How labels arise and how they affect us

Labeling theory explains how others perceive a person’s behavior and, based on its characteristics, label it within social and cultural conventions. The central concept of this theory is that anyone who “deviates” from social norms, which are within the common sense of society, will be labeled negatively.

Sociology studies social conventions and norms, and for labeling theory it uses the concept of deviation: if a person’s appearance or behavior conforms only to a social minority, will be negatively labeled for not meeting the standards of the dominant society’s norms and culture.

Now, what does it mean to label someone who is not part of a majority community?

Brief history of labeling theory

Howard Saul Becker, American sociologist, heir to the Chicago School and symbolic interactionism, has supported his theories about deviance. According to his research on social groups and their interactions, deviation from the social norm is not an inherent condition of a personit is rather the identification of this by a community that professes certain norms consistent with “social coexistence.”

Therefore, This community or social majority will tend to impose sanctions on a person or a minority for violating its regulations. and deviate from their social customs. According to the situation described above, labeling, with a strongly discriminatory nature, would be inevitable.

The role of stereotypes

It is common to stereotype a person by their traits depending on the minority group to which they belong. In this case, the social majority points it out and generalizes it, under the perceptive parameters it has regarding its norms and customs.

The main purpose is to classify her as violating the normsince it does not comply with what the majority dictates, even if this means stigmatizing it in a discriminatory manner.

Labels establish a differentiation of a person with respect to the social and cultural group to which they belong.

Primary and secondary deviation

We can classify deviation into two types: primary and secondary. Edwin Lemert (1912-1996), who was a professor of sociology at the University of California, defined them as follows:

Primary deviation: There is no full feeling of deviation for those who break the rules, nor do others (the social majority) perceive it that way.Secondary deviation: contrary to the primary, the person who breaks the norm is labeled as deviant by the social majority; Therefore, she will perceive herself according to how others perceive her.

At some point we have all committed actions that are classified as deviant. For example, using drugs, doing unauthorized graffiti, ignoring traffic laws, etc. Nevertheless, some few, with very characteristic features, are classified as deviant absolutes, rule breakers.

The stigma that originates from labels

Stigma, closely related to secondary deviance, is the role assigned to the deviant person, which serves to distort their biography. Any act carried out in society will be negatively classified as a deviant act. of the rule.

Thus, the dominant role in the individual and all his past acts begin to be reinterpreted from this perspective of stigma. This is a process of biographical distortion known as retrospective labeling.

According to sociologist Erving Goffman (1922-1982), stigmatizing someone activates some social effects, such as social isolation, driven by a group that identifies with the rejection of the deviant (stigmatized). The consequence would be that he, upon receiving limiting signals, will end up believing them, assuming the role that the stigmatizers pointed out to him. It is as if these were prophets of the ultimate role that the “deviant” will play, according to Robert K. Merton’s application of Thomas’s Theorem.

Labeling theory in criminology

Thanks to the unfortunate prophetic role of the stigmatizers against the “deviant” (self-fulfilling prophecy), The labeled person would act according to the criminal actions imposed on them by the stigmatizing group.. For example, if she used drugs only once, but is singled out and harassed by a majority over and over again for these facts, it is very likely that she will end up being a regular user, so she would unconsciously comply with the stigmatizing demand. .

In part, thanks to labeling theory, criminology can predict the patterns of some people who fulfill the stigmatizing prophecy. This process causes the accused, so to speak, to seek the approval of others who are like him, that is, accused by those who call themselves “the majority.” This situation causes these behavioral patterns to be repeated over and over again, as if it were a vicious circle.

How labeling theory operates in psychology

The labeling theory, through secondary deviance, can also attack mental health. Let us remember that the function of the social majority It is rejecting and isolating the person identified as deviant, a situation that can lead to a mental disorder. for those who assume and suffer this role.

Now, this same isolation mechanism can be applied to those who are not emotionally regulated or are considered mentally ill by the social majority. For example, labeling a person as obsessive-compulsive because they simply have some traits of this disorder can lead in some cases to them ending up suffering from it, since they are treated as if they were really sick, so, unconsciously, will take on this role. Again, the self-fulfilling prophecy is presented.

When you label a person, you generally tend to reject and exclude them.

What we can do about labeling theory

First of all, the majority is not always right, and even more so when each member of it does not have its own criteria or have a critical sense about what is presumed to be the “deviant.” Furthermore, let us remember that the human being, a political and social subject by nature, will tend to seek approval or recognition in some way. Therefore, it is not correct to pigeonhole anyone so that they are outside the norm, approved by a majority.

Taking a critical stance toward the collective stigmatization of an individual or minority implies reflecting on how he or she may end up learning perverse or counterproductive habits for his or her physical and mental health, solely because he or she is pigeonholed to indulge in punishment, according to compliance with the norm of the social majority.

Diagnosis and prevention of individual and collective behavior are the main tools to break the vicious circle of stigmatization. to put an end once and for all to the collective behavior that indiscriminately judges those who feel, think and act differently within the conventions and norms of the social majority.

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