Labeling Theory

This theory, also referred to as social reaction theory, is attributed to Howard Becker (1963), who argued that deviance is constructed by the social control groups that create the rules and define their violation. Deviance, then, is a label or status attributed by society. The manner in which these social control groups react to a person's behavior defines it as deviant. According to this perspective, there is no behavior, status, or characteristic that is inherently deviant; society chooses what to define as deviant. Edwin Lemert (1967) further recognized primary and secondary deviance. A person can engage in deviance without being caught or labeled, which is referred to as primary deviance. Secondary deviance occurs when the behavior is recognized by society and the person is labeled as deviant and adopts the label and acts accordingly.