Deck 7: The Social Psychology of Deviance

Question 1

Which theory of deviance tries to explain why individuals do not commit crime?

A)labeling theory
B)strain theory
C)social control theory
D)theory of differential association

Answer 1

social control theory

Question 2

Which of the following statements best describes interactionist perspective(s)on deviance?

A)Deviance is relative to a given group of people or society.
B)Deviance is relatively consistent across groups and society.
C)Deviance is based on biological norms.
D)Deviance has no impact on the social world.

Answer 2

Deviance is relative to a given group of people or society.

Question 3

In high school,Janet rarely smoked or drank alcohol.In college,Janet met some friend who spent most of their downtime consuming large amounts of alcohol and other drugs.Soon,she did the same and did not know anyone who did not spend their time that way.Which theory best explains Janet's behavior,given this limited amount of information?

A)labeling theory
B)strain theory
C)social control theory
D)theory of differential association

Answer 3

theory of differential association

Question 4

Which of the following examples is representative of a form of deviance from a sociological perspective?

A)a boy stealing a piece of gum from a New York City convenience store
B)a boy wearing a suit to a formal dinner
C)a girl wearing a nice dress to a formal dinner
D)a girl wearing a casual dress to friend's house

Question 5

__________ are individuals who seek to challenge either traditional goals or the accepted means of achieving those goals.

A)Rebels
B)Ritualists
C)Innovators
D)Retreatists

Question 6

A nurse regulary brings a six pack of beer to work and consumes it over his shift,brushing his teeth to keep his breath clean.According to Goffman,what kind of behavior is the nurse engaging in?

A)passing
B)covering
C)stigma
D)retrospective interpretations

Question 7

Which of the following crimes best exemplifies white-collar crime?

A)stealing a purse
B)simple assault
C)telling a lie to a friend
D)embezzling from work

Question 8

How should a homeless person who decides to live in the woods be represented,according to Merton's typology of deviance?

A)as a conformist
B)as an innovator
C)as a ritualist
D)as a retreatist

Question 9

How has Howard Becker's research contributed to our understanding of deviance?

A)It shows the important role of deviant subcultures in the maintenance of deviant identities.
B)It explains away the relationship between primary and secondary deviance.
C)It shows that some experiences,such as drug experiences,are not be influenced by social conditions.
D)It proves that deviance occurs only in criminal subcultures.

Question 10

Sampson and Laub's research on delinquent and nondelinquent youths in Boston found delinquency was greater when bonds with which social institutions were weakest?

A)family
B)education
C)peers
D)church

Question 11

John regularly gambles on the weekends,often finding himself spending more money than he is making.When asked about his gambling,John starts to relate how he always had problems resisting temptation,even when he was a kid.What kind of behavior is John engaging in?

A)passing
B)covering
C)stigmatizing
D)retrospective interpretation

Question 12

Which of the following is true of William Chambliss' research on the Saints and the Roughnecks?

A)The Saints committed significantly less crime than the Roughnecks but were more likely to get caught.
B)The Saints committed significantly less crime than the Roughnecks but only the Roughnecks got caught.
C)The Saints committed somewhat higher levels of deviance than the Roughnecks but the Roughnecks were more likely to be caught than the Saints.
D)The Roughnecks committed less crime than the Saints and were rarely caught.

Question 13

Which theorist is most associated with primary and secondary deviance?

A)C)Wright Mills
B)Edwin Lemert
C)Robert Merton
D)Herbert Blumer

Question 14

Most college students represent __________ in Merton's typology of deviance.

A)conformists
B)innovators
C)ritualists
D)retreatists

Question 15

Scholars contend that __________ and __________ are two factors that affect the likelihood of committing a crime?

A)controls;formal sanctions
B)certainty;severity
C)certainty;informal sanctions
D)severity;formal sanctions

Question 16

According to labeling theory,a __________ occurs the first time someone does something that is defined as deviant.

A)primary act of deviance
B)secondary act of deviance
C)taboo
D)folkway violation

Question 17

Which of the following examples typifies strain,according to new interpretations of strain theory?

A)a strong relationship with family and friends
B)poverty
C)employment
D)a romantic relationship

Question 18

Murder would most likely be considered the breaking of a __________;picking your nose in public would be breaking a __________.

A)more;folkway
B)folkway;more
C)norm;value
D)more;more

Question 19

Match the term to its definition by filling in the letter or letters before the term in the appropriate blank.
____ A component of social control theory referring to emotional bonds with other people in society.
____ People who share the goals of society with conformists but employ illegitimate means to obtain those goals.
____ Component of social control theory referring to people's respect for law and order in society.
____ Component of social control theory referring to an individual's desire to obtain societal goals through legitimate means.
____ People who try to obtain the goals of society through accepted means.
____ Keeping a known stigma from creating tensions in interactions by downplaying it.
____ Any behavior that departs from accepted practices in a society or group.
____ Theory that deviance is learned through interaction with others.
____ Less-serious rules of behavior in a group or society.
____ The process by which individuals index thoughts,feelings,and behaviors from their own perspective.
____ Component of social control theory referring to people's participation in acceptable social activities such as clubs,churches and other organizations.
____ Theory that argues that deviance is a consequence of a social process in which a negative characteristic becomes an element of an individual's identity.
____ Violations of behavior prescribed through mores.
____ Widely held values and beliefs in a society.
____ People labeled as deviants who accept the deviant labels.
____ Attempts to hide an undisclosed stigma by concealing information about it.
____ The process by which individuals think about a behavior within its social context and give meaning to it.
____ Reinterpretations of past behaviors in light of the person's new role as a deviant.
____ The initial deviant act that causes other people to label the individual a deviant.
____ When individuals seek to challenge either the traditional goals or the accepted means of achieving those goals.
____ Someone who approves of the ways people should live their lives but gives up trying to obtain societal goals.
____ Additional deviant acts that support the initial deviant label.
____ Theory that deviance results when individuals' bonds with conventional society are weakened in some way.
____ Crimes typically associated with middle- and upper-class individuals,such as embezzlement,cheating,and laundering money.
____ An attribute that is deeply discrediting.
____ Theory that argues that people choose to commit deviance as a natural outcome of social conditions in which socially acceptable goals cannot be obtained through legitimate means.
____ The state's attempts to maintain social order through police and courts and other representatives of the state.
____ A sense of "normlessness," where there is little consensus about what is right and wrong.

Question 20

According to Edwin Lemert,when is society involved in the deviance process?

A)during primary deviance,when society makes deviance symbolic in nature
B)during secondary deviance,when society labels a person as deviant
C)during primary deviance,when society hires police personnel to put away criminals
D)during secondary deviance,when members of a society commit a deviant act

Question 21

Along with deterrence,what other factor has been noted as important to the likelihood of someone committing a crime?

A)self-control
B)self-esteem
C)self-concept
D)self-identity

Question 22

Read the vignette and answer the questions that follow.
After being rounded up by the cops last Saturday night,three men sit in jail pondering their condition and how they ended up incarcerated.All of them are in jail for different reasons and have different backgrounds.All of them are fairly young,in their teenage years,and very poor.John and Franky have been arrested for the first time;Arny has been in and out of the justice system since he was a child.John has been arrested for stealing an engagement ring.He had no money to buy the ring.Franky and Arny have both been arrested for assault.The only other background information we have about the three men is that Franky is a member of the Bloods,a violent gang located in the surrounding area and that Arny has been in jail for assault many times in the past.

Given the information in this vignette,which theory best explains Arny's decision to commit a crime?

A)labeling theory
B)strain theory
C)social control theory
D)theory of differential association

Question 23

Read the vignette and answer the questions that follow.
After being rounded up by the cops last Saturday night,three men sit in jail pondering their condition and how they ended up incarcerated.All of them are in jail for different reasons and have different backgrounds.All of them are fairly young,in their teenage years,and very poor.John and Franky have been arrested for the first time;Arny has been in and out of the justice system since he was a child.John has been arrested for stealing an engagement ring.He had no money to buy the ring.Franky and Arny have both been arrested for assault.The only other background information we have about the three men is that Franky is a member of the Bloods,a violent gang located in the surrounding area and that Arny has been in jail for assault many times in the past.

Given the information in this vignette,which theory best explains Franky's decision to commit a crime?

A)labeling theory
B)strain theory
C)social control theory
D)theory of differential association

Question 24

Read the vignette and answer the questions that follow.
After being rounded up by the cops last Saturday night,three men sit in jail pondering their condition and how they ended up incarcerated.All of them are in jail for different reasons and have different backgrounds.All of them are fairly young,in their teenage years,and very poor.John and Franky have been arrested for the first time;Arny has been in and out of the justice system since he was a child.John has been arrested for stealing an engagement ring.He had no money to buy the ring.Franky and Arny have both been arrested for assault.The only other background information we have about the three men is that Franky is a member of the Bloods,a violent gang located in the surrounding area and that Arny has been in jail for assault many times in the past.
Given the information in this vignette,which theory best explains John's decision to commit a crime?

A)labeling theory
B)strain theory
C)social control theory
D)theory of differential association