Exam 8: Deviance and Social Control

Matthew and Ryan are devout Christian Fundamentalists and believe that homosexuality is against God's will and that homosexuals deserve to be punished. They spend a couple evenings each week in gay bashing activities that include physical violence and verbal assaults. Based on their rationalization, which technique of neutralization is most applicable for Matthew and Ryan to maintain positive self-images?

The concept of the relativity of deviance is best illustrated by which of the following statements?

Control theory relies on attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief to explain the social bonds people develop to their respective groups and society.

According to Merton's strain theory, what are the four typologies of adaptation that qualify as being deviant? Also identify the fifth typology added by your author that Merton did not include?

Human sexuality illustrates how a group's definitions of an act, and not the act itself, determines whether or not it is considered deviant.

The significance of names or reputations given to people when they engage in certain types of behavior is the focus of ________ theory.

The text points out a number of high-profile examples of white-collar crime by large corporations for which violators never went to jail.

What is the most common martial status found among inmates in U.S. state prisons?

Functionalists believe deviance has no useful purpose in society and only contributes to social chaos.

Why is the relativity of deviance most aligned with the symbolic interactionist perspective?

Why is conformity considered as being the only nondeviant mode of adaptation?

Based on the research of Martín Sánchez-Jankowski, what are the primary reasons urban male youth join gangs?

All of the following theories follow the principles of symbolic interactionism EXCEPT for which one?

Cloward and Ohlin addressed the street hustler as a role model for youth and the methods used to earn easy money through a life of crime. What did they call this career path of delinquency?

Based on the 2011 edition of the Statistical Abstract in the United States, the state with the lowest rate of violent crime in America is ________, while the state with the highest rate of violent crime is ________.

In terms of cultural goals and means to attain them, describe each of the five modes of adaptation that Merton outlined in strain theory.

According to strain theory, the underlying cause of deviance is that people experience a sense of normlessness. This sense of normlessness is referred to as ________.

How would conflict theorists classify migrant workers, seasonal employees, and members of the workforce who are subject to layoffs?

Sociologists who believe we help to produce our own orientations to life by joining specific groups is most aligned with which sociological perspective?

How would a sociologist define deviance? How does the sociological definition of deviance differ from commonly held assumptions about deviance?