A sociological theory holding that a person's self-identity and behavior can be shaped by the terms others use to classify them, so that deviance is produced as much by social reaction and classification as by any act itself.
Facts
Core ClaimSourced to the subject's own accountWrongdoing is not an inherent property of an act; deviance emerges through the labeling process itself, when a majority applies a negative label to a minority or to someone perceived as departing from a cultural norm, and the labeled person's later identity and behavior can be shaped by that label rather than by the original act alone. 1 Origin YearSourced to the subject's own account1963 marks Howard Becker's Outsiders, the book most credited with establishing the theory's prominence; Edwin Lemert's earlier distinction between primary and secondary deviance, from the 1950s, supplied foundational concepts the theory built on. Cross-Tradition Connections
Informed By
Becker and Lemert both worked in the Chicago-school interactionist tradition; labeling theory's claim that meaning (here, a deviant identity) is produced through social interaction rather than fixed in the act itself builds directly on symbolic interactionism's own premises.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Labeling Theory
WikipediaOpening definition, descriptionQuote, Opening definition, description
Labeling theory posits that self-identity and the behavior of individuals may be determined or influenced by the terms used to describe or classify them.
1. Wikipedia: Labeling Theory
WikipediaDevelopment section, originQuote, Development section, origin
Howard Becker's 1963 book Outsiders proved enormously influential in establishing the theory's prominence, though Edwin Lemert introduced foundational concepts of primary and secondary deviance.
1. Wikipedia: Labeling Theory
WikipediaDevelopment section, interactionist rootsQuote, Development section, interactionist roots
Sociologists developed labeling theory during the 1960s.
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