SOC 2080 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Personal Development, Labeling Theory, Deinstitutionalisation

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 2080
• Professor: Patrick Parnaby

Document Summary

There are many relevant factors pertaining to the degree to which a label will stick to somebody. Severity of reaction the more severe society"s reaction to the deviant act, the stickier the label is going to be. Publicity of reaction the degree to which the label has become public or become widely known; the more public the label, the stickier the label. Visibility of infraction whether the deviant act was visible, and if so, how visible it was; the more visible the act, the stickier. Degree of consensus over the label the higher degree of consensus among society, the stickier. Herman and miall found that labels can also have positive effects on the individual in question. Therapeutic effect labels like addict , alcoholic , mentally ill can be a turning point in the offender"s life, leading to treatment opportunities. Personal growth certain labels can facilitate self-reflection and understanding.