Labeling theory is one of the anti-positivist approaches that became widespread in the 1960s, thanks to the two prominent sociologists Howard S Becker and Edwin Lemert, for whom they later became known as labeling theorists. These theorists oppose all previous sociological ideas about deviance and advance their main argument that deviance is not produced by tensions in the social structure or by bad neighborhoods, but that people break the law because 'they chose to do it out of their own freedom. will. This idea was first put forward by David Matza in his book On Becoming Deviant, but was taken further by Becker and Lemert when they drew attention to the agents of social control who are the people who define who is deviant in our society and who is not. . These labeling theorists have also studied how the criminal justice system (CJS) and CJS agents, such as police officers, court officials, and judges themselves, define and construct crime and delinquency . Finally, labeling theory asserts that deviance is not a quality of the act that breaks social rules, because no act is naturally deviant, but rather the result of a symbolic negotiation between those who break the rules and agents of social control. This essay will summarize and evaluate labeling theory as it applies to the analysis of crime and criminal justice. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay One of the drivers of labeling theory is interactive processes, which conceptualizes how labeling processes create deviance. These processes include stigma, master status, self-fulfilling prophecies, and career deviance. Stigma occurs when rule breakers are publicly identified and labeled by the public as deviant. However, if we are publicly labeled by the state as deviant, society perceives us as having only the properties of the negative label rather than the other identities or statues that characterize them. we define ourselves as being a parent or professional worker, through this stigma we cease to have a variety of identities and are seen as simply delinquents and criminally insane. The concept of master status revolves around people who were negatively labeled initially, viewing themselves in terms of this stigmatizing label, which could lead the "deviant" to accept this negative label, and which could become an identity controlling, accordingly. this could lead to even more serious deviant behavior. Third, by wearing this label, we may be ostracized by our friends, family, or coworkers, which Becker says is likely to lead us toward more deviance as we become further removed from society. This is called a self-fulfilling prophecy. An example of this ostracization would be the case of a person convicted of selling drugs who may be forced to return to their old habits because they cannot find a job that will allow them to pay their bills. Finally comes this idea of ​​career deviance where the deviant is forced into a career that is considered by society to be deviant because it forces him into the company of other strangers. Because of these four factors, the labeling process has turned the casual rule-breaker into a full-fledged criminal. The study of..