... points out in "Outsiders: Studies in the Sociology of Deviance" (1963), however, that when studying 'deviant people' one should not take their deviance for granted, as one "cannot assume that these people have actually committed a deviant act or broken some rule, because the process of labelling theory may not be infallible", that is to be labelled deviant does not necessarily mean that the individual is, or has been deviant in the past. Kai T. Erikson, in "Notes on the Sociology of Deviance", also highlights the way social reaction affects the deviant individual. He reinforces what Backer had previously said: "deviance is not a property inherent in certain forms of behaviour, it is a property conferred upon these forms by the audiences which directly or indirectly witness them". He suggests, however, that deviance is necessary to society's stability, rather than being responsible for its breakdown, as the deviant individual serves as ...

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