Applying material from Item A, analyse two effects of the labelling process on individuals and groups. (10)

As Item A says, 'being labelled can have important effects on individuals to whom the label is attached.' Labelling theorists claim that labelling individuals as criminals encourages them to be criminal. For example, Lemert distinguishes between primary deviance and secondary deviance which is the result of society’s reaction to a label of deviance. Once an individual is labelled, it often becomes their 'master status.' Their self-concept is reduced, and they accept their new label which leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy as they are likely to act to their label. Young's study of Nottinghill Hippies showed a deviant counterculture was formed after being labelled by the police. This shows how labelling can affect an individual's self-concept and lead to more deviance. However, the labelling theory has been criticised for being too deterministic as it implies that all who are labelled as deviant will engage in further deviant behaviour and create a deviant career from it.

Item A also states that labelling theorists are interested in the effects of labelling on the actions of those with the power to label. Cicourel found that police officers had ‘typifications’ that made them concentrate on certain groups of people, particularly the working class. This is because this social group have been labelled as most likely to be deviant/ criminal from their physical cues. Yet, middle class parents are able to negotiate on their children's behalf to get them a lenient punishment as they have the cultural capital to do so unlike the working class. This shows how labelling of certain groups can influence how social control agencies treat deviant people. A positive aspect of labelling theory is that it shows how law is enforced in a discriminatory way. However, it doesn’t explain why primary deviance occurs in the first place for it to be labelled as deviant.