Download Interactionist theory on crime

INTERACTIONIST THEORY
ON CRIME
Who gets labelled as a criminal and why?
Starter – ‘Who dun it?’
On the night of the 20th September the suite of the
Matthews Industries was gutted by fire. Police and Fire
Brigade found that the outer door had been forced and
no trace could be found of a petty cash box containing
£500. The fire is an obvious case of arson since there is
evidence that petrol had been splashed about in the
office. No fingerprints had been found except for those
who work in and around the offices every day. Although
an outsider may be responsible, the police are considering
the following as suspects.
1.
Read the cards and discuss, in pairs, who you think
committed the offence. Consider their possible
motives. Justify your choice.
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Objectives
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All will be able to outline the Interactionist theory’s
explanations of crime by working in groups of 4 to
make posters about a particular Interactionist study into
crime.
Most will be able to work independently to draw a
flow diagram to show, with an example, how labelling
can lead to crime.
Some will be able to work independently to draw a
flow diagram to show how labelling can lead to crime.
Interactionist perspective
Interactionism focuses on studying how human behaviour
is influenced by interaction between individuals.
 Interactionists argue that:
a)
The vast majority of people have broken the law and
are, therefore, criminals.
b)
Some groups, e.g. working class, ethnic minority, men
and the young are more likely to be labelled as
criminal by those with power in society.
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So, for Interactionist, the question is not ‘why do
people break the law?’, the question is, if everyone
breaks the law, ‘why are only some labelled as
criminal?’.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-UBjL1zlgM
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Task 1
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Marketplace
Work in groups of 4.
Read the handout about the Interactionist theory on crime, pay
special attention to the real life example of a sociological study that
proves the Interactionist theory.
Make a poster for the class about that study.
Include:
The name of the Sociologist.
Research method used to carry out research.
Findings of the study.
Explanation of how these findings back up the Interactionist theory
on crime.
Images which relate to the study.
You have 20 minutes.
Task 2
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Fill in the worksheet with information from your poster. You
have 5 minutes.
Choose one member of your group to be the ‘seller’ – this
person needs to have excellent presentational skills. The
remaining 3 members of the group will be the ‘buyers’.
The seller has to stay with your poster and ‘sell’ your
knowledge to ‘buyers’ from other groups.
The ‘buyers’ have to go to the other groups to ‘buy’ their
knowledge – listen to the ‘seller’s’ explanation and fill in the
worksheet. Judge how good their product (knowledge,
poster, explanation, etc.) was and pay them accordingly.
The group that makes the most money wins!
You have 10 minutes.
Task 3
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The ‘buyers’ have to return to their original groups
and take turns to explain what they found out. You
must explain, not just let them copy your notes!
Everyone else has to fill in the worksheet.
You have 15 minutes.
Task 4
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Use the example of a
one-off instance of
cannabis use to show
how labelling leads to a
person becoming a drug
addict. Use key words
and explanations.
A teenage boy smokes a small
amount of cannabis.
He is caught by a teacher and
is labelled as a ‘druggie’.
Self-fulfilling prophecy – he
starts to think of himself as
a drug addict.
Criminal career – he takes
more and more drugs and
steals to get money.
Master status – the label ‘druggie’
becomes his main characteristic.
Everyone thinks of him as a ‘druggie’.
Extension
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Draw a flow diagram to
show how labelling leads
to an increase in
deviance.
An individual commits an act.
The act is labelled as deviant.
Self-fulfilling prophecy - the
individual starts to believe
the label is true.
Criminal career – the individual
starts to continually act in a
deviant manner.
Master status – the label
becomes the main characteristic.
Learning journey
Difference between
crime and deviance,
legal and illegal deviance
Media
representations of
crime
Official crime
statistics –
detecting, reporting
and recording of
crime, the dark
figure of crime
Social control (informal
and formal)
Explaining crime –
labelling theory and
subcultural theory
How do Sociologists
study crime: victim and
self-reporting studies?
Who breaks
the law? –
age,
ethnicity
and gender
Explaining crime –
Functionalist theory
and Marxist theory
Victims of crime,
government solutions to
crime, social problems of
youth crime and racism
Who breaks
the law? –
social class and
locality
Explaining crime –
biological vs. sociological
theories: peer group
pressure, opportunity,
socialisation
Revision and
end of Topic
exam question
Review
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Which of these is more likely to be labelled as a
deviant?
Why?
Drug use
Wearing facial masks
Youth groups
Pregnancy
Homework
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Complete the three tasks on the worksheet about
each of the three scenarios.
Deadline –