Deviance in Social Psychology Essay Example

identity. When the identity is the role to which one most relates the view of oneself, he/she becomes an outcast and is denied the resources to be successful in daily life.Therefore, in some cases, the individual returns to illegitimate means of survival.

This “secondary” type of deviance is more prevalent when the imposition of the label is accompanied by a sense of injustice. Progressively, the ultimate stage in the emergence of a career criminal entails the advancement of the rule- breaker into a deviant subculture. The association of the categorized deviant with an organized group provides the individual with moral support and a self- justifying rationale.From Charles Horton Cooley’s perspective, the labeling theory would be parallel to his theory of the “looking-glass self”. The theory asserts that persons imagine how they appear to others, they imagine what their judgment of that appearance should be, and they develop some self-feeling such as pride or mortification, as a result of conceiving others’ judgment.

The looking –glass self theory maintains that the notion of the self is related to the interaction with and perception of how others view the individual.As one considers others’ responses to his/her behavior, he/she then has a propensity to adjust to obtain further desired responses. According to sociologist, William Chambliss, individuals from a lower socioeconomic class are: 1) more likely to be scrutinized and observed in any violation of the law 2) more likely to be arrested if discovered under suspicious circumstances 3) more likely to spend the time between arrest and trial in jail 4) more likely to go to trial 5) more likely to be found guilty and 6) if found guilty,

more likely to receive harsh punishment.Persons categorized as being in higher socioeconomic classes are much more likely to avoid the label of “criminal”. In referencing the labeling theory, the delinquent responds to him/herself in the same way society might; thereby, taking the role of the generalized other towards him/herself.

“Society” is the glass in which the individual is looking into for his/her reflection; consequently, as the culture defines deviance and labels persons as such, many times the individual will take on the characterization accordingly.