Deck 6: Deviance

Question 1

What must behavior,trait,or belief do in order to be considered deviant?

A) inspire feelings of revulsion or disgust
B) depart from a norm and generate a negative reaction
C) cause harm or injury to someone
D) violate a law

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Traditionally,most of the sociological literature on deviance focuses on

A) crime.
B) mental illness.
C) the extremely wealthy.
D) the emotional appeal of deviant acts.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of the following would sociologists consider the best definition of deviance?

A) actions that are harmful to society
B) violations of social norms
C) criminal activities
D) immoral or unethical behaviors

Answer 3

B

Question 4

What is one reason imprisonment was such a rare type of punishment before the nineteenth century?

A) Earlier societies did not have sufficient resources to operate prisons.
B) Earlier societies believed physical punishments such as branding would better deter future crimes.
C) Earlier societies were crueler and, therefore, more accepting of harsh physical punishment.
D) Earlier societies believed punishments like shunning and banishment were more humane.

Question 5

Corporal punishments like branding or amputation were commonly used in colonial America.What were these punishments designed to do?

A) They were designed to encourage deviance but not crime.
B) They were designed to mark the offender.
C) They were designed to make the offender impossible to marry.
D) They were designed to promote differential association theory.

Question 6

Which of the following is true regarding prison as a mechanism for punishing crime?

A) Throughout history, most societies have used prison to punish the most serious crimes.
B) Historically, only humane and ethical societies have used prison as a form of punishment.
C) Prison was rarely used before the nineteenth century.
D) Prison is commonly used as a punishment because it is extremely cost-effective.

Question 7

Which of the following describes how deviance can be explained from the functionalist perspective?

A) Deviance breaks down social cohesion and leads to revolution.
B) Deviance makes it easier for the upper class to control the poor.
C) Deviance helps the upper class maintain its power and influence in society.
D) Deviance clarifies moral boundaries and affirms norms.

Question 8

The Amish have neither the resources nor the desire to use prison as a sanction against members of their community who violate the rules.What sanction do they use instead?

A) Offenders are flogged or put in stocks to be publicly humiliated for a short period of time.
B) Monetary fines are used for most norm violations.
C) Meidung or shunning is used, which is a process whereby community members will not associate with a rule breaker for a set period of time.
D) The offender is mandated to provide physical labor for the community.

Question 9

In colonial America,a pickpocket might have had a hand cut off as punishment.Why was this particular method of punishment chosen?

A) The hand is a part of the body that can usually be safely amputated without risk of infection.
B) It was easy and convenient.
C) It was considered symbolically appropriate to punish the part of the body most directly connected with the crime.
D) It was considered the most painful punishments that could be administered.

Question 10

Samantha believes corporations are not punished enough for polluting the planet,manufacturing unsafe products,and manipulating prices.At the same time,she sees homeless people imprisoned for stealing food; she believes we should all have access to regardless of wealth.Samantha has taken a ________ perspective to explain the way deviance is viewed in society.

A) structural functionalist
B) symbolic interactionist
C) conflict theory
D) retreatist

Question 11

John,the CEO of a large bank,is charged with fraud.John pays $13 billion to settle the case and he does not go to jail.Andy is arrested for stealing money out of a parked car.Since Andy is unable to pay his bail or bond,he spends a month in jail while waiting for his trial.John and Andy exemplify the perspective of

A) functionalists like Émile Durkheim.
B) symbolic interactionists like Edwin Sutherland.
C) label theorists like Howard Becker.
D) conflict theorists like Richard Quinney.

Question 12

Who proposed social control theory,which suggests that individuals who have stronger bonds are LESS likely to commit crime?

A) Robert Merton
B) Travis Hirschi
C) Richard Quinney
D) Edwin Sutherland

Question 13

Imagine that a powerful and influential person living in San Francisco decides to heavily tattoo her face with symbols.Would she be seen as deviant?

A) No, powerful people are often allowed to do things others find strange.
B) Yes, face tattooing is always a deviant act.
C) No, there are several cultures in which face tattoos are common.
D) Yes, but only because she lives in the United States where face tattoos are not the norm.

Question 14

There are usually serious consequences when a politician is caught cheating on his spouse.In some cases,the politician is forced to resign from his office when his constituents loudly express their unhappiness with such behavior.According to Émile Durkheim,what function does this reaction serve?

A) It helps to deter politicians from cheating in the future.
B) It helps to clarify moral boundaries and reinforce the idea that marital infidelity is wrong.
C) The public outcry helps rehabilitate the offender so he won't cheat in the future.
D) It helps protect the family members of the politician from scrutiny and media coverage.

Question 15

Some people worry about maintaining a tan.Sometimes,if they do not have the time to tan naturally,they go to a tanning salon or use chemicals to simulate a tan.This might seem bizarre in some cultures,which can help us realize that

A) the line between beauty and deviance is fluid and changes across time and place.
B) there are some types of body modification that are never tolerated anywhere.
C) the rest of the world keeps backward practices and superstitions.
D) people who get fake tans are deviant.

Question 16

Robert Merton's typology of deviance outlines the strain that people experience as they attempt to access cultural goals through legitimate,institutionalized means.In which of the following categories would gangsters and con artists be found?

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

Question 17

Some subcultures have adopted branding as a form of body art,though it is no longer used as a form of punishment in the United States.This demonstrates that

A) what is considered deviant changes over time.
B) many people find punishment desirable.
C) some acts are simply inherently deviant.
D) deviant acts of the past eventually become mainstream acts of the future.

Question 18

Some Americans are angry about the number of immigrants who enter the country every year.An adherent of structural functionalism would argue that this anger

A) hurts the economy by preventing immigration.
B) is unequally distributed, since it is mainly aimed at poor and working-class immigrants.
C) is a form of cyberbullying, since the anger is generally expressed online.
D) promotes social cohesion among nonimmigrants as they come together and label immigrants as outsiders.

Question 19

Today,using the wrong fork to eat a salad at a dinner party would NOT usually qualify as
Deviance because

A) American society no longer has rules and etiquette governing which utensil to use
For salads.
B) most dinners are eaten with friends who do not apply sanctions for deviant behavior.
C) there are not norms governing food and eating.
D) it is not a serious enough norm violation to provoke sanctions.

Question 20

Which theory suggests crimes committed by the upper classes are typically treated more leniently than crimes committed by the lower classes because laws represent the interests of those in power?

A) differential association theory
B) conflict theory
C) principled deviance
D) functionalist theory

Question 21

Stealing avocados or almost any other agricultural product is a felony in California if the product is worth more than $100.A ________ would say that such laws target homeless people who have little power in society and are simply trying to eat.

A) conflict theorist
B) functionalist
C) symbolic interactionist
D) follower of Robert Merton

Question 22

The idea that individuals learn to be deviant by interacting with others who are already deviant is called

A) conflict theory.
B) self-fulfilling prophecy.
C) differential association theory.
D) labeling theory.

Question 23

W.I.Thomas famously argued that if people define situations as real,then

A) others will label them as deviant.
B) it will lead to tertiary deviance.
C) they will be forced to provide evidence.
D) they are real in their consequences.

Question 24

In his book Streetwise,Elijah Anderson argues that young African American men are more likely to be arrested because they

A) commit more flagrant crimes.
B) are more likely to engage in deviant behavior.
C) are more likely to be poor.
D) are perceived as more criminal than others.

Question 25

A person arrived at a company party dressed in a bunny costume only to discover that the party was not a costume party.Although he had been tricked by a co-worker,from then on everyone saw him as crazy and eccentric and eventually he came to think of himself in this way too.The initial mistake at the party is an example of

A) a stigma.
B) primary deviance.
C) a self-fulfilling prophecy.
D) tertiary deviation.

Question 26

Asian American students are more likely to be placed in Advanced Placement classes,score higher grades,and be treated well by teachers.This is called

A) stereotype promise.
B) self-fulfilling prophecy.
C) tertiary deviance.
D) stereotype threat.

Question 27

What theory argues that punishments for rule violators are unequally distributed,with those near the top of society subject to more lenient rules and sanctions than those at the bottom?

A) labeling theory
B) conflict theory
C) functionalist theory
D) symbolic interactionism

Question 28

What did Robert Merton call a prediction that came true only because the prediction was made?

A) a defining prophecy
B) a Thomas prediction
C) a self-fulfilling prophecy
D) a labeling prophecy

Question 29

A man tries to find unconventional and even illegal ways of making money.Into what category does this fit according to Robert Merton's typology?

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

Question 30

According to labeling theory,why were none of the pseudo-patients in David Rosenhan's "On Being Sane in Insane Places" discovered?

A) They all were mentally ill, at least to some extent.
B) They were too "clean-cut" to be considered mentally ill.
C) They were well coached in the symptoms real patients would experience.
D) It is difficult for anyone to see past the label once a person has been labeled
"mentally ill."

Question 31

What is one of the principal reasons people turn to deviant behavior in the United States according to the structural strain theory of deviance as articulated by Robert Merton?

A) There are a lot of people with inborn antisocial tendencies.
B) American society is very lax in enforcing laws.
C) The media sensationalizes deviant behavior, which is why it becomes increasingly attractive to young people.
D) The goal of success is shared by a majority of people, but not everyone has equal means for achieving that goal.

Question 32

How do self-fulfilling prophecies work?

A) We respond not only to the objective features of a situation but also to its meaning. Once meaning has been assigned to our behavior, the consequences of that behavior are determined by the meaning.
B) We learn to be deviant through our interactions with others who break the rules.
C) We tend to respond to the physical and social marks that discredit our identities and leave us vulnerable to negative social judgments.
D) Our social locations are a crucial factor in determining how others see us; therefore, social status is the most important determinant of deviance.

Question 33

After a woman's teenage son engages in deviant behavior,she says the reason for her son's behavior is that "he fell in with a bad crowd." Which symbolic interactionist theory of deviance does this explanation MOST closely resemble?

A) differential association
B) labeling theory
C) self-fulfilling prophecy
D) structural strain theory

Question 34

What happened to the pseudo-patients in David Rosenhan's "On Being Sane in Insane Places"?

A) Several of them finally broke out.
B) One of them turned out to be genuinely mentally ill and was never released.
C) They were all released once doctors realized that they were not actually mentally ill.
D) They were all finally released, but their "illnesses" were considered "in remission."

Question 35

Nowhere to Grow by Les Whitbeck and Dan Hoyt explored the lives of homeless and runaway teens in the Midwest.The authors found that "associating with deviant peers" had a dramatic effect on a wide range of deviant behaviors including increasing "the likelihood of serious substance abuse almost 32 times." What theory of deviance considers the way such interpersonal relationships help to predict deviant behavior?

A) self-fulfilling prophecy
B) retreatism
C) differential association
D) labeling theory

Question 36

Robert Merton developed structural strain theory to explain why deviance happens.To what sort of strain does the theory's name refer?

A) strain between deviant and nondeviant citizens
B) strain between social norms that are codified in laws and those that are not
C) strain between different value systems within a society
D) strain between socially approved goals and the means of achieving them

Question 37

What did David Rosenhan describe in "On Being Sane in Insane Places"?

A) Although it may be difficult for the rest of us, psychiatrists can easily differentiate between those who are mentally ill and those who are not.
B) Researchers posing as "pseudo-patients" in a mental hospital but otherwise acting normally were treated as mentally ill by the hospital staff.
C) Patients were unable to determine who among them were really researchers posing as "pseudo-patients."
D) Researchers working in mental hospitals started to develop higher rates of mental illness.

Question 38

Robert Merton's structural strain theory sees deviance as the result of a person's position in a social structure.What do you think Jack Katz,author of Seductions of Crime,would say about structural strain theory?

A) Merton's analysis fails because it does not understand that some people will reject both mainstream cultural goals and the institutionalized means to achieve them.
B) Merton's analysis was correct, in that background factors are almost always the most effective way to predict who will commit deviant acts.
C) A focus on social position fails to consider the emotional appeal that a deviant act has for an individual.
D) Merton needs to look at a broader range of background factors including age and sexuality.

Question 39

Under what circumstances does a deviant label transition from primary to secondary deviance?

A) when the deviant label is applied by a large number of people
B) when the deviant label is applied by someone very powerful
C) when the deviant label is internalized
D) when the deviant label is applied later in life

Question 40

What might a conflict theorist conclude about deviance if an upper-middle-class,white college student is sentenced to rehab for the same drug crime that a lower-class,black man is sentenced to jail for committing?

A) Different levels of punishment are functional, as they keep the most productive members of society out of jail.
B) Criminals from the lower class should be more harshly punished, as they are more likely to re-offend.
C) The two criminals probably had very different motives for committing their crimes and this explains the difference in punishment.
D) The rules are applied unequally and those with power or influence are punished much less harshly.

Question 41

Jewish families as well as African Americans and Hispanics were not permitted to purchase houses in the suburb of Lakewood,California,when it was first built in 1950.However,within a few years,the developers reversed this policy and started selling homes to families regardless of religious faith or ethnicity.What does this tell us about stigma?

A) Stigma leaves permanent marks on those it affects.
B) Stigma is only a problem in areas where money is involved.
C) Stigmatized identities can be overcome through passing.
D) Stigmatized identities change over time.

Question 42

Almost any ________ can have a stigmatizing effect,including a physical disability or a battle with addiction or mental illness.

A) departure from the norm
B) social control
C) secondary deviance
D) conformity

Question 43

There are several ways in which gays and lesbians in the United States have chosen to manage their stigma.When gay rights activists chant the slogan,"We're here,we're queer,get used to it," what strategy are they using?

A) passing
B) assimilation
C) bureaucratic mediation
D) in-group orientation

Question 44

According to Jack Katz,what do muggers gain from their crimes aside from material objects?

A) He argues that they are often trying to return to prison where they feel more secure.
B) He argues that they seek power and control over their victims.
C) He argues that they mug for a sense of satisfaction and excitement.
D) He argues that they mug for a steady living that allows them to move up in social status.

Question 45

Given Jack Katz's theory of crime,what do you think would be the best subtitle for his book The Seductions of Crime?

A) The World of the New Urban Poor
B) Social Structure and Anomie
C) Attractions of "Doing" Deviance
D) The Careers of Persistent Thieves

Question 46

In Mama Lola: A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn,Karen McCarthy Brown studied practitioners of the Vodou religion living in the United States.However,she went far beyond the usual role of scientific observer and became a member of the religious group she was studying.She also gave her key informant veto power over certain elements of her work.Why would this be helpful?

A) It helped her learn all the secrets that practitioners of Vodou would not tell outsiders.
B) It gave her better insight into how to convert practitioners away from Vodou.
C) It helped her set aside preconceived notions about Vodou to understand it on its own terms.
D) It would not be helpful; without doubt, it crippled her ability to make objective judgments.

Question 47

David Rosenhan argues that misdiagnosis is particularly a problem for psychologists,as a diagnosis of a mental illness is as influential on the patient as it is on his or her relatives and friends.It should not surprise anyone that the diagnosis acts as a(n)

A) act of tertiary deviance.
B) sign of structural strain.
C) gesture of passing.
D) self-fulfilling prophecy.

Question 48

Hate crimes targeting Arab Americans and those mistakenly identified as Arab increased after Arab identity became stigmatized.What sort of stigma was this?

A) moral
B) symbolic
C) religious
D) tribal

Question 49

Construction crews are constantly annoyed at the way people,mostly teenage boys,steal orange cones and flashing pylons that mark construction zones.According to Jack Katz,why does this sort of deviance happen?

A) The thieves find these items aesthetically appealing, but they do not know where to buy them.
B) The thieves are afflicted with a psychological disorder like kleptomania, which compels them to steal.
C) The thieves are usually planning on reselling the materials on the black market.
D) This sort of deviance produces a rush of energy and excitement.

Question 50

In what aspects of stigma are symbolic interactionists interested?

A) how people manage their stigmatized identities on an everyday basis
B) which stigmas are fair and which are unjustly applied
C) how stigma always leads to positive life outcomes
D) how stigma leads to increased self-esteem

Question 51

Which of the following statements helps describe how Jack Katz's book Seductions of Crime explained deviance in a new way?

A) Conflict theorists have frequently argued that differences in economic resources give elites the ability to control the coercive apparatus of the state. Pronounced economic differences also provide elites with a need to maintain order.
B) Three decades ago, criminologists widely decried the failure of rehabilitative efforts to reduce recidivism. This "nothing works" attitude permeated the field of criminal justice, and a period of punitive justice was ushered in.
C) The social science literature contains only scattered evidence of what it means, feels, sounds, tastes, or looks like to commit a particular crime.
D) Society should be considered as a cross between the cultural "goals" for which it believes its members should strive and the "means" that are believed, legally or morally, to be legitimate ways in which individuals should attain these goals.

Question 52

What does the sociologist Jack Katz think sociologists should study when trying to understand deviance instead of solely examining background factors?

A) the deviant's own experience of committing a deviant act
B) the correlation between deviance and poverty
C) the way deviance tends to be handed down through generations
D) the role poverty plays in encouraging deviance

Question 53

Which of the following actions would be an example of in-group orientation?

A) a light-skinned African American woman claims to be white in order to avoid discrimination and violence.
B) a man renounces society and moves to a cabin in the woods.
C) a man wears a T-shirt identifying him as a member of a popular fraternity.
D) a woman writes on her social media, "I am black, trans, and proud!"

Question 54

When studying deviance,sociologists often focus on the most obvious and extreme forms of deviant behavior.What are the consequences of this approach?

A) Only those deviant individuals who embrace their deviant labels will be studied.
B) Only the deviant behaviors of the rich and powerful will be studied.
C) The values and norms of the powerful are left unexamined while the deviance of the poor is scrutinized.
D) Few, if any, of the most serious problems in a given society can be identified.

Question 55

Why might teenagers shoplift according to Jack Katz's Seductions of Crime?

A) They feel strain between their means and the goals society tells them are desirable.
B) They want the thrill of getting away with breaking the rules.
C) They come from a low socioeconomic class.
D) Young people are inherently predisposed to crime.

Question 56

According to Jack Katz,there are several reasons why adolescents might shoplift.One reason is the material appeal of the objects that are taken,but more importantly,they

A) can gain entrance to gangs if they are successful.
B) often have a vendetta against a particular store or small business owner.
C) regard "getting away with it" as a demonstration of personal competence.
D) usually need to make money by selling the objects they steal.

Question 57

Most sociological studies of deviance focus on elements of an individual's background that would predispose him or her to act in deviant ways.What is the key problem with such an approach?

A) It cannot explain why some people with very similar backgrounds act differently.
B) It requires a great deal of statistical analysis.
C) It focuses too much on the emotional appeal of certain types of crime.
D) It requires psychiatric evaluations.

Question 58

A gay man joins a dating website.He tells his friends that he is frustrated when other men on the website describe themselves as "straight-acting,straight-appearing." He believes that these men are treating gay identity as a stigmatized identity by

A) passing.
B) in-group orientation.
C) deviance avowal.
D) symbolic interactionism.

Question 59

According to Erving Goffman,stigmatized individuals who do not believe that they should have to change or conceal their identities to make "normal" people more comfortable have

A) secondary deviance.
B) in-group orientation.
C) self-esteem.
D) deviance avowal.

Question 60

Brooke is a PhD candidate in the field of nanophysics.She is aware that only 4 percent of physics professionals are women.Brooke has heard peers and even instructors say that this is because women struggle to comprehend complex mathematics.When Brooke scores below her male counterparts on an exam,she may be experiencing

A) the stereotype promise.
B) a self-fulfilling prophecy.
C) tertiary deviance.
D) the stereotype threat.

Question 61

In the United States,the ________ is made up of legislatures,the police,courts,and prisons.

A) full state system
B) uniform crime report (UCR)
C) positive deviance
D) criminal justice system

Question 62

What do we call norm violations that are codified into law?

A) crimes
B) taboos
C) violent crimes
D) mores

Question 63

How does the FBI's Uniform Crime Report measure crime?

A) A random sample of citizens are asked what crimes they have been the victims of in the past twelve months.
B) A random sample of police officers is asked what crime levels they have observed.
C) Every crime reported by over 17,000 law enforcement agencies in the United States is tabulated.
D) The convictions of every district attorney in the United States are tabulated.

Question 64

What is the Uniform Crime Report (UCR)?

A) a report that assigns funding to different areas of federal law enforcement
B) an official measure of all the norm violations that occur
C) sentencing guidelines as they relate to race and class
D) an official measure of crime in the United States

Question 65

Many people today argue that convicted sex offenders should be chemically castrated or held in protective custody beyond their original sentences.What is the logic of these punishments?

A) incapacitation
B) deterrence
C) retribution
D) rehabilitation

Question 66

The vast majority of crimes come to the attention of the police in response to citizen complaints.Citizens do not usually bother to inform the authorities if they do not think a crime is serious enough or feel that nothing can be done.This means that there might be serious bias in the

A) symbolic interactionist theory of deviance.
B) way conflict theorists understand deviance.
C) value of punishment for deterrence.
D) Uniform Crime Report.

Question 67

According to the Uniform Crime Report,murder is MOST likely committed by a

A) dating partner.
B) friend or relative.
C) stranger.
D) gang member.

Question 68

Martin Luther King Jr.went to jail many times for acts of civil disobedience,such as ignoring court orders prohibiting marches and boycotts.Some people,even those who agreed with him,criticized him for disobeying the law.Today,however,most people view these actions as a form of

A) positive deviance.
B) deterrence.
C) deviance avowal.
D) in-group orientation.

Question 69

An individual who works at a bookstore routinely takes home ballpoint pens and Post-it notes,uses the copy machine to make personal copies,and makes long-distance phone calls on the store's line.However,he would never consider stealing money from the cash register,even if he knew he could get away with it.What is this behavior called?

A) stigmatizing
B) pilfering
C) self-fulfilling property
D) criminology

Question 70

Sociologists are making both a social and a moral judgment when they use the term "deviant."

Question 71

Martha Stewart was convicted of obstruction of justice after lying to the FBI during an investigation of her sale of a stock that dramatically fell in value immediately after she sold it.Her conviction was unusual,as this sort of white collar crime is much more likely to be dealt with in civil,rather than criminal,court.How does the tendency to deal with white collar criminals in civil court bias our understanding of the demographics of crime?

A) It causes us to underestimate the number of property crimes committed each year.
B) It encourages us to equate cash register honesty with real honesty.
C) It leads us to overestimate the relationship between poverty and crime.
D) It creates a false relationship between gender and crime.

Question 72

What is the justification for harsh sentencing guidelines like California's controversial "three
Strikes" law?

A) deterrence of future crimes
B) rehabilitation of criminals
C) retribution for crimes
D) reform of individual criminals

Question 73

Sociologists argue that no behavior,not even one designed to kill a great number of people,is inherently deviant.

Question 74

Deviance can be considered relative because whether a behavior is considered deviant depends upon the historical,cultural,and situational context in which it occurs.

Question 75

Which factor makes sociologists question the relationship between youth and crime?

A) Official crime statistics show that middle-aged people commit a large percentage of crimes.
B) Young people may commit crimes that are more visible and, therefore, are arrested more often.
C) Young people commit more property crimes, but older people commit more violent crimes.
D) Young people are stronger and more fit so they can find jobs instead of resorting to criminal activity for income.

Question 76

A man's computer is hacked; by stealing his identity,the hacker is able to steal money from the man's bank account.The man is a victim of

A) property crime.
B) violent crime.
C) cyberbullying.
D) cybercrime.

Question 77

How do sociologists define positive deviance?

A) deviance that relates to a criminal record
B) deviance that actively harms someone physically
C) actions initially considered deviant, but later deemed appropriate
D) the acts that come with secondary deviance

Question 78

Some people utilize social media as an enhanced form of condescending attacks known as

A) deviance.
B) criminology.
C) white collar crime.
D) cyberbullying.

Question 79

Throughout history,prison has been the most common means of punishment for criminals and deviants.

Question 80

What evidence shows that the number of women who commit crimes is related to social structure?

A) Female arrest rates have remained remarkably steady over the course of American history.
B) Male and female arrest rates tend to change at about the same rate.
C) There are approximately as many women in prison as men.
D) Female arrest rates have increased as women have more presence in the labor market.