Labeling Deviant

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how the labeling perspective stresses the ways that people are labeled and stigmatized, as well as the consequences this stigmatization has on people's identity and life experiences. This paper addresses how the labeling perspective applies to individuals labeled as hyperactive or those with ADHD/ADD.

From the Paper:

"The earliest labeling theorists including Tannenbaum (1938) correctly assumed that in the process of labeling one, segregation occurs and individuals are outcast or singled out. Often as a result of this process people start engaging in the very negative behaviors people associate with the label they are provided. Lemert (1951) is among the first supporting a social reaction approach suggesting a difference exists between primary and secondary deviance. Lemert (1951) suggests that primary deviance occurs when someone doesn't view their behavior as deviant whereas secondary deviance involves an individual's acknowledgment of their status as a deviant. Primary deviance may arise from various causes, whereas secondary deviance typically arises as someone attempt to defend themselves from the attack or onslaught of others; it may further serve as a means through which someone protects or adapts to others reactions to their primary deviance or perceived negative behavior. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Adams, M.S., Gray-Ray, P., Ray, M.C. & Robertson, C.T. (2003). Labeling and delinquency. Adolescence, 38(149): 171.
• Cheung, Y.W. (1997). "Family, school peer and media predictors of adolescent deviant behavior in Hong Kong." Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 26(5): 569.
• Garfinkel, H. (1956). "Conditions of successful degradation ceremonies." American Journal of Sociology, 61(1): 420-4.
• Lemert, E. (1951). Social Pathology. NE: McGraw-Hill.
• Mead, G.H. (1934). "Mind, self and society." Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

More papers on Labeling Deviant:

• Research Paper # 136913 : "Labeling and Deviant Behavior"
• Research Paper # 137039 : "Does Labeling Cause Delinquent Behavior?"
• Research Paper # 110663 : "Labeling Theory"

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