Deck 6: Deviance, Crime, and Social Control

Question 1

When sociologists stress that deviance is relative,they mean that:

A) relative to criminal acts, deviance is a minor form of nonconformity.
B) it runs in the family, among relatives.
C) whether an act is regarded as deviant or not often depends on the time, place, or individual.
D) deviance is related to more serious criminal offenses.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

When driving,we stop at a red light,whether or not a policeman is present.This is a form of:

A) internalized social control.
B) formal social control.
C) externalization.
D) anticipatory socialization.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

According to your text,effective social control is dependent primarily on:

A) both self-control and informal social controls.
B) both self-control and formal social controls.
C) formal social controls only.
D) self-control only.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

If caught cheating on this exam,you are likely to be punished by the professor and the university.This is a type of:

A) informal control.
B) formal control.
C) self-control.
D) street-level justice.

Question 5

Which of the following is an example of false enforcement?

A) A teen who is not homophobic participates in taunting a gay peer for fear that he will be rejected if he doesn't.
B) A judge gives a violator a longer punishment than deserved because of minimum sentencing guidelines.
C) A parent grounds a teen for marijuana use even though the parent uses marijuana
D) A teacher gives a "problem" student a detention for being late to class, but lets a "good" kid go unpunished.

Question 6

Durkheim first applied the explanation of anomie in his study of:

A) deviance.
B) social control.
C) suicide.
D) crime.

Question 7

Extreme tattooing and body modification are used by some people:

A) to demonstrate their membership in a subculture.
B) to recover a sense of control over their body after a traumatic experience.
C) to indicate their rejection of dominant cultural values.
D) All of these are reasons cited for extreme forms of body modification.

Question 8

The structural?functional perspective was first applied to the explanation of deviance by:

A) Durkheim.
B) Merton.
C) Sutherland
D) Hirschi.

Question 9

Formal sanctions are LEAST likely to produce conformity when:

A) the police spend a substantial part of their time trying to eliminate illegal behavior.
B) formal sanctions for illegal behavior are severe.
C) economic conditions make illegal behavior attractive for quick rewards.
D) individuals and groups do not believe that the behavior should be illegal.

Question 10

According to the text,the stigma against extreme forms of body modification is strongest when it is practiced by:

A) young people.
B) middle-aged people.
C) women.
D) the middle class.

Question 11

In the definition of deviance,it is not the act itself that matters,but the:

A) audience.
B) reason for the behavior.
C) intention of the actor.
D) legal definition.

Question 12

Internalization occurs when:

A) a person exercises self?restraint because of fear of what others will think.
B) sanctions such as fines, expulsion, and imprisonment are used to enforce conformity.
C) illegal acts are avoided because of fear of getting caught.
D) we don't even think of violating the norms and values of our group because conformity is a part of our self?concept.

Question 13

Sociological theories of deviance tend to emphasize that the reasons for deviance:

A) stem from personality disorders.
B) are based largely on genetic factors.
C) stem from personal disorganization.
D) are found in the social structure of society.

Question 14

Alan,a 14?year?old boy,finds himself in a situation where he can steal a digital watch from K-Mart.He decides against the theft because he fears what others would think of him if they found out.In this situation,Alan conforms to society's values because of:

A) formal social controls.
B) informal social controls.
C) aversive social controls.
D) internalization.

Question 15

Adrianne does not smoke or drink alcohol in front of her family because she is afraid they would disapprove. This is an example of:

A) formal social control.
B) informal social control.
C) aversive social control.
D) internalization.

Question 16

Unpopular norms can continue to exist because of:

A) internalization.
B) negative sanctions.
C) false enforcement.
D) formal social controls.

Question 17

The term used to describe a situation in which the norms of society are unclear or no longer applicable to current conditions is:

A) ambiguity.
B) moral decay.
C) anomie.
D) institutional change.

Question 18

Citizens sometimes complain that employees in government agencies are more concerned about following the rules,even when this doesn't make sense,than they are about helping citizens.Robert Merton would refer to these employees as:

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

Question 19

Norm violations that exceed the tolerance level of the community and result in negative sanctions are:

A) deviance.
B) eccentric.
C) rule violations.
D) fun.

Question 20

Biological and psychological explanations for deviance look for the causes:

A) within society.
B) in the groups a person interacts with.
C) in the processes internal to the individual.
D) in the audience for the behavior.

Question 21

Which of the following statements is NOT part of the conflict theory of deviance?

A) Class conflict affects deviance.
B) Those in power decide what is deviant and how it will be punished.
C) The lower class does not share the goals of the upper and middle classes.
D) Economic inequality leads to crime.

Question 22

According to ________,crime is more likely to occur in neighborhoods that suffer extreme structural disadvantage and as a result experience low collective efficacy.

A) differential association theory
B) collective efficacy theory
C) strain theory
D) symbolic interaction theory

Question 23

Which of the following situations is NOT consistent with the conflict theory view of deviance?

A) A young man who steals a pack of gum from Walgreens is sent to jail; a young man who steals a box of pens from work is reprimanded.
B) A city allocates more money to preventing consumer fraud than to stopping mugging.
C) Ted Turner's house is robbed and the police launch a full-scale investigation; Maria's house is robbed and the police take her statement and tell her to lock her doors.
D) A lawyer kills his wife but is found not guilty at the trial; a garbage man kills his wife and gets life in prison.

Question 24

__________ theory sees deviance as a product of specific face-to-face interactions.

A) Conflict
B) Symbolic interaction
C) Structural?functional
D) Self?esteem

Question 25

According to Merton's strain theory,rebels differ from retreatists in that:

A) rebels are committed to creating an alternative society; retreatists just drop out.
B) retreatists withdraw to communes whereas rebels start revolutions.
C) retreatists reject society's values but accept the means; rebels reject both means and values.
D) rebels reject society's values but accept the means; retreatists reject both means and values.

Question 26

Examples of retreatists include:

A) revolutionaries and people who start communes.
B) steroid?using athletes and mafia types.
C) drifters and street people.
D) embezzlers and pranksters.

Question 27

Differential association theory was developed by:

A) Travis Hirschi.
B) Robert Merton.
C) Howard Becker.
D) Edwin Sutherland.

Question 28

If __________ theory is correct,we would expect crime among the lower classes to rise during economic recessions when it becomes difficult to meet basic needs.

A) anomie
B) differential association
C) self-esteem
D) conflict

Question 29

Differential association theory argues that:

A) people learn to be deviant when their associates favor deviance over conformity.
B) people choose deviance over conformity when normal avenues for success are blocked.
C) deviance results from social inequality.
D) differences in crime rates are associated with age, sex and, race.

Question 30

Diane's aunts,uncles,parents,and friends all take towels from the hotels where they stay.Diane also takes the towels."Everybody does it," she reasons.Diane's deviance is best explained by:

A) deterrence theory.
B) strain theory.
C) differential association theory.
D) labeling theory.

Question 31

According to strain theory,the solution to deviance is to:

A) reform the individual who deviates.
B) make it easier to reach societal goals through acceptable means.
C) put more money into correctional facilities.
D) implement tougher sentencing guidelines for the more dangerous crimes.

Question 32

According to Merton's strain theory,the social class most likely to engage in deviance is the:

A) lower class.
B) working class.
C) middle class.
D) upper class.

Question 33

Conflict theorists point out that the class differentials in crime rates develop partly because:

A) the upper classes commit less important types of crimes.
B) law enforcement discriminates more heavily against the poor.
C) the lower classes are less integrated in their families and neighborhoods.
D) the lower classes have accepted subcultural values that are more supportive of crime.

Question 34

Which of the following examples is NOT an innovative adaptation to situations of strain?

A) athletic achievement through the use of steroids
B) joining the mafia to get rich
C) cheating on exams to get a better grade
D) getting a free handout by dropping out and drifting from one city mission to the next

Question 35

Both conflict and structural-functional theory view deviance:

A) as the product of face-to-face interactions.
B) as the result of social inequality.
C) as resulting from the overall social structure.
D) All of these are true about conflict and structural-functional views of deviance.

Question 36

Symbolic interaction theories of deviance do NOT suggest that deviance:

A) is learned.
B) involves the development of a deviant self-concept.
C) is an inevitable product of an unequal society.
D) arises out of face-to-face interactions.

Question 37

Which of the following statements about conflict theories of deviance is TRUE?

A) All conflict theorists believe that the upper classes commit more crime.
B) Conflict theorists are in agreement that the lower class commits more crime.
C) All conflict theorists agree that crime is an unnatural condition, resulting from unattainable goals.
D) All conflict theorists believe that class interests determine which acts are criminalized and how heavily they are punished.

Question 38

Retreatists __________ the culturally approved goals of society and __________ the institutional means for achieving them.

A) accept; accept
B) reject; accept
C) accept; reject
D) reject; reject

Question 39

Youths growing up in poor neighborhoods are more likely to deal drugs to make money than middle-class youth.This example represents the pattern of deviance called:

A) rebellion.
B) retreatism.
C) ritualism.
D) innovation.

Question 40

________ refers to the extent to which individuals in a neighborhood share expectations that neighbors will intervene and work together to maintain social order.

A) Collective efficacy
B) Anomie
C) Retreatism
D) Ritualism

Question 41

Labeling theory incorporates elements of which two theories?

A) symbolic interactionism and conflict theory
B) structural-functionalism and symbolic interactionism
C) deterrence and strain theories
D) developmental and conflict theory

Question 42

Which of these is NOT a criticism of labeling theory?

A) It cannot explain the repeated deviance of persons who have not been labeled deviant.
B) It does not address how a person goes from primary to secondary acts of deviance.
C) It does not explain why primary deviance occurs.
D) It does not explain why secondary deviance occurs.

Question 43

A similarity between differential association and deterrence theories is that they both:

A) see deviance as the result of social inequality.
B) view deviance results, at least in part, because there are greater rewards for deviance than for conformity.
C) locate the source of deviance in the social structure.
D) see deviance as the result of strain between goals and means of attaining them.

Question 44

Why is lower-class behavior more likely than upper-class behavior to be labeled as deviant?

A) The more power a group has, the more likely they are to be successful at defining deviance.
B) Lower-class people engage in more blatant forms of deviance.
C) The more numbers a group has, the more likely they are to be successful at defining deviance.
D) Very few upper-class people engage in deviant behavior.

Question 45

Deterrence theories place the primary blame for deviance on:

A) parents.
B) an inadequate system of rewards and punishments.
C) individuals.
D) peer pressure.

Question 46

____ combines the symbolic interaction and conflict perspectives into one theory.

A) Differential association theory
B) Merton's strain theory
C) Labeling theory
D) Deterrence theory

Question 47

Continued and deliberate deviance that results from labeling is:

A) primary deviance.
B) innovation.
C) secondary deviance.
D) white-collar crime.

Question 48

The Uniform Crime Report summarizes the:

A) incidence of all crimes that occur.
B) number of victimless crimes that occur annually.
C) number of incidents of crimes that are known to police and are of five major types.
D) incidence of crimes of violence.

Question 49

Which theory assumes that individuals consciously assess the costs and benefits of whether to conform or be deviant?

A) labeling theory
B) deterrence theory
C) differential association theory
D) reward theory

Question 50

Empirical studies show that three kinds of rewards are especially important in deterring deviance.Which of the following is NOT one of them?

A) family ties
B) large friendship networks
C) doing well in school
D) having a good job

Question 51

In recent years,there has been a growing trend toward:

A) treating more types of deviance as legal infractions.
B) treating more types of deviance as diseases.
C) allowing fewer types of deviants to successfully claim the sick role.
D) demedicalization.

Question 52

Deviant acts that are subject to legal or civil penalties are defined as:

A) eccentric.
B) crimes.
C) deviance.
D) social deviance.

Question 53

When social structures do not provide adequate rewards for conformity,more people will choose deviance.This is part of which theory?

A) reward theory
B) differential association theory
C) labeling theory
D) deterrence theory

Question 54

In deterrence theory,conventional social rewards are important because they:

A) make crime a rational choice.
B) allow people to rationally decide that "crime doesn't pay."
C) encourage individuals to turn in deviants.
D) eliminate criminal behaviors.

Question 55

Labeling theory is concerned with the process by which:

A) a person who associates with deviants learns to be deviant.
B) the label of deviant comes to be attached to specific people and specific behavior.
C) deviant labels are used to stigmatize criminal behavior.
D) public labeling of criminals is used to deter crime.

Question 56

On a whim,three-year-old Bobby flicks a spoonful of mashed potatoes at his father.Bobby's father puts him in the time-out chair and tells him he is a bad boy.Bobby's behavior is an example of:

A) primary deviance.
B) secondary deviance.
C) non-conformity.
D) bad manners.

Question 57

Which of these statements about the labeling of a behavior as an illness is FALSE?

A) People who are labeled ill are generally absolved from blame for their behavior.
B) Despite being labeled as an illness, deviant behavior is still stigmatized and punished.
C) People in positions of power are more likely to be labeled ill than deviant.
D) Child abuse, gambling, murder, and rape may now be regarded as forms of mental illness better treated by physicians than sheriffs.

Question 58

The concept of "moral entrepreneur" refers to:

A) persons who are labeled as deviants.
B) those who promote their own moral ideas about who should be labeled deviant.
C) social scientists who look for causes of deviance.
D) persons who commit victimless crimes.

Question 59

All of the following are examples of the medicalization of deviance except:

A) cosmetic surgery to cure self-esteem.
B) taking a drug to cure shyness.
C) prescribing drugs to help someone get over the loss of a loved one.
D) prescribing drugs to cure bipolar disorder.

Question 60

Which of the following categories is most likely to be able to successfully claim the label of "ill"?

A) women
B) African Americans
C) the lower class
D) people in positions of power

Question 61

According to your text,the strongest social explanation for sex differentials in crime rates is that:

A) girls are supervised more closely than boys.
B) boys are bigger in physical size.
C) boys have a biological predisposition toward aggression.
D) boys are given less freedom so are more apt to rebel.

Question 62

The Uniform Crime Report monitors all of the following major offenses EXCEPT:

A) forcible rape.
B) prostitution.
C) arson.
D) motor vehicle theft.

Question 63

Victimless crimes are:

A) crimes that do not hurt anyone.
B) property crimes which do not involve victims.
C) voluntary exchanges between persons who desire goods or services from one another.
D) all crimes that are impersonal.

Question 64

A significant proportion of crime among females is explained by their:

A) greater need for material goods.
B) victimization by males.
C) lack of supervision.
D) responsibility as single mothers.

Question 65

All of the following are examples of corporate crime EXCEPT:

A) polluting the environment.
B) selling defective products.
C) a CEO sexually harassing his assistant.
D) evading corporate taxes.

Question 66

In regards to who commits crime in the U.S.,the text suggests that:

A) people in lower classes commit the most crime.
B) the crimes committed by those in the lower class are the most costly to society.
C) people of different statuses have different opportunities to commit crime.
D) the crimes of people in the upper class are higher yield, but also higher risk.

Question 67

Laws regarding victimless crimes are enforced:

A) regularly.
B) only at the request of a complainant.
C) rarely.
D) through periodic crackdowns and routine harassment.

Question 68

Crimes committed by respectable people of high social status in the course of their occupations are known as:

A) victimless crimes.
B) graft and corruption.
C) white-collar crimes.
D) hidden crimes.

Question 69

Persons arrested for criminal acts are disproportionately:

A) young adult males from minority groups.
B) young adult white males.
C) young females from minority groups.
D) older, lower-class white males.

Question 70

Which of the following is an example of white-collar crime?

A) the armed robbery of a small business by an unemployed lower-class white
B) an industrial plant ignoring the law which prohibits dumping toxic waste into the environment
C) legalized prostitution
D) the slaying of a government official by a subversive and radical political group

Question 71

White-collar criminals are far less likely than street criminals to have all of the following happen EXCEPT:

A) be sentenced to prison.
B) receive a lengthy sentence.
C) hire a competent lawyer.
D) be tried for a crime.

Question 72

Property crime has declined steadily since 1980.Most observers agree that a major reason for this is:

A) a steady decline in the amount of personal property most people own.
B) a reduction in the number of young people throughout the country.
C) the decriminalization of marijuana in some areas.
D) better policing.

Question 73

Compared to Britain,homicide rates in the U.S.are:

A) the same.
B) two times lower.
C) two times higher.
D) five times higher.

Question 74

Young people are more likely to be deviant than older people because they:

A) have more energy.
B) do not have as much to lose, such as a career or a credit rating, by being deviant.
C) don't know any better.
D) are growing up in a more complex society than the older generation did.

Question 75

Victimless crimes are difficult for the police to control because they:

A) do not harm anyone.
B) lack a complaining victim.
C) have wide acceptance in the larger community.
D) involve property and not persons.

Question 76

Less than half of violent crimes,and less than one-fourth of property crimes,ever result in an arrest.This means that:

A) people arrested for criminal acts represent only a sample of people who commit crimes.
B) the police aren't doing their job.
C) these crimes are the ones that most often go unreported.
D) those who are arrested are a good representation of those committing crimes more generally.

Question 77

According to a 2010 study,which of the following groups is least likely to support the legalization of marijuana?

A) Democrats
B) Republicans
C) people ages 65 and older
D) people ages 50-64

Question 78

Research on juvenile delinquency shows that it basically occurs when:

A) there is nothing better to do.
B) an individual experiences a hormonal imbalance.
C) parents are too strict with their children.
D) adolescents are labeled as troublemakers.

Question 79

Which of the following is generally considered to be a victimless crime?

A) burglary
B) illegal entry and trespass
C) gambling
D) larceny-theft

Question 80

Your text suggests that we need to be cautious when generalizing about crime and the larger population of criminals based on UCR statistics because:

A) levels of crime reporting are much higher than actual crime levels.
B) the people arrested for criminal acts are not a random sample of the people who commit crimes.
C) the UCR overemphasizes the crimes of white-collar professionals.
D) UCR statistics do not include those crimes that have been cleared by an arrest.