Question

From Item B, identify and describe one way in which Becker argued that behaviour can be labelled

Answer 1

Answer:

Becker points out that people react differently to the same act depending on the social context and this influences the label that is placed on the act. Perhaps an extreme example would be the act of killing someone. In the vast majority of cases this would be labelled as murder: highly deviant.

Explanation:

Becker defined deviance as a social creation in which “social groups create deviance by making the rules whose infraction constitutes deviance, and by applying those rules to particular people and labeling them as outsiders.” Becker grouped behaviour into four categories: falsely accused, conforming, pure deviant and secret deviant.