Understanding Labelling Theory's Core Claim

Labelling theory posits that deviance and conformity are not inherent qualities of an act but are outcomes of the social process of applying labels to individuals.

Analysis of Options

• Option 1: As how others respond to those actions - This option directly aligns with labelling theory. The theory emphasizes that society's reaction to an individual's behaviour is crucial in defining it as deviant or conforming. The label applied based on this response significantly influences subsequent behaviour and identity.
• Option 2: Reality is relative to political order - This perspective is more closely associated with conflict theories or postmodernism, focusing on power structures rather than the social reaction process central to labelling theory.
• Option 3: Individual behave positively - This is a broad generalization about human behaviour and doesn't specifically address the core mechanism of labelling theory, which focuses on the social construction of deviance.
• Option 4: Helps to locate crime in a welfare state - This relates to specific criminological studies concerning the context of crime within certain political systems, not the fundamental principle of how deviance is created according to labelling theory.

Therefore, the central claim of labelling theory is that the social responses and labels applied by others shape whether actions are perceived and treated as 'deviant' or 'conforming'.