LABELING THEORY: Posits that society creates deviance through a system of social control agencies that designate (or label) certain individuals as delinquent, thereby stigmatizing youths and encouraging them to accept this negative personal identity.
(p. 183)
What do you think of the theory? How have you been labeled in your own life?
What if you were labeled as deviant, or criminal? How would you react to being labeled in this manner? What would you do to shed the label? How do you think it would affect your everyday life?
