Deck 6: Social Control and Deviance

Question 1

The common faith or set of social norms by which a society and its members abide is defined by Émile Durkheim as:

A) collective conscience.
B) division of labor.
C) anomie.
D) organic solidarity.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The functionalist perspective argues that deviance:

A) makes societies less functional.
B) is necessary for a society's survival.
C) is a symptom of other dysfunctions in society.
D) will disappear as societies evolve.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of Émile Durkheim's types of social solidarity characterized premodern life?

A) mechanical
B) organic
C) anomic
D) egoistic

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Social deviance is a breach of ________; crime is a breach of ________.

A) society; persons
B) norms; law
C) propriety; decency
D) private norms; public norms

Question 5

Why is the United States best described as having a mix of mechanical and organic sanctions?

A) The United States has not yet become a fully modern society.
B) Some states have a more organic division of labor than others.
C) It is not a mix; it is best described as fully organic.
D) The United States applies mechanical sanctions in some contexts and organic sanctions in other contexts.

Question 6

Picking your nose in public is an example of which type of deviance?

A) informal
B) formal
C) criminal
D) offensive

Question 7

The 2003 U.S.Supreme Court case of Lawrence v.Texas:

A) criminalized littering,punishable by a $500 fine.
B) applied the death penalty to the crime of selling illegal drugs.
C) affirmed Texas's criminalization of homosexual sex.
D) struck down Texas's criminalization of homosexual sex.

Question 8

In industrialized societies,social sanctions are most often:

A) associated with "an eye for an eye," as mentioned in the Bible.
B) focused on the criminal's individual circumstances.
C) public punishment,as in public hangings.
D) ignored by the criminal justice systems.

Question 9

When people in a society form social bonds and relate to each other on a daily basis,the society is said to exhibit:

A) anomie.
B) social cohesion.
C) conformity.
D) conflict.

Question 10

A crime such as burglary is also known as which type of deviance?

A) informal
B) formal
C) secondary
D) social

Question 11

Punishments that are overt expressions of official group sentiments toward deviants are also known as:

A) restitutive.
B) rehabilitative.
C) formal social sanctions.
D) informal social sanctions.

Question 12

When a prison offers educational opportunities,mental health treatment,and job training programs to inmates,which response to deviance is it engaging in?

A) restitutive
B) rehabilitative
C) repressive
D) recidivist

Question 13

Violation of laws enacted by society is also known as:

A) informal deviance.
B) unofficial deviance.
C) crime.
D) secondary deviance.

Question 14

Punishments that are based on the usually unexpressed but widely known rules of group membership are known as unspoken rules and as:

A) restitutive.
B) rehabilitative.
C) formal social sanctions.
D) informal social sanctions.

Question 15

In his book Punished: Policing the Lives of Black and Latino Boys (2011),Victor Rios questions whether:

A) aggressive policing in inner-city neighborhoods actually decreases juvenile crime.
B) replacing teachers in inner-city schools with police officers decreases crime.
C) installing cameras at every street corner decreases crime in inner cities.
D) replacing police officers with social workers decreases crime in inner cities.

Question 16

A society characterized by a high degree of sameness among the individual participants,in which participants perform largely the same functions,has ________ solidarity.

A) anomic
B) egoistic
C) mechanical
D) organic

Question 17

Neighborhood watch groups are examples of what urban theorist Jane Jacobs called:

A) formal social sanctions.
B) the eyes and ears of the streets.
C) panopticons.
D) stigmas.

Question 18

Which of Émile Durkheim's types of social solidarity characterizes modern life?

A) mechanical
B) organic
C) anomic
D) egoistic

Question 19

In a foraging society,most people are very similar in their knowledge,skill,and everyday practices such as gathering and hunting.Émile Durkheim would say that the type of solidarity in a foraging society is:

A) primary.
B) informal.
C) organic.
D) mechanical.

Question 20

Although deviant behavior can be threatening and damaging,paradoxically it also:

A) strengthens society by exercising mechanisms that preserve cohesion.
B) benefits as many people as it harms.
C) fizzles out once it becomes too damaging.
D) can never be precisely defined due to constantly changing social construction.

Question 21

David Rosenhan sent some of his students to a psychiatric hospital,saying they were "hearing voices." Each pseudo-patient was admitted and diagnosed with a mental disorder.He was illustrating ________ theory.

A) functionalist
B) labeling
C) strain
D) fatalistic

Question 22

Shelly shoplifted once.Her peers on social media have labeled her "shoplifting Shelly," and this label follows her everywhere online and at school.She feels hopeless and shoplifts regularly now to alleviate her anxiety and because it is what everyone expects her to do anyway.Labeling theory would interpret her ongoing shoplifting as:

A) rebellion.
B) innovation.
C) primary deviance.
D) secondary deviance.

Question 23

If a label is said to be "sticky" when referring to deviance,it means that:

A) the criminal justice system must get involved.
B) the Mafia is behind the deviance.
C) it is hard to lose that label.
D) only one person at a time can be labeled.

Question 24

According to Émile Durkheim's research,what is the primary reason that Protestants are more likely to commit suicide than Catholics and Jews?

A) Protestantism is based on the collective conscience,which creates individual unhappiness.
B) Protestantism is based on the individual,which creates less social integration.
C) Protestants are the poorest of religious groups.
D) Protestants are the most politically oppressed of religious groups.

Question 25

Which of the following is an example of a symbolic interactionist theory of deviance?

A) strain theory
B) normative theory
C) labeling theory
D) functionalist theory

Question 26

A person who desires a big mansion and the perfect "American dream" lifestyle,but sells illegal drugs to achieve this,is known by Robert Merton as a(n):

A) ritualist.
B) conformist.
C) rebel.
D) innovator.

Question 27

Using Émile Durkheim's definitions,many feminists would say that 1950s housewives were more likely to commit the ________ type of suicide.

A) fatalistic
B) anomic
C) organic
D) egoistic

Question 28

According to Robert Merton,which of the following describes a person who accepts both the goals defined by society and the means to achieve them?

A) conformist
B) innovator
C) retreatist
D) ritualist

Question 29

Labeling theory focuses on:

A) the ways in which society labels different kinds of activities as deviant.
B) the social process through which law enforcement learns to recognize the signs of deviance.
C) rehabilitation of deviants through appropriate intervention.
D) the social process through which people become deviants.

Question 30

What were the types of suicide described by Émile Durkheim?

A) egoistic,altruistic,recidivist,and fatalistic
B) egoistic,altruistic,anomic,and recidivist
C) egoistic,altruistic,anomic,and fatalistic
D) conformist,altruistic,anomic,and recidivist

Question 31

Tracy rejects the goals of owning a big house and earning lots of money,which she feels are defined by society.However,she still works hard and follows the rules.Robert Merton would classify Tracy as a(n):

A) innovator.
B) retreatist.
C) ritualist.
D) rebel.

Question 32

How does social context affect crime,according to the broken windows theory?

A) Evidence of disorder,such as broken windows,sends a signal that it's acceptable to engage in further deviant behaviors such as vandalism.
B) If the local economy doesn't provide enough jobs for residents,crime becomes the easiest way to get by.
C) Broken windows provide easy access to places in which to use drugs and engage in prostitution.
D) Criminals often start with petty vandalism to build their confidence.They then work their way up to more serious and dangerous crimes.

Question 33

What is one difference between street crime and white-collar crime?

A) Street crime is more costly to the public than white-collar crime.
B) Street crime usually occurs in public; white-collar crime usually occurs in private.
C) More people are victimized by white-collar crime than by street crime.
D) Those committing white-collar crimes are more likely to be punished than those committing street crimes.

Question 34

The student guards in Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment behaved the way they did because:

A) they believed the "inmates" had actually committed crimes and deserved punishment.
B) they experienced the Lucifer effect,in which they were affected by social surroundings and cultural expectations.
C) they were simply following orders from a legitimate authority figure,who in this case was their professor.
D) they were malnourished.

Question 35

Which of the following is a major difference between the symbolic interactionist (SI)and functionalist perspectives on deviance?

A) SI sees deviance as negative; functionalism does not judge it.
B) SI takes a micro or close-up look at individuals; functionalism looks at macro-level social systems.
C) SI accepts deviance in society; functionalism says deviance must be eliminated.
D) SI argues that deviance plays a symbolic role in society that helps reinforce cohesion; functionalism argues that deviance threatens social cohesion.

Question 36

When an elementary school student is labeled the "class clown" by his teacher and then adopts the persona and lives up to others' expectations by acting silly,the class clown label has become a:

A) social role.
B) deviant behavior.
C) secondary label.
D) stigma.

Question 37

After a student drops out of high school,he becomes labeled a "drop-out," and his subsequent actions and choices are explained in terms of this label.Those subsequent actions are called:

A) primary deviance.
B) secondary deviance.
C) unintended consequences.
D) anomie.

Question 38

A factory worker wins $10 million in the lottery.He doesn't know what to do with his life anymore or how to spend his time,so he becomes depressed and commits suicide.Émile Durkheim would say he has committed the ________ type of suicide.

A) psychotic
B) fatalistic
C) egoistic
D) anomic

Question 39

Jennifer goes out at night with a spray can and writes on a stop sign.She successfully vandalizes for the first time.Labeling theorists would call this ________ deviance.

A) social control
B) stigmatized
C) primary
D) secondary

Question 40

According to Howard S.Becker,why do marijuana smokers enjoy using the drug?

A) They engage in a social process of learning to define the experience as fun and pleasurable.
B) They are covering up or trying to escape some other deviant tendencies.
C) They are genetically predisposed to enjoying its effects.
D) They enjoy provoking disapproval in others.

Question 41

J. P.Morgan trader Bruno Iksil placed a giant risky trade and lost $6 billion for the bank.His boss and assistant conspired to cover up the losses by filing false reports.These crimes are known as:

A) street crimes.
B) violent crimes.
C) corporate crimes.
D) violations.

Question 42

Why is it so difficult to track the crime rate over time?

A) Most crimes are unreported.
B) We lack good data on criminal activity prior to 1990.
C) The way particular crimes are defined changes over time.
D) Sociologists and criminologists do not use common methodologies.

Question 43

Prisons and military boot camps are examples of what Erving Goffman calls:

A) the Rockefeller drug laws.
B) specific deterrence.
C) total institutions.
D) panopticons.

Question 44

One of the major changes associated with the modern prison system is:

A) the shift from "violence against the body" to "reforming the soul."
B) the shift from private to public punishments.
C) reduced public spending on prisons.
D) the rise of the prison as a "total institution."

Question 45

After serving a long prison sentence for grand theft auto,Charles stole another car.This is an example of:

A) specific deterrence.
B) general deterrence.
C) anomie.
D) recidivism.

Question 46

In 1973,the governor of New York State enacted legislation mandating increased prison terms for drug possession and sale.This attempt to decrease drug-related crime operates on what premise?

A) that violence against the body is more effective than violence against the soul
B) that people in the criminal justice system always revert to criminal behavior
C) that crime results from rational calculation of its costs and benefits
D) that criminals guilty of drug-related crimes need treatment for their addiction

Question 47

Define what Émile Durkheim meant by social cohesion. Distinguish between his two types of social solidarity,mechanical and organic,using an example of each.In your view,which type of social solidarity best fosters human well-being,and why?

Question 48

John pushed Abel against a wall and robbed him of the gold coin he had in his pocket.What would happen to John in a society characterized by mechanical solidarity? What would happen to John in a society characterized by organic solidarity? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each type of punishment?

Question 49

What is social control? Distinguish between formal social sanctions and informal social sanctions.For what types of deviance are each sanction most effective,and why?

Question 50

A drug dealer stops selling drugs after learning on the street that another dealer was caught and punished.This is an example of which of the following?

A) specific deterrence
B) general deterrence
C) anomie
D) recidivism

Question 51

Tax evasion is an example of which of the following types of crime,as defined by sociologists?

A) white-collar crime
B) street crime
C) violent crime
D) robbery

Question 52

In the past,a murderer might have been executed with the same weapon she used to commit the crime.According to Michel Foucault,this is an example of what?

A) violence against the body
B) violence against the soul
C) panopticonism
D) modern punishment

Question 53

This figure shows crime rising and falling quite rapidly and drastically.A sociological interpretation of these trends would emphasize that:

A) quantitative data are not useful for understanding crime.
B) fluctuating crime rates reflect fluctuating social cohesion.
C) data can be distorted by lengthening or compressing the axes of a graph.
D) crime rates fluctuate in response to changes in how society classifies deviance.

Question 54

A policy of imprisoning and monitoring criminal offenders for committing crimes in an effort to prevent them from committing more crimes is known as:

A) specific deterrence.
B) general deterrence.
C) anomie.
D) recidivism.

Question 55

Explain this paradox: It is the deviants among us who hold society together.Your answer should use three of the following concepts: social deviance,crime,social cohesion,mechanical solidarity,organic solidarity.

Question 56

An elementary school isn't a total institution because:

A) students leave every afternoon and adopt different roles at that time.
B) children cannot be subjected to total institutions.
C) there are bureaucratic rules that govern schools.
D) school discipline is so mild.

Question 57

Explain the paradox that Durkheim's theory of suicide addresses: that the most personal of acts (suicide)is influenced by society.Briefly define and offer an example of each kind of suicide.In your view,which type is most prevalent in our society,and why?

Question 58

Mia is a correctional officer who wants to understand the rising prison population.Which group is fueling the increase seen in this chart?

A) women committing extreme violence
B) first-time incarcerations for drug-related crimes
C) repeat nonviolent offenders
D) juveniles who are being wrongly sentenced as adults

Question 59

Summarize Philip Zimbardo's broken windows theory of deviance.Do you think it provides a good explanation for why some neighborhoods are more dangerous than others? Why or why not?

Question 60

Illegal drug dealing is an example of which of the following types of crime,as defined by sociologists?

A) white-collar crime
B) street crime
C) violation
D) misdemeanor

Question 61

Explain the basic argument of deterrence theory. Distinguish between specific and general deterrence.