Theorising Social Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Theorising Social Life - Essay Example Howard Becker (1963) not only worked on the concept of symbolic interaction, but he also analyzed the effect of social construction on the identity and actions of people. The Labeling Theory mentioned in the Outsiders: Studies in the Sociology of Deviance (1963) by Becker, theorizes that â€Å"deviance is based on the reactions and responses of others to an individual’s act (Becker 1963).† According to Becker (1963), â€Å"deviance is not a quality of the act the person commits, but rather a consequence of the application by others of rules and sanctions to an â€Å"offender.† The deviant is one to whom that label has successfully been applied; deviant behavior is behavior that people so label† (Orcutt 2002). An individual is labeled as a deviant when the people around the individual study their behavior and as a result label that individual as a deviant. As Becker (1963) states clearly, â€Å"no particular act is inherently deviant until a group with socially powerful statuses or positions label it as such† (Kyvsgaard 2003). Furthermore, Becker suggests that deviance approach should be concerned with active interactionist concept rather than cause-and-effect relationships between inert variables. He states that â€Å"all causes do not operate at the same time, and we need a model which takes into account the fact that patterns of behavior develop in an orderly sequence (Becker 1963)†. Becker takes the concept of career in the labeling theory to explain deviance more clearly. In Outsiders, this concept is used to study the stages and possibilities involved in the establishment of a deviant career. Becker explains deviant career as a steady guide of deviant behavior which is a result of the labeling process (Orcutt 2002). Becker suggests that numerous individuals sometimes commit non-conforming actions without becoming directly caught up in a constant