Exam 6: Deviance

According to labeling theory,the labels people are given affect their own and others' perceptions of them.How does this process lead to more deviant behaviors? Provide an example to explain your answer.

Conflict theorists believe that society's definition of deviance is designed in such a way that people with the most power will be seen as most "normal" and even idealized by the rest of society.Those with the least power will more often be considered deviant and subject to the negative sanctions that come with a deviant identity.Give two examples of how laws can target people with less power and label their behaviors or lifestyles as deviant.

There are usually serious consequences when a politician is caught cheating on his spouse.In some cases,the politician is forced to resign from his office when his constituents loudly express their unhappiness with such behavior.According to Émile Durkheim,what function does this reaction serve?

What do we call norm violations that are codified into law?

Brooke is a PhD candidate in the field of nanophysics.She is aware that only 4 percent of physics professionals are women.Brooke has heard peers and even instructors say that this is because women struggle to comprehend complex mathematics.When Brooke scores below her male counterparts on an exam,she may be experiencing

What did David Matza do differently than the "nuts and sluts" approach of studying the powerless and impoverished?

When studying deviance,sociologists often focus on the most obvious and extreme forms of deviant behavior.What are the consequences of this approach?

Imagine that a powerful and influential person living in San Francisco decides to heavily tattoo her face with symbols.Would she be seen as deviant?

Jewish families as well as African Americans and Hispanics were not permitted to purchase houses in the suburb of Lakewood,California,when it was first built in 1950.However,within a few years,the developers reversed this policy and started selling homes to families regardless of religious faith or ethnicity.What does this tell us about stigma?

Robert Merton advanced the idea that labeling can bring about self-fulfilling prophecies or inaccurate beliefs that,if repeated loudly and frequently enough,can become true.Compare the ideas of Merton and those of sociologist Elijah Anderson who believed that a self-fulfilling prophecy has contributed to racial conflict in the United States.

Under what circumstances does a deviant label transition from primary to secondary deviance?

In his structural strain theory,Robert Merton argues that people who do not have the financial or cultural means to achieve the goals that society sets out for them (financial success,for example)are more likely to adopt deviant behavior.Explain the different ways in which,according to Merton,these people deal with their limited resources and express their deviant behavior.

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

How do sociologists define positive deviance?

In what aspects of stigma are symbolic interactionists interested?

In his book Streetwise,Elijah Anderson argues that young African American men are more likely to be arrested because they

Deviance can be considered relative because whether a behavior is considered deviant depends upon the historical,cultural,and situational context in which it occurs.

There are several ways in which gays and lesbians in the United States have chosen to manage their stigma.When gay rights activists chant the slogan,"We're here,we're queer,get used to it," what strategy are they using?

Stealing avocados or almost any other agricultural product is a felony in California if the product is worth more than $100.A ________ would say that such laws target homeless people who have little power in society and are simply trying to eat.

We have seen our country grow to house more inmates than any other country in the world today even though prisons were not introduced as a method of punishment until the nineteenth century.Who is benefiting financially from the incarceration of so many inmates?