hierarchy of credibility
hierarchy of credibility A concept introduced by Howard S. Becker (in ‘Whose Side Are We On?’, Social Problems, 1967)
, to capture social inequalities and the moral hierarchy of society. For Becker, those at the top (of an organization or a society) are seen to be more credible, those at the bottom less so. Indeed, the ‘underdogs’ may be completely discredited and pathologized, and often do not have a voice at all. He argued, as part of a wider debate in deviancy theory about the role of values in sociological research, that it may be the sociologist's task to help the marginalized ‘underdogs’ to find a voice.
, to capture social inequalities and the moral hierarchy of society. For Becker, those at the top (of an organization or a society) are seen to be more credible, those at the bottom less so. Indeed, the ‘underdogs’ may be completely discredited and pathologized, and often do not have a voice at all. He argued, as part of a wider debate in deviancy theory about the role of values in sociological research, that it may be the sociologist's task to help the marginalized ‘underdogs’ to find a voice.
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hierarchy of credibility