Exam 3: Explaining Deviance: The Perception, Reaction, and Power

Thinking critically about who has power in our society, choose who you feel has the most power in influencing the social construction of deviance in Canada. Explain how their power enables them to influence the social construction of deviance and provide examples to support your argument.

Postmodern theories suggest that "truth" exists, despite the massive social changes that have occurred since World War II.

Power-reflexive theories suggest that all claims to knowledge are embedded within relations of power.

Describe how Goffman's theory of identity management and stigma was used by Halushka to help formerly-incarcerated men re-integrate into the community. Describe the significance of why this is a necessary process to learn.

Which of the following theories would be the most likely to suggest that being caught at deviance increases the likelihood of future deviance?

Compare and contrast Tannenbaum's and Lemert's versions of labelling theory.

Tannenbaum (1938)suggests that we initially identify a particular act as "deviant", and soon come to identify the entire person as "deviant". Which concepts play a role in this process?

The one thing that the different bodies of critical theory have in common, is that they have all been criticized for failing to recognize that consensus does not exist in society in terms of the laws and rules.

In contrast to Functionalist theories, Interpretive and critical theories DO NOT focus on:

Consider Goffman's notion of dramaturgy. Describe its basic assumptions, and distinguish between front-stage selves and back-stage selves. Explain how these assumptions and concepts are related to the concept of stigma, and provide an example of a group that has experienced stigma and some of the methods they use to manage their identity.

What changes have occurred in advanced capitalist societies since the end of World War II, according to postmodern theorists?

Differentiate between disintegrative shaming and reintegrative shaming.

Which interactionist theorist argued that "meanings and interactions lead to relatively stable patterns that create and uphold social structures".

Robinson (2008)found that anarchist groups have responded to living in a panoptical society by

Which of the following theories would logically lead to the conclusion that any dominant moral code, by which we can determine "deviance" and "normality", is gradually being eroded in advanced capitalist societies?

Differentiate between instrumental Marxists and structural Marxists.

One of the major strengths of interpretive and critical theories is to uncover the social construction of deviance that is often overlooked by positivist research.

Reintegrative shaming illustrates the potentially positive consequences of stigmatization.

In what way are the assumptions of the symbolic interactionist perspective related to the study of deviance?

In order to manage the stigma of being an "ex-convict", clients of Halushka's program are taught to re-narrate criminal stories and frame their backgrounds.