Deck 11: Deviant Physical Characteristics

Question 1

According to Erving Goffman, author of Stigma, it is unfair of sociologists to refer to the possession of involuntarily-acquired, undesirable physical characteristics as deviant.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

No sociologists examine the possession of involuntarily-acquired, undesirable physical characteristics as deviant.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Evolutionary psychologists argue that standards of beauty are so variable and relative the world over that nearly every physical characteristic that is considered in one society is judged unattractive in another.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Even babies respond more favorably to an attractive face than to an unattractive one.

Question 5

Studies show that people are more likely to impute a deviant character to unattractive norm violator than to an attractive norm violator.

Question 6

Being tattooed cannot be regarded as a form of physical deviance, since it is the result of voluntary behavior.

Question 7

Obesity is not a form of physical deviance because it is a consequence of overeating, a type of self-indulgent, immoral behavior. Hence, it is exclusively a "blemish of individual character" rather than an "abomination of the body."

Question 8

Most overweight people, especially women, tend to internalize the stigma society directs at them.

Question 9

According to Erving Goffman, author of Stigma, people who fail to meet an acceptable standard of physical attractiveness possess a spoiled identity and are disqualified from full social acceptance.

Question 10

Some societies consider physical attractiveness a trivial characteristic; others consider it important.

Question 11

All societies value beauty, even if their definitions vary somewhat from one society to another.

Question 12

All societies consider tattooing a form of deviance.

Question 13

In the United States, tattooing is considered deviant in that it links the people who wear a tattoo to disreputable segments of the population.

Question 14

Physical disability should not be regarded by sociologists as a form of deviance since that is unfair.

Question 15

Physical deviance is by definition and by its very nature involuntary.

Question 16

Many undesirable physical characteristics are unearned.

Question 17

To be stigmatized is to possess a contaminated or discredited identity.

Question 18

Women are subject to more exacting and judgmental standards of weight than men are.

Question 19

In his analysis of stigma, Goffman specifically excludes homosexuality from the category of humans who possess "blemishes of individual character."

Question 20

Ned Polsky excludes physical characteristics from his definition of deviance.

Question 21

Ned Polsky argues that people who possess characteristics that are "not the person's fault" should not be regarded as deviance. Prof. Goode's reaction to this argument is that:

A) Polsky is completely right.
B) Polsky is half right; possessing involuntary physical characteristics should not be regarded as deviant, but possessing involuntary mental characteristics (like depression and schizophrenia) should be.
C) Fault has nothing to do with deviance; if a person is condemned or punished by audiences, that person possesses a deviant characteristic.
D) What is or is not deviant can never be known; it is shrouded in mystery and everything that's said by sociologists about the subject is just one person's opinion.
E) none of the above

Question 22

In the Middle Ages, the dominant explanation for the appearance of unexplained and undesirable physical characteristics was:

A) either God or the devil
B) chromosomal abnormality
C) free will
D) the social construction of deviance
E) none of the above

Question 23

For which of the following physical characteristics is the moral dimension most important?

A) obesity
B) physical disability
C) the violation of esthetic standards
D) being a freak
E) being handicapped

Question 24

John Kitsuse introduced the concept of "tertiary" deviance; in his discussion, he draws a parallel between the disabled and:

A) oppressed minority groups
B) freaks
C) the obsese
D) the extremely ugly
E) the heavily tattooed

Question 25

Erving Goffman, author of Stigma, refers to the stigma that results from possessing physical characteristics as:

A) abominations of the body
B) deviant behavior
C) blemishes of individual character
D) conventionality
E) stigma of tribe, race, nation, and religion

Question 26

With respect to physical traits:

A) All violations of aesthetic standards are voluntary, all physical disabilities are involuntary.
B) All physical disabilities are voluntary, all violations of aesthetic standards are voluntary.
C) Some violations of aesthetic standards are voluntary, some are involuntary; some physical disabilities are voluntary, some are involuntary.
D) Violations of aesthetic standards are neither voluntary nor involuntary; physical disabilities are neither voluntary nor involuntary.
E) none of the above

Question 27

From the perspective of the sociology of deviance, obesity represents the best example of:

A) blemishes of individual character.
B) an abomination of the body that also violates an aesthetic standard.
C) a physical disability.
D) conventionality.
E) a trait or characteristic that is not condemned because it is caused by genetic or inborn factors and hence, is completely involuntary.

Question 28

Which of the following trait is widely considered both an "abomination of the body" and a "blemish of individual character"? Being:

A) a homosexual
B) heavily tattooed
C) an ex-convict
D) an alcoholic
E) a drug addict

Question 29

When subjects from all over the world are shown photographs of faces from different racial categories and asked to pass judgment on the attractiveness of the faces in the pictures, researchers find that:

A) a high degree of agreement exists among the raters
B) raters regard faces from their own society and racial group as attractive and faces from other societies and racial groups as unattractive
C) raters regard faces from other societies and racial groups as more attractive than those from their own society and race--after all, "opposites attract"
D) the judgments of raters are all over the map, random, without pattern
E) none of the above

Question 30

Evolutionary psychologists argue that a high level of agreement exists around the world concerning judgments of attractive because of:

A) cultural similarities
B) random variation
C) religion
D) the domination of all societies by like-minded ruling elites
E) selfish genes

Question 31

Studies on judgments of deviance made by observers about the misbehavior of children have found that:

A) Attractive children are judged more negatively and harshly for their misbehavior than unattractive children are.
B) Unattractive children are judged more negatively and harshly for their misbehavior than attractive children are.
C) There was no pattern by looks; attractive and unattractive children were judged equally negatively and as harshly for their misbehavior.
D) There is an unknown and unknowable relationship between degree of attractiveness and how negatively and harshly children are judged for their
misbehavior.
E) none of the above

Question 32

Tattooing:

A) is regarded everywhere and during all historical time periods as a form of deviance.
B) is never or anywhere considered a form of deviance.
C) is regarded as a form of deviance under certain circumstances, in some societies, and during some time periods.
D) It cannot be known whether or not tattooing is or is not a form of deviance.
E) none of the above

Question 33

Of the types of stigma discussed by Erving Goffman, which of the following is least likely to be discussed by sociologists as a form of deviance:

A) abominations of the body
B) blemishes of individual character
C) tribal stigma of race and nation
D) treacherous and rigid beliefs
E) physical characteristics

Question 34

Strict, exacting standards of weight apply:

A) significantly more to men than to women.
B) significantly more to women than to men.
C) to men and women equally.
D) in an unknown fashion to men versus women.
E) none of the above

Question 35

Erving Goffman, author of Stigma, referred to the general population, the people who do not possess stigmatizing characteristics or attributes, as:

A) conventionals
B) deviants
C) normals
D) freaks
E) variations from the statistical norm

Question 36

Which of the following is specifically not a form of physical deviance in this society?

A) obesity
B) being tattooed over one's entire body
C) extreme ugliness
D) intersexuality
E) As the term is defined, all of the above are forms of deviance.

Question 37

"Tertiary" deviance represents a step beyond "secondary" deviance. To the sociologist of deviance, tertiary deviance is:

A) internalizing the stigma of deviance, that is, accepting that one is inferior.
B) avoiding all contact with non-deviants.
C) wishing to shed or get rid of the behavior, beliefs, or characteristics that led to being designated as deviant and becoming "normal."
D) banding together with other stigmatized persons and fighting against the prejudice directed at one's category or group.
E) none of the above

Question 38

Which of the following did Goffman explicitly and specifically exclude from the category of "blemishes of individual character"?

A) mental disorder
B) alcoholism
C) homosexuality
D) imprisonment
E) none of the above; he included all of them

Question 39

_________ sociologists agree that physical characteristics are a form of deviance.

A) All
B) No
C) Some but not all
D) An unknown proportion of
E) none of the above

Question 40

The most typical attitude that abled persons have toward the handicapped is:

A) savage and unrelenting hostility and condemnation.
B) complete acceptance of the handicapped on equal terms.
C) ambivalence--a mixture of pity, scorn, empathy, compassion, and stigma.
D) no particular or discernible attitude at all.
E) none of the above

Question 41

In 2012, Andrew Solomon published a book entitled Far From the Tree, which is about parents who have children who are "far from the tree"-very different from themselves, and from nearly all other parents as well. None of these children were:

A) dwarfs
B) persons with autism
C) Down Syndrome children
D) schizophrenics
E) None of the above; some of their children were among all of the above.

Question 42

Which of the following is true?

A) All of Solomon's parents would have chosen such a condition for their children.
B) Half of Solomon's parents would have chosen such a condition for their children.
C) None of Solomon's parents would have chosen such a condition for their children.
D) Solomon had no idea which of the parents he interviewed would have chosen such a condition for their children.
E) none of the above

Question 43

Ned Polsky argued that person who are stigmatized for a condition that is "not the person's fault":

A) should not be regarded as deviant; Erich Goode disagrees, and says that supposed fault is not a criterion of deviance.
B) should be regarded as deviant; Erich Goode agrees.
C) should not be regarded as deviant; Erich Goode agrees.
D) should be regarded as deviant; Erich Goode agrees.
E) none of the above

Question 44

"Abominations of the body" should not include:

A) obesity
B) physical disabilities
C) extreme ugliness
D) dwarfism
E) none of the above; all should be included.

Question 45

An FA is:

A) a man who is strongly romantically and sexually attracted to fat women.
B) a woman who is strongly romantically and sexually attracted to fat men.
C) the fat women that men who are attracted to fat women are attracted to.
D) the fat man that women who are attracted to fat women are attracted to.
E) none of the above

Question 46

Tertiary deviance is:

A) engaging in deviant behavior or having a deviant condition
B) having one's behavior or condition labeled as deviant
C) being labeled as a deviant
D) people who are regarded as socially disvalued standing up for their rights
E) none of the above

Question 47

Do you find Leslie Fiedler's psychoanalytic explanation of why the members of the society are distressed yet fascinated by "freaks"? What might be an alternate and more powerful theory?

Question 48

Which forms of physical deviance are also behavioral in nature, that is, are regarded by the conventional members of the society as a sign of a weakness, immorality, or degeneracy? Be detailed and specific.

Question 49

Are all physical characteristics involuntarily acquired? If so, explain. If not, which ones are not and what ways are they voluntary? Does it make a difference with respect to the reactions their possessors generate from "normals"?

Question 50

Explain the similarities and differences between behavioral deviance and the possession of involuntarily acquired, undesirable physical characteristics. Do these generalizations apply to all societies at all times?

Question 51

Compare and contrast two types of physical deviance-say, the obese with the physically disabled, or the extremely unattractive with the heavily tattooed-first, with respect to how they articulate with key conventional, tried-and-true concepts (age, gender, religion, SES, urban vs. rural, etc.), second, how they intersect with other types of deviance, and third, how they link up with their etiology or causality.
True-False