Crossman, Ashley. "Labeling Theory." About Education. About.com, 1 Jan. 2009. Web.

23 Mar. 2015
Ashley Crossman received her BA, MS, and Ph.D. in sociology from Arizona State
University. She works for About.com where she writes many articles on sociological
phenomena. The Labeling Theory is one of the phenomena that she highlights in her
article, which I used for my research summary.

In this article Ashley Crossman depicts why some individuals are labeled deviant and
others are not. Law enforcers; such as police, court officials, experts, and school
authorities are responsible for labeling. Also the more wealthy groups label the less
fortunate groups as deviant. This leads to double standards; children in the wealthy group
break a window or get into a fight and this will be seen as a part of growing up but in
the less fortunate group this will be seen as a pathway towards juvenile delinquency.
Once a person is labeled deviant it is extremely hard to remove that label (1). That
person is more likely to conform to the label and commits the acts of a deviant person, to
fulfill the label.

Other quotes: Labeling theory is one of the most important approaches to understanding
deviant and criminal behavior. It stems from the work of W.I. Thomas who, in 1928,
wrote, "If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences."

One critique of labeling theory is that is emphasizes the interactive process of labeling
and ignores the processes that lead to the deviant acts. Such processes might include
differences in socialization, attitudes, and opportunities.