Editing Labeling theory (section)

==The "mentally ill"==
The social construction of [[deviance (sociology)|deviant behavior]] plays an important role in the labeling process that occurs in society. This process involves not only the labeling of criminally deviant behavior, which is behavior that does not fit socially constructed norms, but also labeling that which reflects stereotyped or stigmatized behavior of the "mentally ill". In 1961 [[Thomas Szasz]], in ''[[The Myth of Mental Illness]]'', asked, "Who defines whom as troublesome or mentally sick?... [the one] who first seizes the word imposes reality on the other; [the one] who defines thus dominates and lives; and [the one] who is defined is subjugated and may be killed."<ref name="Szasz1973">{{cite book|last=Szasz|first=Thomas Stephen |title=The second sin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MAPbAAAAMAAJ|year=1973|publisher=Anchor Press|isbn=9780385045131 }}</ref>{{rp|85}} [[Thomas J. Scheff]] in ''Being Mentally Ill'' challenged common perceptions of [[mental illness]] by claiming that mental illness is manifested solely as a result of societal influence. He argued that society views certain actions as [[deviant]] and, in order to come to terms with and understand these actions, often places the label of mental illness on those who exhibit them. Certain expectations are then placed on these individuals and, over time, they unconsciously change their behavior to fulfill them. Criteria for different mental illnesses are not consistently fulfilled by those who are diagnosed with them because all of these people suffer from the same disorder, they are simply fulfilled because the "mentally ill" believe they are supposed to act a certain way so, over time, come to do so.<ref name="Scheff1">Scheff, Thomas J. 1984. ''Being Mentally Ill'' (2nd ed.). Piscataway: [[Transaction Publishers|Aldine Transaction]].</ref>
Scheff's theory had many critics, most notably [[Walter Gove]] who consistently argued against Scheff with an almost opposite theory; he believed that society has no influence at all on "mental illness". Instead, any societal perceptions of the "mentally ill" come about as a direct result of these people's behaviors. Most sociologists' views of labeling and mental illness have fallen somewhere between the extremes of Gove and Scheff. On the other hand, it is almost impossible to deny, given both common sense and research findings, that society's negative perceptions of "crazy" people has had some effect on them. It seems that, realistically, labeling can accentuate and prolong the issues termed "mental illness", but it is rarely the full cause.<ref name="Gove1">Gove, Walter R. (1975). ''Labelling of Deviance: Evaluating a Perspective''. Hoboken: [[John Wiley & Sons, Inc.|John Wiley & Sons Inc.]]</ref>

Many other studies have been conducted in this general vein. To provide a few examples, several studies have indicated that most people associate being labeled mentally ill as being just as, or even more, stigmatizing than being seen as a [[drug addict]], ex-convict, or [[prostitute]] (for example: Brand & Claiborn 1976). Additionally, Page's 1977 study found that self declared "ex-mental patients" are much less likely to be offered apartment leases or hired for jobs. Clearly, these studies and the dozens of others like them serve to demonstrate that labeling can have a very real and very large effect on the mentally ill. However, labeling has not been proven to be the sole cause of any symptoms of mental illness.

Peggy Thoits (1999) discusses the process of labeling someone with a mental illness in her article, "Sociological Approaches to Mental Illness". Working off Thomas Scheff's (1966) theory, Thoits claims that people who are labeled as mentally ill are stereotypically portrayed as unpredictable, dangerous, and unable to care for themselves. She also claims that "people who are labeled as deviant and treated as deviant become deviant."<ref>Thoits, Peggy A. 1999. "Sociological approaches to mental illness." Pp. 121–138 in ''A Handbook for the Study of Mental Health: Social Contexts, Theories, and Systems'', edited by [[Allan V. Horwitz|A. V. Horwitz]] & T. L. Scheid. Cambridge: [[Cambridge University Press]].  {{ISBN|978-0-521-56763-3}}.</ref>{{Rp|134}} This statement can be broken down into two processes, one that involves the effects of self-labeling and the other differential treatment from society based on the individual's label. Therefore, if society sees mentally ill individuals as unpredictable, dangerous and reliant on others, then a person who may not actually be mentally ill but has been labeled as such, could become mentally ill.

Proponents of ''hard labeling'', as opposed to ''soft labeling'', believe that mental illness does not exist, but is merely deviance from [[norm (sociology)|norms]] of the social order, causing people to believe in mental illness. They view them as socially constructed illnesses and psychotic disorders.<ref name="Link1">Link, Bruce G., and Jo C. Phelan. 1999. "The Labelling Theory of Mental Disorder (II): The Consequences of Labeling." ''A Handbook for the Study of Mental Health: Social Contexts, Theories, and Systems''. Cambridge: [[Cambridge University Press]].</ref>{{Rp|361–76}}