Sociology of Deviance Exam 1

Interventions : Subcultures

Create equity in access to means

Interventions : Anomie - Strain

Develop new structures of independence

TRUE or FALSE : According to the absolutist perspective, the definition of deviant behavior is subjective

False

TRUE or FALSE : All deviant behaviors are crimes

False

TRUE or FALSE : Like Merton and Sutherland, control theorists seek the cause of deviance directly by asking "what causes deviance"?

False

TRUE or FALSE : Most sociologists agree that extreme positive behavior such as religious fanaticism or social reform is not really "deviant"

False

TRUE or FALSE : Research has shown that strong social controls can almost totally prevent deviant behavior from occurring

False

TRUE or FALSE : Sutherland was inspired to develop his theory of differential association in order to explain criminality by individuals, not as a group phenomenon

False

Motivation for Deviance : Subculture

Gap between legitimate means and goals

Motivation for Deviance: Differential Association

Individual motivation does not matter

Level of Analysis : Anomie - Strain

Macro

Level of Analysis: : Subculture

Macro

Level of Analysis : Control Theory

Micro

Level of Analysis : Differential Association

Micro

Reaction or Origin : Anomie - Strain

Origin

Reaction or Origin : Differential Association

Origin

Reaction or Origin : Subculture

Origin

Reaction or Origin: Control Theory

Origin

Motivation for Deviance : Anomie - Strain

Rapid social change leads to normlessness

Interventions : Differential Association

Redirect to new associations

Interventions : Control Theory

Strengthen social integration

TRUE or FALSE : Attachment to conventional people and institutions and commitment to conformity, are two ways individuals bond to conventional society

True

TRUE or FALSE : Crime is a violation of a formal norm

True

TRUE or FALSE : Merton's theory assumes the premise that the lower income people have a higher propensity to commit deviant acts compared to higher income people

True

TRUE or FALSE : Merton's theory indicate that indidvual acts of deviance have social origin

True

TRUE or FALSE : One essential part of differential association theory is the assertion that the process of learning to become a criminal is the same as the process of learning to become a normal person

True

TRUE or False: Social control can actually cause deviant behavior as well as prevent it

True

Motivation for Deviance: Control Theory

Weak bonds lead to nonconformity

Which of the following concepts constitutes the core of Sutherland's differential association theory? a. numerous associations with deviants b. an excess of deviant over non deviant contacts c. a strong deviant personality d. an excess of deviant contacts calling for obeying the law

a and b

Which of the following propositions is NOT on of Becker's explanation for how one becomes a marijuana user? a. a person must have weak bonds with positive role models in order for marijuana use to continue long term b. a person must learn to smoke marijuana in an effective way that produces real effects c. a person must learn to recognize the effects or symptoms of marijuana and connect those effects with use of the drug d. a person must learn to perceive the effects or symptoms of marijuana as enjoyable or satisfactory

a. a person must have weak bonds with positive role models in order for marijuana use to continue long term

Joe is a sociologist who is undertaking a study of drug use. He is interested in how broken families and poor neighborhoods lead to more problems of drug addiction. Joe is following a _____ theory of deviant behavior a. absolutist b. relativist c. scientific d. historical

a. absolutist

The fact that the same behavior can be seen as normal by some and deviant by others is called the ... a. relativist view b deviance principle c. positivist d. subjectivist

a. relativist view

All of the following are part of the positivist perspective on deviance EXCEPT that deviance is... a. socially defined b. intrinsically real c. an objective fact d. determined behavior

a. socially defined

Danielle is interested in expelling why new religious movements (aka cults) appear in society. She begins her study with the assumption that cult members share the same goals with other people, but perhaps not the same beliefs about how to achieve these goals. Which theory best fits with Danielle's approach to her study? a. subculture theory b. control theory c. differential association theory d. anomie- strain theory

a. subculture theory

Which of the following types of people are examples of "positive deviants"? a. the saint, the intellectual and the genius b. those who show bad manners at the dinner table c. the badly scarred, the blind and the deaf d. murders, rapists, kidnappers

a. the saint, the intellectual and the genius

For sociologists, defining deviance using the ABC's is best described by ...

accounting for attitudes, behaviors and social conditions

What did Durkheim call the condition of normlessness or loss of accepted social rules within a society _______________ that resulted when rapid industrialization led from __________________ of mechanical solidarity to organic solidarity characterized by __________________ of people in society?

anomie; traditional norms; interdependence

All of the following are assumptions of the relativist perspective on deviance EXCEPT that deviance should be seen as ... a. a socially derived label b. a natural objective fact c. an individual subjective experience d. a voluntary act

b. a natural objective fact

Most control theorists seem to... a. imply that too much social control will force criminal to commit more crimes b. accept the Freudian assumption that our inborn animal impulses, if unchecked, will turn into deviant behavior c. accept the notion that one has to learn some skill and ideology in order to commit deviance d. assume that social control often indirectly or unexpectedly causes deviant behavior

b. accept the Freudian assumption that our inborn animal impulses, if unchecked, will turn into deviant behavior

Which of the following statements does NOT belong to the relativist perspective on deviance? a. devance is largely the product of others labeling behavior as deviant b. devance is an observable, objective set of behaviors c. deviance is often a voluntary act d. deviance involves important subjective experiences

b. devance is an observable, objective set of behaviors

According to Hirsch, which of the following is NOT a way for individuals to bond themselves to society? a. a commitment to conformity b. having an experience of a gap between goals and means c. holding a belief in moral validity of the rules d. involvement in conventional activities

b. having an experience of a gap between goals and means

The main purpose of the absolutist approach to deviance is... a. developing empathy with deviant persons b. seeking out the causes of deviant behavior c. to make moral judgments about deviant behavior d. to study biases toward persons seen as deviant

b. seeking out the causes of deviant behavior

According to control theories of deviance, the central question is a. what causes deviance b. what causes conformity c. what causes criminality d. what is the definition of deviance

b. what causes conformity

Which ONE of the following best reflects a relativist perspective on deviance? a. what causes people to behave delinquently? b. why is a given act defined by society as deviant? c. why are so many sociologists seen as deviant? d. why is deviance an objective fact?

b. why is a given act defined by society as deviant?

Mores

based on broad cultural morals

Which of the following is one reason why, for US citizens, deviant behavior is more or less, rather than, completely deviant? a. most deviance in the US is low consensus deviance b. the causes of deviance are largely unknown c. US society is heterogeneous d. most people in the US are immoral

c. US society is heterogeneous

All of the following are definitions of deviance proposed by different sociologists EXCEPT that deviance is... a. behavior that is labeled negative by politicians and the police b. a departure from the normative standards of a common culture c. always immoral behavior d. behavior eliciting anger or disapproval from large numbers of people

c. always immoral behavior

Which of the following is NOT a kind of social control that can prevent deviance? a. bonds to society b. reintegrative shaming c. differential association d. legal punishment

c. differential association

How researchers select subjects for their inclusion in a study (sampling) determines to some degree which of the following goals of scientific research? a. causal associations and order b. statistical associations or correlations c. external validity or generalizability d. measurement accuracy or internal validity

c. external validity or generalizability

Which of the following aspects of deviance would be of special interest to relativist sociologists? a. surface facts about deviance b. statistical data c. how deviants seek positive meanings in deviant activity d. moral laws defining deviant behavior

c. how deviants seek positive meanings in deviant activity

Definitions of deviance fall into two opposing perspectives : the absolutist and the... a. traditional (aka positivist) b. moral (aka positivst) c. relativist (aka constructivist) d. modernist (aka constructivist)

c. relativist (aka constructivist)

When sociologists study deviance, the methods of research must match the basic philosophical assumptions of "what can be known" about society. In this way, which of the following statements is true? a. absolutists use qualitative methodologies like interviews and direct observation because their goal is to explain social responses to deviance in the social context b. absolutists use quantitative methodologies like surveys to examine differing social responses to deviance based on demographic characteristics like age, sex, and race c. relativists use qualitative methodologies like interviews and direct observation because their goal is to explain social responses to deviance in a social context d. relativists use quantitative methodologies to observe violations of observable social laws which form the boundaries that divide deviance and conformity

c. relativists use qualitative methodologies like interviews and direct observation because their goal is to explain social responses to deviance in a social context

Recent developments in and expansions of anomie-strain theory have located new sources of strain that might push individuals toward deviance. Which of the following is NOT one of those newly identified strains? a. American culture's "anything goes" mentality in the pursuit of success b. removal of positively valued stimuli such as death of a friend c. the discrepancy between success aspirations and the opportunities for realizing these aspirations d. presentation of negative stimuli, such as the experience of child abuse or criminal victimization

c. the discrepancy between success aspirations and the opportunities for realizing these aspirations

Which author(s) agree that an integrated definition of deviant behavior must focus on normative expectations in society and the social reaction(s) to deviant behavior? a. Emile Durkheim b. Robert Merton c. Edward Sutherland and Donald R. Cressy d. Alex Heckert and Durann Maria Heckert

d. Alex Heckert and Durann Maria Heckert

Tracy is a sociologist studying non- monogamy in martial relationships. They are looking into why non- monogamy was more common in other historical eras that it is today. Tracy proposes that monogamy developed in response to rapid changes in the division of labor following industrialization. Which theory is Tracy testing this study? a. subculture theory b. control theory c. differential association theory d. anomie -strain theory

d. anomie -strain theory

Which of the following best describes when behavior and appearances follow and maintain the standards of a group a. deviance b. anomie c. informal social control d. conformity

d. conformity

According to Hirsch's theory of social control, if elements of bonding to society are weak, the individual might ..... a. have strong self control b. have a good self concept c. develop a strong goal orientation d. slide into deviance

d. slide into deviance

Which statement about the definition of deviance is TRUE? a. deviance should include only important violations of the norms b. all sociologists agree that deviance includes mundane, routine and normal violations of the norms c. deviance is not an important subject anymore d. sociologists cannot agree on a precise definition of deviance

d. sociologists cannot agree on a precise definition of deviance

According to Merton's anomie-strain theory, which of the following statements is TRUE? a. all Americans have about the same chance of reaching high success goals b both the cultural goal of success and the legitimate means of achieving high success goals are freely available to all Americans c. relatively few Americans believe that success is an important part of life d. the legitimate means of achieving high success goals are not freely available to all classes of people

d. the legitimate means of achieving high success goals are not freely available to all classes of people

Which of the following conditions operates the absolutists and relativists perspectives on deviance? a. the variety and type of religious attitudes towards deviant behavior b. the amount of private consensus about what is deviant behavior c. the number of persons involved in deviant behavior d. the number of public consensus about what type of behavior is deviant

d. the number of public consensus about what type of behavior is deviant

Heather is a sociologist investigating the causes of crime. She is interested in how some areas of try city have traditions of crime that persist over generations, and how individuals easily move into groups following those traditions. What theory of deviance is guiding Heather's research?

differential association theory

Erikson wrote about deviance from the functionalist paradigm. Which of the following statements best demonstrated Erikson's theorizing about the "functions" of deviance? a. deviance functions to inhabit innovation b. devance fosters boundary maintenance and strengthens social solidarity c. deviance promotes employment for people in society d. both a and b e. both b and c

e. both b and c

Subtle, unofficial pressures to conform to societies norms and values is called

informal social control

All of Jane's friends have jewelry and new clothes, but she had no money to buy them. She therefore resorted to shoplifting to get what she wanted. According to Merton's theory, her behavior is an example of

innovation

Peter, delussioned with the way things are going, decides to live in a hippie commune away from the rest of society. According to Merton's theory, his behavior is an example of...

retreatism

Jose, an oil field worker in Hobbs NM, has no aspirations of being Richard successful. Nevertheless, he works hard and takes pride in his job. According to Merton's theory, this is an example of...

ritualism

Folkways

social norms based on tradition or etiquette

The essence of several types of anomie-strain theory is that the experience of

socially induced strain pressures indidvualds to commit deviant acts