A sociologist studies how a teacher's attitudes toward particular students affect students' performance. Students of similar abilities who are "teacher's pets" perform at a high level, and students who are viewed as "troublemakers" perform poorly. This would illustrate which explanation of deviance?

a. Labeling theory

b. The Societal Drift theory

c. Dramaturgical deviance

d. Differential association theory

The answer is A. Labeling theory.

Explanation:

Labeling theory was born in the 60's, and is largely based on the work of George Herbert Mead and the symbolic interactionist perspective, which states that we build our sense of self in interaction with others and that this is also dependent on how others see us. Labeling theory was used to explain deviant and criminal behavior, it says that when a person is labeled as deviant or as a criminal, he or she will tend to act in that way.

The same principal can be applied to the example in the question, students that are labeled by the teacher as troublemakers or bad students will tend to perform in that way, the label serving as a self-fulfilling prophecy.