: Becker's 1963 book Outsiders: Studies in the Sociology of Deviance is the key text in which he sets out labelling theory, arguing that deviance is created by social groups applying rules to people and labelling them as outsiders.
Q2. According to Becker, where does deviance primarily reside?
- A. In the personality traits of the individual who commits the act
- B. In biological or genetic predispositions toward rule-breaking
- C. In the reactions of others who apply rules and labels to an act or person ✓
- D. In the intrinsic harmfulness of the act itself
Why: Becker argued that deviance is not a quality inherent in an act but is the consequence of the application of rules and sanctions by others. Deviance is therefore created by social audiences rather than located solely in the individual.
Q3. What term did Becker use to describe the process by which a person who has been labelled deviant comes to accept that identity?
- A. Secondary deviance
- B. Moral entrepreneurship
- C. Retrospective interpretation
- D. Master status ✓
Why: Becker used the concept of 'master status' to describe a label, such as 'criminal' or 'addict,' that overrides all other statuses a person holds. Once applied, it tends to shape how others see and treat the individual, often reinforcing deviant identity.
Q4. Which concept, closely linked to labelling theory and developed in part by Becker, refers to the rule creators and enforcers who campaign to define certain behaviours as deviant?
- A. Moral entrepreneurs ✓
- B. Status degradation ceremonies
- C. Deviant careers
- D. Anomie
Why: Becker described 'moral entrepreneurs' as individuals or groups who seek to create new rules and enforce them, such as crusaders or reformers. Their efforts help determine which behaviours society labels as deviant.
Q5. Becker's famous statement that 'deviance is not a quality of the act the person commits, but rather a consequence of the application by others of rules and sanctions' is best described as which kind of definition?
- A. A biological definition of deviance
- B. A statistical definition of deviance
- C. A reactive or interactionist definition of deviance ✓
- D. A functionalist definition of deviance
Why: Becker's definition is reactive or interactionist because it focuses on the social interaction between rule-makers, rule-enforcers, and those labelled. It contrasts with functionalist or biological accounts that treat deviance as a property of acts or individuals.
Module 2
Module 2: Deviance as a Product of Social Reaction
Deviance as a Product of Social Reaction
Knowledge check
Q1. According to Howard Becker in Outsiders (1963), deviance is best described as:
- A. An inherent quality of certain acts that makes them wrong in every society
- B. Behavior that people label as deviant when they apply rules and sanctions to an offender ✓
- C. The result of biological or psychological abnormality within the individual
- D. Any act that violates the criminal law regardless of how others respond to it
Why: Becker argued that deviance is not a quality of the act itself but the consequence of social groups creating rules and applying them to people who are labelled as outsiders.
Q2. Becker's famous phrase 'Deviance is not a quality of the act the person commits, but rather a consequence of the application by others of rules and sanctions to an offender' is associated with which approach?
- A. Functionalism
- B. Labelling theory ✓
- C. Strain theory
- D. Rational choice theory
Why: This statement is the core definition from labelling theory (interactionist perspective), which emphasizes how social reactions create deviance.
Q3. In Becker's terminology, what is a 'moral entrepreneur'?
- A. A person who profits from illegal markets
- B. A rule creator who campaigns to have certain behaviours defined as deviant ✓
- C. A offender who voluntarily confesses to a crime
- D. A social worker who rehabilitates deviants
Why: Moral entrepreneurs are individuals or groups who push for new rules, often driven by moral conviction or self-interest, leading to behaviours being labelled as deviant.
Q4. Becker's concept of 'master status' refers to:
- A. A person's highest educational qualification
- B. A status, such as being labelled a criminal or addict, that overrides all other identities ✓
- C. The legal authority held by a judge or police officer
- D. A social class position inherited from parents
Why: Master status is a dominant label that shapes how others perceive a person and often overshadows their other roles, such as worker, parent, or friend.
Q5. In Becker's framework, what typically happens after a person is labelled as deviant?
- A. They immediately stop engaging in any rule-breaking behaviour
- B. They are often drawn into a deviant career and identity, a process sometimes called secondary deviance ✓
- C. Their behaviour is always corrected through private counselling
- D. They are rarely affected because labels have little social power
Why: Becker and later labelling theorists argue that being labelled can push individuals toward accepting a deviant identity and continuing deviant behaviour, which is known as secondary deviance.
Module 3
Module 3: The Concept of Moral Entrepreneurs
The Concept of Moral Entrepreneurs
Knowledge check
Q1. In Howard Becker's labelling theory, what is a 'moral entrepreneur'?
- A. A businessperson who profits from illegal goods and services
- B. A person or group who creates and enforces rules by campaigning to define certain behaviour as deviant ✓
- C. A government official who administers criminal justice policy
- D. A deviant individual who voluntarily seeks out punishment for their actions
Why: Becker used the term 'moral entrepreneur' for people who take the initiative to create rules, promote moral crusades, and push for their enforcement, thereby shaping what counts as deviance.
Q2. Which of the following best describes Becker's view of deviance?
- A. Deviance is an intrinsic quality of certain acts that is the same across all societies
- B. Deviance is a product of individual psychological pathology
- C. Deviance is not a quality of the act itself but a consequence of rules and sanctions applied by others ✓
- D. Deviance is determined solely by the criminal law of the state
Why: Becker argued that deviance is created by society: behaviour becomes deviant when rules are applied to it and people are labelled as outsiders, rather than being inherently deviant.
Q3. According to Becker, what is the typical relationship between rule creators and rule enforcers?
- A. Rule creators are always the same people who enforce the rules
- B. Rule creators and enforcers are often different people, with enforcers acting on rules made by others ✓
- C. Enforcers always create the rules before anyone else
- D. Rules are created by accident and no one is responsible for enforcing them
Why: Becker distinguished between those who make rules (moral entrepreneurs) and those who enforce them (such as police or officials), noting that enforcers often act on behalf of rules created by others.
Q4. What does Becker mean by the term 'outsider' in labelling theory?
- A. A person who has recently moved to a new community
- B. A person who has been successfully labelled as deviant and is seen by others as breaking the rules ✓
- C. A foreign national who is not subject to local law
- D. A moral entrepreneur who operates outside official institutions
Why: Becker used 'outsider' to describe those who are judged to have violated rules and are treated as deviant, which can lead them to see themselves in that way and shape their subsequent behaviour.
Q5. Which example would Becker most likely cite to illustrate the work of a moral entrepreneur?
- A. A doctor treating a patient for a common cold
- B. A temperance movement campaigning to prohibit alcohol consumption ✓
- C. A shopkeeper recording daily sales figures
- D. A teacher marking students' homework
Why: Becker's own well-known study of marijuana users and the campaign against drugs illustrated moral entrepreneurship; a temperance movement campaigning to outlaw alcohol is a classic example of a group actively defining behaviour as deviant.
Module 4
Module 4: Outsiders: Rule Breaking and Social Groups
Outsiders: Rule Breaking and Social Groups
Knowledge check
Q1. According to Howard Becker in Outsiders (1963), where does deviance primarily come from?
- A. An individual's innate biological or psychological traits
- B. The reactions of others who label certain behaviour as deviant ✓
- C. The breakdown of family structures in poor communities
- D. The absence of clear moral rules in a society
Why: Becker argues that deviance is not a quality inherent in an act but is created through the social process of rule-making and rule-enforcement. Behaviour becomes deviant when others apply the label to it.
Q2. What does Becker mean by the term 'master status'?
- A. A status a person achieves through hard work and education
- B. A status that overrides all other statuses in how a person is viewed by others ✓
- C. A legal status granted only to those in positions of authority
- D. A status that a person chooses for themselves in a subculture
Why: A master status is a label, such as 'criminal' or 'drug addict', that dominates how others perceive an individual, often eclipsing their other roles like parent, worker, or friend.
Q3. In Becker's typology of deviance, which category describes someone who breaks rules but is not labelled as deviant by others?
- A. Pure deviant
- B. Falsely accused
- C. Secret deviant ✓
- D. Conformist
Why: Becker's typology includes the 'secret deviant', who violates norms without being detected or labelled. This shows that deviance depends on whether others notice and react to the act.
Q4. What is a 'moral entrepreneur' in Becker's labelling theory?
- A. A business owner who profits from moral products
- B. A person who campaigns to create and enforce rules against particular behaviours ✓
- C. A religious leader who forgives deviant members
- D. A criminal who organises illegal markets
Why: Moral entrepreneurs are rule creators who campaign for new rules, often driven by moral conviction or self-interest, and who push for enforcement against behaviour they oppose, such as the prohibition of marijuana in Becker's study.
Q5. Becker's study of marijuana users found that becoming a regular user often depended on what?
- A. Inheriting a genetic predisposition to drug use
- B. Learning techniques and enjoying the experience with the guidance of experienced users ✓
- C. Living in neighbourhoods with high police presence
- D. Having been diagnosed with a mental health condition
Why: Becker found that becoming a marijuana user was a learned process involving learning how to smoke, recognising effects, and learning to enjoy them, usually through interaction with experienced users, not simply through individual predisposition.
Module 5
Module 5: Primary and Secondary Deviance
Primary and Secondary Deviance
Knowledge check
Q1. According to Lemert's distinction later developed in labelling theory, what is primary deviance?
- A. Deviance that is formally recognised and punished by the state
- B. The initial, often trivial rule-breaking act that has little effect on a person's self-identity ✓
- C. Deviance committed repeatedly by a person who has fully adopted a deviant identity
- D. Deviance that is planned and carried out by organised criminal groups
Why: Primary deviance refers to the original act of rule-breaking, which is often minor and does not by itself change how the individual sees themselves or how others see them. Its significance comes from the labelling that may follow.
Q2. Howard Becker's famous statement that 'deviance is not a quality of the act the person commits, but rather a consequence of the application by others of rules and sanctions' is central to which idea?
- A. That deviant acts are biologically determined
- B. That deviance is created through the process of labelling by social groups ✓
- C. That deviance is always inherent in the nature of the act itself
- D. That deviance only exists within formal legal systems
Why: Becker argued in Outsiders (1963) that deviance is produced by society's reaction to behaviour. Whether an act counts as deviant depends on whether others apply a label to it, not on the act's intrinsic qualities alone.
Q3. What is secondary deviance in labelling theory?
- A. A minor offence committed by someone who has never been labelled
- B. Deviance that occurs as a response to, or adaptation to, the stigma and label of being deviant ✓
- C. Deviance committed by people of lower social class only
- D. Deviance that is accidental and unintended by the offender
Why: Secondary deviance arises when a person accepts the deviant label and reorganises their identity and behaviour around it. Lemert and Becker saw this as a process in which labelling can intensify and stabilise deviant careers.
Q4. Which concept, closely associated with Becker's work, describes the process by which a person comes to see themselves as a deviant and organises their life around that identity?
- A. Anomie
- B. Differential association
- C. Deviant career ✓
- D. Strain
Why: Becker used the term 'deviant career' to describe how individuals move through stages of rule-breaking, labelling, and increasing commitment to a deviant identity, often shaped by interaction with others who share that label.
Q5. In Becker's typology of deviance, which category describes people who break rules but are not labelled as deviant, and who may not regard themselves as deviant?
- A. Pure deviants
- B. Falsely accused
- C. Secret deviants ✓
- D. Conformists
Why: Becker's fourfold typology distinguishes between rule-breaking and labelling. Secret deviants break rules without being labelled or publicly identified, which shows that deviance depends on social reaction rather than the act alone.
Module 6
Module 6: Labelling, Stigma, and Identity Formation
Labelling, Stigma, and Identity Formation
Knowledge check
Q1. According to Howard Becker, deviance is best understood as:
- A. A fixed set of behaviours that are inherently harmful to society
- B. The product of rules applied by some people to others and the sanctions imposed on those who break them ✓
- C. Biological or psychological abnormality present in certain individuals
- D. Behaviour that violates the personal moral code of the individual
Why: In Outsiders (1963), Becker defines deviance as a consequence of the application of rules and sanctions to an offender. Behaviour is not deviant in itself; it becomes deviant when others label it as such.
Q2. Becker's concept of the 'moral entrepreneur' refers to:
- A. A person who profits financially from illegal activities
- B. Individuals or groups who create rules and campaign to enforce them against behaviour they find objectionable ✓
- C. Offenders who voluntarily confess to deviant acts
- D. Professional social workers who rehabilitate deviants
Why: Becker used the term for reformers and rule-creators, such as those who campaigned for marijuana prohibition, who drive the creation of new rules and the labelling of people who break them.
Q3. In Becker's framework, what is the 'master status'?
- A. A person's legal status as a citizen
- B. The status that overrides all other statuses and defines how a person is generally perceived, often a deviant label ✓
- C. The highest rank a person achieves in an organisation
- D. A status conferred by religious authority
Why: Master status is the dominant identity attached to a person, such as 'criminal' or 'addict', which tends to overshadow their other roles like parent, worker or friend.
Q4. Becker's distinction between 'secret deviance' and 'visible deviance' concerns:
- A. Whether the deviant act was planned in advance
- B. Whether a deviant act is known to others, which affects whether a label is applied ✓
- C. Whether the deviant is aware that they are breaking a rule
- D. Whether the act is committed in public or private spaces only
Why: Becker noted that many deviant acts go unlabelled because they remain hidden. Labelling depends on the act becoming known and on who discovers it, not on the act alone.
Q5. Which term describes the stage in Becker's model where an individual begins to see themselves as a deviant and adopts the identity?
- A. Primary deviance
- B. Secondary deviance ✓
- C. Moral panic
- D. Status degradation ceremony
Why: Secondary deviance, a concept developed alongside Lemert and extended by Becker's labelling approach, occurs when a person accepts the deviant label and organises their identity and behaviour around it, often reinforcing the original deviance.
Module 7
Module 7: Critiques and Legacy of Labelling Theory
Critiques and Legacy of Labelling Theory
Knowledge check
Q1. Which critique argues that labelling theory overlooks the original causes of deviant behaviour, focusing instead on how it is responded to?
- A. It fails to explain why some people commit primary deviance in the first place ✓
- B. It treats all deviance as socially constructed, ignoring biological factors entirely
- C. It relies too heavily on quantitative survey data
- D. It assumes that deviance is always committed by the powerful against the weak
Why: Critics such as Plummer and others pointed out that labelling theory says little about the initial causes of rule-breaking (primary deviance), concentrating instead on the consequences of labelling (secondary deviance).
Q2. Which concept, closely associated with Becker's work, describes a person who is seen by others, and comes to see themselves, primarily through a deviant label?
- A. Moral entrepreneur
- B. Master status ✓
- C. Folk devil
- D. Moral panic
Why: Becker introduced the idea of master status, where a deviant label overrides other social identities, shaping how a person is treated and how they see themselves.
Q3. A common criticism of labelling theory is that it can be seen as romanticising deviants. What is the core of this objection?
- A. It portrays deviants as passive victims of labelling, ignoring cases where they actually commit harmful acts ✓
- B. It argues that deviance never has social consequences
- C. It insists that all laws are morally correct
- D. It claims that police officers never make mistakes
Why: Critics argued that by focusing on the injustice of labelling, the theory can downplay the real harm caused by some deviant acts and cast offenders merely as victims of social reaction.
Q4. Which later sociologist is associated with the critique that labelling theory fails to account for the power of the state and social structure in defining deviance?
- A. Talcott Parsons
- B. Auguste Comte
- C. Emile Durkheim
- D. Ian Taylor, Paul Walton and Jock Young (the 'new criminology' writers) ✓
Why: Taylor, Walton and Young, in The New Criminology (1973), argued that labelling theory was insufficiently political, neglecting how class, power and economic structures shape who gets labelled and why.
Q5. Which of the following is an important legacy of labelling theory in contemporary criminology and sociology?
- A. It rejected the study of social reaction altogether
- B. It shifted attention to how rules are created and enforced, and to the consequences of being labelled ✓
- C. It proved that deviance is entirely genetic
- D. It ended the use of qualitative research methods
Why: Labelling theory redirected criminology toward the study of rule creation, enforcement and the social consequences of labels, influencing later work on stigma, policing, and restorative justice.