Deck 5: Deviance

Question 1

According to ________, various segments of society, such as the wealthy, the religious, or even bureaucrats, compete to have their definitions of deviance accepted.

Answer 1

pluralism

Question 2

________ is an orientation that recognizes that what counts as deviance varies across cultures and through history, and therefore does not judge whether such acts are right or wrong.

Answer 2

Relativism

Question 3

________ are those who perform no deviant acts but receive audience reaction.

Answer 3

The falsely accused

Question 4

Deviance that occurs prior to a reaction is called ________ deviance.

Question 5

Deviance:

A) is a stage that all adolescents go through
B) is universally defined
C) is arbitrarily defined
D) is a culturally relative term
E) is agreed upon by all people in a given culture

Question 6

According to some, ________ create deviance by making the rules whose infraction constitutes deviance, and by applying those rules to particular people and labelling them as outsiders.

A) ethnocentrics
B) social groups
C) moral entrepreneurs
D) religious groups
E) conflict perpetrators

Question 7

Sutherland's learning-based explanation of deviance is closely related to the ________ perspective.

Question 8

________ theory sees all people as potential deviants, and then argues that social bonds constrain most individuals into conformity.

Question 9

Sociologists define deviance as departures from what people in society define as ________.

Question 10

________ involves efforts to shape the physical environment such that the possibilities for deviance are severely reduced.

Question 11

According to a functionalist perspective, minor forms of deviant behaviour can serve as:

A) social catalysts
B) organic releases
C) retreatism
D) safety valves
E) bottom boundaries of a social system

Question 12

According to historical religious beliefs, deviance is a result of ________.

A) hedonistic calculus
B) retreatism
C) testosterone
D) the bottom boundaries of a social system
E) humanity's innate wickedness

Question 13

A ________ perspective on deviance will tend to highlight the experiences of women and to focus on ways in which they are labelled deviant for both conforming to and deviating from gender norms.

Question 14

Sociologist Erving Goffman introduced the concept of stigma, which he defined as a characteristic, behaviour, or attribute that is deeply ________.

Question 15

Most crimes committed in Canada are:

A) social control mechanisms
B) universally defined
C) norms
D) violent crimes
E) property crimes

Question 16

The ________ sees an economic elite as the major force behind definitions of what is and what is not deviant.

Question 17

The ________ perspective argues for a total restructuring of society as a means to eliminate deviance.

Question 18

In terms of Merton's schema, ________ have abandoned fancy success goals, and have lowered their goals to the level of their means.

Question 19

________ are those who perform deviant acts and receive no audience reaction.

Question 20

________ theory contends that society creates deviance through its reactions to the people who break its rules.

Question 21

According to Merton's theories, the behaviour of drug addicts would be an example of

A) innovation
B) character stigma
C) ritualism
D) retreatism
E) rebellion

Question 22

According to the differential association approach, the learning of conformity is related to:

A) anomie
B) labelling
C) the groups with which one interacts
D) the social construction of reality
E) social pathology

Question 23

Radical conflict explanations of deviance:

A) focus almost exclusively on capitalism
B) argue against socialism
C) are concerned primarily with criminal justice issues
D) originated in France
E) examines the interpretation of individual deviants

Question 24

Conflict theorists argue that definitions of deviance arise out of:

A) societal cooperation
B) formal organizational rules
C) special interests in society
D) deviants' actions themselves
E) differential association

Question 25

A feminist perspective on deviance argues that:

A) functionalism provides an adequate explanation of deviance
B) rules are made by the powerful to control the less powerful
C) participant observation is inadequate as a research method
D) rates of deviance are equal for men and women
E) rates of deviance are directly related to the gendered division of labour

Question 26

The ________ illustrates the loss that takes place from the actual number of crimes committed to the final number of convictions.

A) crime graph
B) deviant funnel
C) statogragh
D) crime funnel
E) theory of crime

Question 27

Conflict theorists have argued that there may be as many as or even more ________ than ________.

A) deviants, mentally ill
B) rule breakers, deviants
C) falsely accused, deviants
D) drug abusers, child molesters
E) innocents, rule breakers

Question 28

One criticism of Merton's anomie theory is that it relies too heavily upon:

A) Marxian theory
B) classical sociological theory
C) official crime statistics
D) self-report studies
E) ethnomethodology

Question 29

The radical or ________ school sees an economic elite as the major force behind definitions of what is and what is not deviant.

A) rational
B) variant
C) functionalist
D) critical
E) clinical

Question 30

The feminist approach to deviance suggests that the label of "________" is more often applied to women than men.

A) moral entrepreneur
B) opportunistic
C) domestic
D) mentally ill
E) innocents

Question 31

Goffman used the term ________ to refer to a person being discredited because of her or his membership in tainted groups, such as particular nationalities, races or religions.

A) body stigma
B) character stigma
C) tribal stigma
D) augmentation
E) rebellion

Question 32

Becker called people and groups who seek to influence the passing of rules and the setting of standards ________.

A) moral entrepreneurs
B) activists
C) pluralists
D) radicals
E) Marxists

Question 33

Labelling theory suggests that society creates deviance through its reaction to people who:

A) experience anomie
B) innovate in pursuit of societally sanctioned goals
C) experience role engulfment
D) have not developed a master status
E) break its rules

Question 34

The perspective which argues that various segments of society compete to have their definitions of deviance accepted, is known as:

A) pluralism
B) radicalism
C) the democratic model
D) labelling
E) moral entrepreneurs

Question 35

The idea that crime is due to the unavailability of social means to achieve social goals is a tenet of ________ theory.

A) labelling
B) ecological
C) anomie
D) sub-cultural
E) contracultural

Question 36

"Rule breakers" are people who commit deviant acts:

A) but no one responds to them
B) that are always punished
C) but are never able to shake the deviant label
D) arising from mental illness
E) but are falsely accused

Question 37

________ theorists argue that a deviant does not emerge full-blown, but must be developed over time in a process of exchange with the larger society.

A) labelling
B) functionalist
C) conflict
D) cultural
E) observational

Question 38

According to anomie theory, white-collar crime should be viewed as:

A) rebellion
B) conformity
C) innovation
D) retreatism
E) ritualism

Question 39

Your text argues that ridicule, shaming, and gossip are:

A) informal social control mechanisms
B) deviant behaviours
C) retrospective interpretations
D) individual sensibilities
E) the dark figure of crime

Question 40

The theory that sees all individuals as potential deviants is referred to as:

A) anomie theory
B) innovator theory
C) the free rider approach
D) ritualist theory
E) social control theory

Question 41

Rule breakers commit deviant acts, but no one responds to them for some reason.

Question 42

Define the term "relativism" and provide an example.

Question 43

________, also known as participant observation, is a method of studying deviance or crime.

A) Secondary deviance
B) Ethnography
C) Retrospective interpretation
D) Self-report studies
E) The dark figure of crime

Question 44

What are the main strengths and weaknesses of Merton's Anomie Theory?

Question 45

Though not perfect, official crime statistics are thought to include the majority of crimes committed.

Question 46

A labelling perspective on deviance will tend to highlight the experiences of women and to focus on ways in which they are labelled deviant for both conforming to and deviating from gender norms.

Question 47

The radical perspective argues for a total restructuring of society as a means to eliminate deviance.

Question 48

Sutherland's learning-based explanation of deviance is closely related to the conflict perspective.

Question 49

Sociologists define deviance as departures from what people in society define as normal.

Question 50

According to socialism, various segments of society, such as the wealthy, the religious or even bureaucrats, compete to have their definitions of deviance accepted.

Question 51

Using examples, show how deviance can serve a positive function in society.

Question 52

In terms of Merton's schema, those who cheat on exams would be called rebels.

Question 53

Using the labelling model described in the text, describe how a person who experiments with drugs becomes labelled as a deviant, as part of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Question 54

Labelling theory contends that society creates deviance through its reactions to the people who break its rules.

Question 55

Innocents are those who perform no deviant acts and receive no audience reaction.

Question 56

Social control theory sees all people as potential deviants, and then argues that social bonds constrain most individuals into conformity.

Question 57

Briefly describe differential association theory and give an example of how this may be used to explain auto theft.

Question 58

Deviance that occurs prior to a reaction is called secondary deviance.

Question 59

Briefly describe Michel Foucault's concept of "disciplinary power."

Question 60

The critical school sees an economic elite as the major force behind definitions of what is and what is not deviant.

Question 61

Feminists focus exclusively on women in considering crime and deviance.

Question 62

One central premise of power-control theory is that mothers have a greater role in socializing children than do fathers.