Exam 13: Interactionist Explanations

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Student's might include the following in their response:
-Matza identified that most juveniles engage in acts of deviancy; but they adhere to a delinquent subculture
-Juveniles drift along a continuum; sometimes they engaged in behaviours that fit within social norms; at other times they engaged in delinquent behaviour
-Most young people move toward and remain within the conventional expectations of their community
-For a drift to occur, one must learn how to neutralise society's normative hold; one must interact with delinquents for this learning to take place

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Student response could include the following:
-Introduce the topic
-Provide an outline of labelling theory (when crime is detected by police and juveniles are officially processed, they are at greater risk of developing deviant identities and engaging in further acts of deviancy/criminality)
-Discussion on the impact of labelling on juveniles (in particular: juveniles are particularly vulnerable to the response of others).Formal charges and court appearances can lead to the young person taking on a new self-image and the behaviours associated with the newly-acquired label.The greater the level of intervention, the greater the risk of recidivism
-Discuss options including: warnings, cautions, youth conference (designed to divert young people from the criminal justice system and reduce the risks associated with labelling.Youth conferencing focuses on the behaviour and the impact of the behaviour.It labels the behaviour rather than the young person).

Correct Answer:

Verified

Responses could include:
-Means of justification for engaging in deviant behaviour
-Sykes and Matza identified five techniques of neutralisation
-Rationale for denying responsibility for wrong doing (e.g.'It wasn't my fault', 'Everybody is doing it', 'They made me do it')
-Also a way of denying injury (e.g.'Claiming that insurance will cover it', 'They have plenty of money', 'They won't even miss it')
-Claims a denial of victims; no one got hurt (e.g.'I didn't even touch them', 'They didn't even know I was there')
-Includes condemning the condemner (e.g.'Who are they to complain? They're ripping everyone off with the prices they charge.')
- Appealing to higher loyalties (e.g.'I stole the bread because my brother was hungry, I didn't do it for me')
-Influenced the introduction of diversionary conferences for young offenders.In conferences, young offenders must admit to the crime and listen to statements by police, victims and others affected by the crime.An outcome of conferencing is the offender is made aware of how their behaviour has impacted on others.It reduces the offender's ability to neutralise their behaviour.