Chapter 6 Quiz

According to Merton's structural strain theory, an individual Who deals drugs in order to get rich would be called a/an:

Innovator

How do sociologists define positive deviance?

Instances where a rule violation is, or seems to be, an admirable act, that should be supported.

Insider trading example of

White collar crimes

Stealing avocados, or almost any other agricultural product, is a felony in California if the product is worth more than $100. Supporters of the law believe that it is the only way to protect farmers from vagrants and transients who can ruin the viability of small farms. However if you believe that such laws also target homeless people who are simply trying to eat, and that they are punished because they have almost no power within society, then you are probably:

a conflict theorist.

What did Robert Merton call a prediction that came true only because the prediction was made?

a self-fulfilling prophecy

According to Robert Merton's structural strain theory, which of the following individuals would be LEAST likely to be a deviant?

a white college student from a middle-class family who is experimenting with drugs while in college and is interested in sports.

How does social string theory explain the existence of deviance?

deviance is the result of the tension between socially approved goals and an individual's ability to meet those goals through socially approved means.

Angela's mother says to her "I don't want you to hang out with Melissa. She's going to be a bad influence on you." The mother may not know it but she subscribing to which theory?

differential association theory

Robert Merton developed structural strain theory to explain why deviance happens. What sort of strain does the theory's name refer to?

strain between socially approved goals and the means an individual has for realizing them

Robert Merton's structural strain theory sees deviance as the result of a person's position in a social structure. What do you think that Jack Katz, author of Seductions of Crime, would say about structural strain theory?

A focus on social position misses the emotional appeal that a deviant act has for an individual.

Why was imprisonment such a rare type of punishment before the nineteenth century?

Earlier societies did not have sufficient resources to operate prisons.

T/F According to sociologists, most normal people have never engaged in any acts of deviance

False

T/F Sociological research has consistently shown that, as punishments become more severe, the crime rate declines.

False

According to labeling theory, why were none of the pseudopatients and David Rosenhan's "On being sane in insane places," discovered

Once a person has been labeled mentally ill it is very hard for anyone to see past the label

if someone breaks into your house or car, the person committed

Property crimes

which sociological theory would agree with the following statement "deviance help society clarify moral boundaries and promote social cohesion"?

Structural functionalism

According to the structural strain theory of deviance as articulated by Robert Merton, what is one of the principal reasons that people turn to deviant behavior in the United States?

The goal of success is shared by a majority of people, but not everyone has equal means to achieve that goal.

examine the graphic deception above Robert Merton's typology of deviance. why do you think that those who embrace both new means in new goals are depicted as been just barely connected to the other types that Merton described?

They advocate a radical alternative to the existing social order and are trying to break free from everyone else.

which sociological theory would agree with the following statement "deviance is defined by the powerful, and the behaviors of the less powerful are more likely to be criminalize than the behaviors of the powerful"?

conflict theory

In order for a behavior, trait, or belief to consider deviant, it must

depart from a norm and generate a negative reaction

If you got pulled over for speeding, and the punishment was 20 years in prison, it might make you reconsider the speed at which you drive, right? This idea is called:

deterrence

A man is riding on a bus when suddenly, for no reason, he stands up and yells, "FIRE! FIRE!" There is clearly no fire, and people are really irritated at the delay this causes. His behavior was:

deviance

David Rosenhan argues that misdiagnosis is particularly a problem for psychologists as a diagnosis of a mental illness is as influential on the patient as it is on her relatives and friends. It should not surprise anyone that the diagnosis acts as a.

self fulfilling prophecy

Johnny got sick and missed a week of school. He failed the test when he came back, his friends called him stupid. He was so upset that he didn't want to go back to school, so he skipped a lot of classes. His teacher said that he wasn't a good student, so he decided to drop out of school. What happened?

self-fulfilling prophecy

W.I. Thomas famously argued that "if men define situations as real, then:

they are real in their consequences."

t/f sociologists argue that no behavior not even one designed to kill a great number of people is inherently deviant

true

t/f sociologists can say that deviance is relative, because whether a behavior is considered, deviant, depends upon the historical, cultural, and or situational context in which it occurs

true

t/f the peak age for committing both property and violent crimes is under 20 years old

true

Which of the following would sociologist considered the best definition of deviance?

violations of social norms

how do self-fulfilling prophecy's work?

we respond not only to the objective features of the situation, but also to its meaning. Once meaning has been assigned to her behavior, the consequences of that behavior are determined by the meaning.