The power of labeling a person, place or thing is a something that can
never be taken lightly. Does it really matter, if say, a boy or girl
is label as a jock or a nerd, prep or a goth? What does it mean to be
called an overachiever or a chronic-slacker? Does a label or title
really precede a person if it is spread enough? Do people create a
label for themselves or does the label create them?
What is a label? Webster's Dictionary defines a label as a card, etc,
marked and attached to an object to show its contents, (1. Attach a
label to. 2. Classify as.) So when we as people label one another we
are classifying each other. What is this based on? Is it our actions,
words, ethics, work habits or our hobbies? This article will try to
look into the power of labeling and how it might be used to persuade
us and as forms of propaganda.
Some labels are extremely powerful. You think of a jock and you think
of the best looking athlete scoring the game winning touchdown or
hitting the home runs. On the opposite side of that a person who is
labeled as a geek instantly brings images of suspenders, white button
up shirts with pocket protectors and big thick glasses.
However a label is not always a negative thing. To be labeled as a
husband, a mother, a teacher, a mentor. All of these are honors and
labels are things that people strive to earn and be known as. Positive
labeling has proven and long lasting effects just as negative has its.
Labeling a child as a prodigy or as a child genius and telling the
child this has the effect of them developing into that kind of person
even if it wasn't inherently true to begin with.
As mention earlier even our food choices are steered to a certain
outlook because of labeling. A healthy individual who cares about what
they eat will stay far away from a food labeled as being high in fat.
One week a certain type of food is good for us then the next it is bad
and the populace follows those labels like sheep follow one another in
the flock.
When a person is labeled, positively or negatively, deservingly or
spitefully, the question of whether or not a person can overcome a
label that has been given to them. Can a person who is labeled as a
slacker become a person who gets their work done in a timely manner?
The answer is yes so one of the questions posted at the beginning can
be answered. A person does not become their label. A person can
overcome and move beyond a label. Whether or not they simply move away
from the origin of their label to a place that they are not known or
through work and a dedication to remove them from that title they
finally overcome it.
By that same notion however it can be said that a person does not
create his or her own label. A student who works hard and volunteers
to help the teacher can sometimes be labeled a teachers pet and by
that standard they are never seen to get in trouble or a bad grade
because of that connection, not the work and effort they put into
class.
This relates to propaganda and persuasion in a few ways. One such way
is Looking at it from another stand point when you go to the
supermarket and decide to pick up a piece of steak do you look at the
B grade cuts or is it the grade A prime choice cut that has your
attention. This is how labeling persuades us in our choices. While
most of the time the label is there for your healthy, great tasting
needs sometimes the label is there for a purely cosmetic or
advertising situations.
A box of cereal label as good for you will sell fairly well. Add to
the label of that cereal that it is great tasting and good for you and
people will most likely choose the one that is great tasting because
the label of the cereal declares it to be so.
The label of something has a profound impact on most decisions or
assumptions that a person makes. A manager at a supermarket has two
applicants for a job, both of equal skill and all applicable areas.
One however is an ex-con who has just been released. Because he is
required to make that information known on his application, because it
is the label he and society have put on himself he may very well not
get the job because of that. That is the power of labeling.
Proof of the above mentioned scenario could be found within the
definition of Labeling Theory. Encyclopedia Britannica has the
definition as a product of society's reaction to the individual
(Labeling 2009). Which means that the individual, once convicted of a
crime, is labeled a criminal and thereby acquires a criminal identity.
Once returned to society, he continues to be regarded as a criminal
and is consequently rejected by law-abiding persons and accepted by
other delinquents. This has been found to be true. Most ex-cons on
attempts to start their life anew as a law-abiding citizen are usually
shot down because of their label. Which in turn makes them return to
the criminal lifestyle and the cycle continues.
The Journal of Food Products Marketing conducted a study. A summery of
the study is as follows. "The aim of this study is to identify motives
and barriers for the consumption of fresh tropical fruits and their
juices. Also the potential role of labeling information, more
specifically process-related quality labeling for fresh tropical
fruits, and on-label nutrition and health claims for tropical fruit
juices, are investigated. This study indicates that pleasure-seeking
and hedonism motives are major drivers, whereas high perceived price
and unfamiliarity form the most prominent barriers for consuming
tropical fruit and tropical fruit juices. Process-related quality
labels are considered credible and persuasive, but the expected price
premium hampers the purchase of process-certified tropical fruit
products. Health and nutrition claims on tropical fruit juices are not
believed to be persuasive unless they match well with the perceived
naturalness of the juices" (Sabbe, Verbeke, Van Damme, 2009).
In the end the power of labeling seems to be prevalent and will
continue its hold over those who are labeled through others or their
own deeds. That is why we as a collective should never judge a book by
its cover and delve to find those true natures and facts beneath the
label.
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