Chapter 7: Deviance, Crime, and Social Control

Crime statistics in the United States show

an indication of the level of certain crimes.

Crime refers to

anything that violates criminal law.

Which statement best describes conflict theorists' views on lawmaking?

Lawmaking is an attempt by people in power to force their norms and values on others.

When a school principal suspends a student, the principal is using or applying

formal social control.

The social psychologist Stanley Milgram used the term conformity to mean

going along with peers who have no authority to control our behavior.

When an offender is motivated to choose a victim based on race, religion, ethnic group, national origin, or sexual orientation, this is considered by the government to be a crime.

hate or bias

Informal social control is used by people to casually enforce social

norms.

Functionalists note that deviance creates both ______ and ______ consequences for social stability.

positive; negative

What are some of the possible explanations sociologists have given for the decline in crime?

the aging of the population new crime prevention programs the decline of the crack cocaine epidemic of the late 1980s

Which statements are true about the subjects who participated in Stanley Milgram's experimental study on obedience?

People who administered shocks to others tended to shift responsibility for their behavior to an authority figure. People were more willing to administer shocks if they felt the "victim" deserved punishment.

Which of the following are examples of stigmatization?

Society labeling all obese people as stupid and/or lazy Society labeling all blonde women as dumb

According to most functionalists, what is deviance?

a common part of human existence that helps define limits of proper behavior

The theory that attempts to explain why certain people are viewed as deviants and criminals, while others who engage in similar behavior are not is known as theory.

labeling

The term crime refers to a violation of a

law.

Which term specifically refers to crime that occurs across multiple national borders?

transnational crime

Which of the following statements about crime in the United States is true?

Both violent crime and property crime have dropped dramatically since the 1990s.

Social control can best be described as the techniques and strategies for preventing ______ behavior in any group or society.

deviant

The sociologist Edwin Sutherland used the term ______ for when people violate laws after being exposed to attitudes that are favorable to violation of the law.

differential association

If a criminal justice system treats a certain race or social class differently from another race or social class, it is displaying

differential justice.

A professional criminal is someone who

makes a business of committing crimes.

Which of the following behaviors are examples of informal social control?

making fun of someone who has demonstrated bad behavior laughing at someone's joke

According to feminist criminologists, many of the existing approaches to deviance and crime were developed with only

men in mind.

People ______ their superiors and ______ their peers.

obey; conform to

Émile Durkheim suggested that punishments within a culture help define acceptable behavior and thus contribute to social

stability.

Supporters of decriminalization believe that prostitution, smoking marijuana, and illegal gambling are ______ crimes.

victimless

True or false: According to sociologists, deviant behavior occurs because of genetic disposition.

False

True or false: Crime statistics related to rape are the most reliable data because most sex crimes against women are nearly always reported

False

True or false: Crime statistics related to rape are the most reliable data because most sex crimes against women are nearly always reported.

False

True or false: The United States has a higher rate of car theft than Australia, England, Italy, and New Zealand.

False

What did Émile Durkheim claim as an important function of punishing deviants?

It helps define acceptable behavior and thus contributes to social stability.

Which sociological theory of deviance argues that deviance is often a result of people being unable to meet the goals of society by following the means offered by society?

Merton's anomie theory of deviance

Which of these statements is true about deviance?

Something that is deviant in one era may not be considered deviant in another.

The social psychologist ______ made a useful distinction between conformity and obedience.

Stanley Milgram

Which statement is true about stigma?

Stigma debases or discredits one's identity.

What is organized crime?

The work of a group that regulates relations among criminal enterprises involved in illegal activities

Which situations are examples of differential association?

An athlete takes performance-enhancing drugs after hearing her teammates talk about using them. A teenager whose friends skip school and commit petty crimes begins to do the same.

What is the term for behavior that violates the norms or expectations of a group or a society?

Deviance

Which situations are examples of conformity?

A man gets a stylish new haircut after he sees several of his friends with a similar style. A woman moves to a new town and starts using local slang.

What would be considered deviant behaviors in the United States of the early 21st century? (Select all that apply.)

Chewing gum while giving a political speech Drinking an entire bottle of vodka in one evening Stealing a car

In which ways can organized crime infiltrate a society?

It protects merchants in exchange for a so-called "tax." It gains influence over labor unions. It can take over legitimate business.

Which of the following are common criticisms of social disorganization theory?

It seems to blame the victims. It fails to account for troubled neighborhoods that have strong, viable organizations.

In general, the failure to behave according to society's norms can lead to which consequences?

Jail sentences Fear and ridicule Fines

According to sociologist Travis Hirschi's control theory, what is the main reason people conform to social norms?

Our bonds to family, friends, and peers influence us to go along with social mores.

When sociologist William Chambliss observed the Saints and the Roughnecks, what did he conclude?

Social class played an important role in the varying fortunes of the two groups.

Which of the following are examples of white-collar crimes?

Tax fraud Stock manipulation Corruption

According to the United Nations, which of the following are transnational crimes?

Theft of cultural artifacts Migrant smuggling Terrorism

Which of the following statements about hate crimes are true?

They are defined by both the purpose of the offenders' conduct and their actions. An ordinary crime can be a hate crime if the offender chooses a victim based on race, religion, ethnic group, national origin, or sexual orientation. They are sometimes referred to as bias crimes.

What impact do stigmas have on society?

They devalue members of certain social groups.

True or false: Many people dispute the idea that behaviors such as excessive drinking and compulsive gambling are victimless crimes.

True

Which examples demonstrate how technology has negatively affected standards of social behavior?

Uncivil online comments Inappropriate posts to online discussion boards Abusive voicemail

In which of the following countries was violent crime the most common during the 1980s and 1990s?

United States

Which statements fit the ideas described in social disorganization theory?

When communal relationships break down, crime and deviance tend to increase. Social problems increase when neighborhoods have deteriorating buildings and declining populations.

Which statements are true about laws?

When there is no consensus support of the norms behind a law, it becomes difficult to enforce. Laws are made in response to a perceived need for social control.

In his experiments about obedience, Stanley Milgram found that his subjects could be convinced to inflict harm on others if they could assign responsibility to ______.

an authority figure

Émile Durkheim used the term ______ to describe the loss of direction felt by individuals in a society when social control of individual behavior has become ineffective.

anomie

Which of the following is considered a white-collar crime?

bribery

Feminist criminologists contend that

certain laws protect the rights of men above the rights of women.

Sociologists see laws as

changing standards of right and wrong which define violation and prescribe sanctions.

Recruits who enter military service typically ______ to the habits and language of other recruits and ______ the orders of superior officers.

conform; obey

Formal social control is used to discourage violations of social norms and to encourage which behaviors?

conformity obedience

Which are the five basic modes of adaptation to social norms according to Robert Merton's anomie theory of deviance?

conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism, and rebellion

According to the sociologist Robert Merton's anomie theory of deviance, the most common adaptation to societal means and goals is

conformity.

According to ________ theorists, socialization develops our self-control so well that we do not need further pressure to obey social norms.

control

When members of a culture violate the norms of that culture, they are displaying ______ behavior.

deviant

Sociologists view law as a process of ______ standards of morality and of how, and to what degree, violators should be punished.

evolving

Even though physical and behavioral characteristics stigmatize people, oftentimes high technology crimes do not. Which of the following are socially tolerated forms of deviance?

file sharing music copying software to a computer without a license pirating DVDs and motion pictures

Obedience can best be defined as

following the commands of a perceived authority.

When an offender is motivated to choose a victim based on race, religion, ethnic group, national origin, or sexual orientation, this is considered by the government to be a _______ crime.

hate

The spanking of children by parents, which is widely accepted in many countries, is a type of

informal social control.

Which theory is also called the societal-reaction approach and attempts to explain why certain people are viewed as deviants, whereas others whose behavior is similar are not seen in such harsh terms?

labeling

Which theory attempts to explain why some people are considered deviant for behaviors that other people may engage in with lesser consequences?

labeling theory

According to Edwin Sutherland's theory about cultural transmission and how it affects behavior, a person

learns criminal behavior by interacting with others.

Which of the following are index crimes that are tabulated each year by the Federal Bureau of Investigation?

motor vehicle theft larceny-theft assault

Once people have had a stigma attached to their identities, they

often have trouble presenting a positive image to others. may experience lowered self-esteem.

When an illegal activity, such as prostitution or gambling, is regulated by a group, it could be said that this activity is dominated by

organized crime.

According to conflict theorists, criminal laws ______.

reflect competing values and interests

Which of the following are examples of informal social control?

ridicule laughter smiles

All of the following are examples of informal social control except

sending someone to jail.

The sociologist Howard Becker made the statement that "deviant behavior is behavior that people so label." He is associated with which approach to deviance?

societal-reaction approach

What was sociologist Daniel Bell describing with the term ethnic succession?

the sequential passage of organized crime leadership from one immigrant culture to another

The term social control refers to the

the techniques and strategies for preventing deviant human behavior in any society

The term differential justice can best be defined as

the type of treatment that different races, ethnic groups, or social classes get from the criminal justice system.

Historically, legal measures aimed at blocking discrimination based on race, religion, gender, age, and sexual orientation were difficult to implement because many people tacitly encouraged the ______ of such measures.

violation

If most rapes are never reported to the police, how do we know they happen at all?

Most of the women who tell researchers they were raped say they never reported their attack to the police.

Which of the following would most sociologists consider deviant?

Violating group norms, whether the behavior is legal or illegal Anything that violates accepted social norms

Which school of thought emphasizes that one learns criminal behavior by interacting with others?

cultural transmission

Which of the following is a new type of white-collar crime that emerged around the beginning of the twenty-first century?

cybercrime

The term law may be defined as

governmental social control.

Which of the following are crimes reported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on the Uniform Crime Report?

murder rape robbery arson

Which of the following are examples of white-collar cybercrime?

online auction site scams identity theft

Professional criminals resemble ______, in that they have work-based relationships and become part of a subculture related to their field.

people in ordinary occupations

If we violate social norms, we may face punishment through informal or formal

sanctions.

Penalties and rewards related to social norms are referred to as

sanctions.

Erving Goffman coined the term to describe the labels society uses to devalue members of certain social groups.

stigma

Labeling theory proposes that a person's ability to resist a label from another individual depends on

the amount of power the labeling individual has relative to the labeled person.