Sociology 2266A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Edwin Sutherland, Labeling Theory, Symbolic Interactionism
20 Jan 2017
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
How people interpret and define their social reality and the meanings they attach interactions. People act toward objects in their lives according to the meanings of those objects to them. The meanings of objects to individuals emerge from interactions with other people. These meanings are applied and modified as individuals interpret particular situations. Not the act, but the label that others attach to the act. Tagging: tag someone with a label/apply a label to someone. Dramatization of evil: you"re moving from an evil act, and now saying that is an evil person. Self-fulfilling prophecy (tannenbaum): that you eventually believe your identity is true; internalize stigma. One of the most crucial steps in the process of building a stable pattern of deviant behaviour is likely to be the experience of being caught and publicly labeled as deviant. Treating a person as though he were generally rather than specifically.
