Structuralist Analysis of Labeling Theory

Abstract

Labeling theory is the theory of how the self-identity and behavior of individuals may be determined or influenced by the terms used to describe or classify them. The theory becomes important and conquers its space as one of the most productive theories about deviance. In this study, based on a contemporary conception of scientific theory, that of the structuralist metatheory, a reconstruction of Howard Becker/Edwin Lemert’s approach is proposed, allowing to make explicit the deep structure of the theory.