Sociology: Crime and Delinquency QUIZ 1

_______________ say that in order to understand deviance you have to get into the subjective mind of the "deviant."

Phenomenologists

Which of the following is one reason why, for U.S. citizens, deviant behavior is more or less, rather than completely, deviant?

U.S. society is pluralistic.

Voluntarism says that deviance is:

a choice made by the deviant. Government officials choose easy targets such as the poor and powerless, prosecuting them more fiercely than that of their more powerful counterparts.

Relativism suggests that deviance is:

a label defined by society, for when one believes in such labels one is likely to act the part. A self-fulfilling prophecy.

Positivism as a school of thought explains the very relevance of deviance as:

a real act that is easily distinguishable from conformist behavior, leaving most reasonable people without a concern for its methods.

Subjectivism as a school of thought defines deviance as:

a socially constructed concept that changes from situation to situation.

From the constructionist perspective, deviants are:

actively seeking meaning in the deviant activities.

Determinism sees deviance as a(n);

caused by outside forces beyond the individual's control, for the deviant lacks the ability to make a choice, therefore not a willed behavior.

Early in the twentieth century, criminologists believed that:

criminals are born, not made.

All of the following are examples of constructionist theory except:

determinism

Murder is one example of lower-consensus deviance. (TRUE OR FALSE)

false

Most positivist sociologists today continue to reject the idea of free will as an explanation of deviance because:

free will cannot explain why one person commits deviant acts while others do not.

Positivists and Constructionists do appear in opposition to one another, but in reality, they complete one another in that positivists are better at explaining _____ deviant acts, while constructionists will better explain _________ deviance.

harmful and serious / less harmful

Which of the following kinds of deviance is best understood through a positivist perspective?

higher-consensus deviance, that is, behavior most people would agree to is deviant.

Objectivism defines deviance as a(n):

observable by the government, official stats, and self-reported data.

Absolutists say that deviance itself is:

real and is confirmed by society.

The main purpose of the positivist approach to deviance is:

seeking out the causes of deviant behavior.

Positivists are aided by a few key ideologies. All of the following are examples except:

subjectivism

Subjectivism says that deviance is:

to only be understood with sympathy to the deviant as we attempt to think like one in order to see their personal view.

Constructionists tend to present deviants as basically the same as conventional people. (TRUE OR FALSE)

true