Q&A Hero

Q: In a heterogeneous society, what constitutes deviance a. is almost unanimously agreed upon. b. results in severely punitive response. c. is the source of widespread disagreement. d. is determined by law.

Q: Violators of important social norms are often _____; that is, they are set apart by being socially disgraced. a. deviated b. stigmatized c. segregated d. banished

Q: Who wrote a book about how the Internet has upped the ante regarding deviance and public shame? a. Daniel Solove Labeling theorists b. Daniel Gross Conflict theorists c. Emile Durkheim Order theorists d. Cornel West Social Darwinists

Q: By punishing deviants, the group expresses collective indignation and reaffirms its commitments to the rules. This illustrates which of the five important principles of deviance described in the chapter?a. Deviance is socially constructed.b. Deviance is relative, not absolute.c. The majority determines who and what is deviant.d. Deviance is an integral part of all societies.

Q: According to _____, deviance gives the nondeviants a sense of solidarity by reasserting the importance of the rule being violated. a. Daniel Solove b. Daniel Gross c. Emile Durkheim d. Cornel West

Q: Within a society, certain groups have more _____ than others, so they have more success in getting their definitions of deviance to prevail. a. moral authority b. power c. logical reasons d. differences of opinion

Q: Who decides that certain behavior is or is not deviant in a society? a. The majority b. The government c. Religious leaders d. The voters

Q: Until the Supreme Court decision of June, 2015, Chris could marry Robin in some but not all states only if one of them was male and the other female. This is an example of the chapter's assertion that _____ shows that deviance is relative.a. deviant people adopting societal normsb. deviant behavior among consenting adultsc. deviant behavior results in similar behavior by different categories of people within a single societyd. differential treatment of similar behavior by different categories of people within a single society

Q: Evidence that deviance is a(n) _____ is found in the fact that societies differ on what is considered deviance. a. integral part of developing societies but not developed ones b. absolute, not a relative, notion c. relative, not an absolute, notion d. integral part of some but not all societies

Q: Deviance is _____, meaning that social organizations create definitions of right and wrong by originating norms, the infraction of which constitutes deviance. a. individually based b. socially constructed c. a source of societal unrest d. relative, not absolute

Q: The term "deviance" refers to a. behavior that does not conform to social expectations. b. biologically created reality. c. behavior that is inherently wrong. d. behavior consistently condemned from society to society.

Q: Contrast the view of conflict and order perspectives regarding what constitutes a political crime.

Q: Explain labeling theory and discuss the strengths and the criticisms of it.

Q: Explain the system-blame approach and discuss the dangers of relying completely on it for explaining deviance.

Q: Discuss the concept of the culture of poverty, and contrast the views of Banfield and Gross.

Q: Discuss the argument that the definition of deviance is relative.

Q: A strength of the labeling theory is that it a. concentrates on the role of societal reaction in the creation of deviance. b. focuses on the question of causation. c. disregards undetected deviance. d. realizes that the label is applied disproportionately to the powerful.

Q: The most serious deficiency of labeling theory is that it a. insists that some people are dangerous. b. focuses on some types of deviance but ignores others. c. emphasizes the individual's responsibility for the deviant act. d. is preoccupied with the crimes of the well-to-do.

Q: The _____ approach to social problems focuses on laws and customs of society, which are seen as constructed to serve the powerful; consequently, the solution to deviance is to restructure society instead of rehabilitating the criminal. a. conflict b. order c. labeling d. differential

Q: Which of the following is NOT a strength of the conflict perspective on deviance? a. Emphasis on the relationship between political order and nonconformity b. Recognition of the importance of individuals taking responsibility for their choices and the consequences of those choices c. Understanding that the most powerful groups use the political order to protect their interests d. Recognition that the institutional framework of society is the source of so many social problems

Q: The _____ perspective on deviance has been criticized for its tendency to assume a conspiracy by the well-to-do and for proposing solutions that can only be achieved by completely changing our entire society. a. deterministic b. order c. conflict d. labeling

Q: What type of crime is defined very differently by order theorists and conflict theorists? a. Political b. Property c. Street d. Interpersonal

Q: _____ is the illegal and/or socially harmful behaviors that result from deliberate decision making by corporate executives for the benefit of their organizations. a. Political deviance b. Corporate crime c. Street crime d. Secondary deviance

Q: _____ theorists argue that deviance is not limited to troubled individuals, because organizations also can be deviant. a. Conflict b. Order c. Labeling d. Interaction

Q: _____ is a strategy of leaving juvenile delinquents alone as much as possible rather than giving them a negative label. a. Radical nonintervention b. Primary intervention c. Strategic misdirection d. Extreme nonlabeling

Q: One of the factors related to criminologist Jeffrey Reiman's statement,"Prison produces more criminals than it cures," is a. educational programs in prison are overfunded and therefore unsuccessful. b. the kind of person who gets sent to prison will become a criminal sooner or later. c. inmates prefer living in prison to having to support themselves on the outside. d. prisons provide learning experiences for prisoners in the art of crime.

Q: _____ is a public, nonviolent breach of the law with the purpose of calling attention to unfair laws or practices. a. Corporate crime b. Civil disobedience c. Individual deviance d. Radical nonintervention

Q: Jackson was sent to prison because he was wrongly identified by an eyewitness as having robbed a convenience store. When he was released from prison, he could not find a job because he had a felony on his record, so to obtain money to live on, he robbed a convenience store. This type of behavior is called _____ deviance. a. secondary b. resulting c. primary d. ironic

Q: The term _____ deviance refers to the rule breaking that occurs before a person is labeled as "deviant." a. secondary b. residual c. primary d. previous

Q: For people found guilty of murder, the most severe sentences are handed out when the victim is _____ and the perpetrator is _____. a. Black; White b. White; Black c. Hispanic; Black d. Black; Black

Q: According to a study conducted at Temple University along one stretch of Interstate 95, 75% of traffic violations were by Whites, yet 80% of searches were of minorities. This is an example of a. primary deviance. b. secondary deviance. c. radical nonintervention. d. racial profiling.

Q: According to labeling theory, a person being labeled as a deviant is a. a matter of luck. b. a type of random selection. c. a result of systematic social bias against the powerless. d. necessary to prevent crime and protect the status quo.

Q: _____ is the view of deviant behavior that stresses the importance of the society in defining what is illegal and in assigning deviant status to particular individuals, which in turn dominates their identities and behaviors. a. Conflict theory b. Labeling theory c. Order theory d. Social Darwinism

Q: Which of the following contended in a 2008 essay on the culture of poverty that we should stop focusing on the underclass because it is the overclass that is hurting society? a. Daniel Solove Labeling theory b. Daniel Gross Conflict theory c. Emile Durkheim Order theory d. Cornel West Stigmatization theory

Q: The person-blame interpretations of deviance reinforce a. the idea that the social system is flawed. b. the emphasis on changing the correctional system. c. a focus on labeling theory. d. social myths about the degree of control we have over our fate.

Q: Some studies have shown that more than _____ of prison inmates are functionally illiterate. a. 30% b. 40% c. 50% d. 60%

Q: Victim blamers contend that African Americans are more likely than Whites to be incarcerated because they have high rates of illegitimacy, a high proportion of transient males, and their families have matriarchal structures. What does this approach ignore? a. That Whites are more likely to be incarcerated than African Americans b. The pervasive effects of racism in the United States c. That this is actually a system-blaming approach d. The victim blamers are psychologically deprived

Q: The person-blame approach results in the advantaged segments of society a. retaining their advantages. b. losing their advantages. c. blaming others for their problems. d. blaming the poor for higher taxes.

Q: The sociological theories that focus on _____ are based on the empirical observations that crime and mental illness rates vary by social location; that is, by social class, ethnicity, race, place of residence, and sex. a. the culture of poverty b. kinds of people c. psychological problems d. societal norms

Q: One danger of the system-blame orientation is that it a. gives too much credibility to the idea that some individuals are malicious for psychological reasons. b. blames the victim. c. can present people as robots controlled totally by their social environment. d. has no explanation for social problems like poverty or recidivism.

Q: Gilberto's teacher says he will never do well in school and will probably become a criminal because he is not trying hard enough to learn English. The teacher's attitude is known as a. predicting the future. b. blaming the victim. c. racial profiling. d. blaming society.

Q: According to _____, a person in the lower class does not have a strong sense of morality and thus is not constrained by legal rules. a. Edwin Sutherland b. Robert Merton c. William Ryan d. Edward Banfield

Q: The concept of _____ is the view that the poor are qualitatively different in values and lifestyles from the rest of society, and that these cultural differences explain continued poverty and deviance. a. cultural transmission b. stigmatization c. the culture of poverty d. cultural deprivation

Q: _____ proposed that people turn to deviance because they are denied access to legitimate means of achieving the goals of society. a. Sigmund Freud b. Edwin Sutherland c. Robert Merton d. William Ryan

Q: Edwin Sutherland's theory of _____ proposes that procriminal sentiments are acquired by association with other individuals in a process of social interaction. a. the culture of poverty b. differential opportunities c. differential association d. inadequate socialization

Q: In Freudian theory, the deviant is a person who has not developed an adequate ______ to control the _______ . a. superego; ego b. ego; id c. ego; superego d. libido; ego

Q: Discuss the difference in government surveillance prior to and after September 11, 2001.

Q: Discuss the ways in which science and technology can be used as agents of social control for good or ill.

Q: Discuss the Piven and Cloward theory that social welfare can be seen as an agent of direct social control.

Q: Discuss the effect of the consolidation of media outlets on ideological social control.

Q: Discuss the three ways ideological social control is exerted in a complex society such as the United States.

Q: One danger from the loss of privacy caused by the Internet is that employers, banks, and government agencies may a. use data to make decisions about our lives without our knowledge. b. market to us only products in which we are most likely to be interested. c. be unable to find the data they need in the vast stores of unfiltered information. d. lose important data if terrorists successfully attack the grid.

Q: Employers and large corporations are agents of direct social control and routinely a. allow telecommuting for workers' convenience. b. file lawsuits on behalf of workers against government intrusions on their privacy. c. move jobs oversees, laying off U.S. workers. d. violate workers' privacy.

Q: Which organization sued the government under the Freedom of Information Act to obtain about 2,500 documents, resulting in the revelation of a long list of FBI intelligence abuses? a. Intelligence Oversight Board b. Greenpeace c. Electronic Frontier Foundation d. Amnesty International

Q: PRISM is the surveillance program operated by the NSA that collects data from such companies as Facebook, Yahoo, and Google about people's email and stored data in a process known as a. unwaranted infiltration. b. warrantless wiretapping. c. domestic data processing. d. datamining.

Q: Who was the only U.S. Senator to vote against the Patriot Act of 2001? a. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin b. Hillary Clinton of New York c. Ted Cruz of Texas d. Bernie Sanders of Vermont

Q: The provisions in the USA Patriot Act of 2001 allow the government to a. legalize gay marriage. b. collect taxes from illegal immigrants. c. show evidence of a crime before engaging in domestic spying. d. jail noncitizens based on suspicion, even without evidence.

Q: During the 1970s J. Edgar Hoover said _____ "should be viewed as part of the enemy, a challenge to American values" and paid informants to infiltrate related groups. a. socialists b. progressive lawyers c. feminists d. the KKK

Q: Which of the following represents the view of order theorists in relation to the law? a. The state exists to serve the ruling class. b. The legal system is pluralistic, made of a number of interest groups of more or less equal power. c. The law and the legal system reflect and serve the needs of the ruling class. d. The ruling class is served by the law when domestic order prevails and challenges to changing the economic and political system are successfully thwarted.

Q: The law is employed to control behaviors that might endanger the general welfare (such as rape and murder). The chapter argues that the law alsoa. promotes the point of view of some at the expense of others.b. endangers the status quo.c. promotes order and conflict.d. exerts ideological social control.

Q: The U.S. Constitution affirms that dissent is appropriate. The chapter notes that the U.S. government _____ dissent.a. requiresb. ignoresc. encouragesd. represses

Q: Singapore is known for its very strict system of laws and punishments. The punishment for bringing _____ into the country is a year in jail and a $5,500 fine. a. fresh fruit b. homosexuals c. gum d. pornography

Q: By the end of 2012, _____ people in the United States were incarcerated, on probation, or on parole under the jurisdiction of the criminal justice system. a. 2.2 million b. 7 million c. 15.6 million d. 2.2 billion

Q: There is a clear mandate for the government to apprehend and punish criminals because it is the government's primary objective to a. provide for the welfare of its citizens. b. appease the special interests who pay for political campaigns. c. exert direct social control over deviants. d. exert ideological social control over citizens.

Q: The prospect of changing an individual's nature by changing his or her genes has useful medical applications but also raises some potential problems and questions. For instance, should _____ be allowed in order to develop high-performance athletes? a. eugenics fundamentally necessary to the advancement of society. b. human genetic engineering of creating and maintaining balance and harmony in a society. c. gene therapy basic to human development. d. gene doping of getting people to uncritically accept society.

Q: William was born with sickle-cell anemia, a highly painful, incurable genetic condition. His parents are hopeful that with _____ (altering the genetic makeup of a fetus before birth) their next child might be spared this ordeal. a. eugenics diminished by the school's support of the family. b. human genetic engineering facilitated by the decreasing amount of time parents spend with their children. c. gene therapy being undermined by the religious institution. d. gene doping none of the above.

Q: _____ is the science of manipulating an individual's genetic makeup to alter his or her observable traits. a. Eugenics b. Human genetic engineering c. Gene therapy d. Gene doping

Q: In which country were more than 70,000 people legally sterilized for deviations such as drunkeness, criminality, sexual perversion, and feeblemindedness, over a period of about 70 years? a. United States b. USSR c. Singapore d. Nazi Germany

Q: The idea that the human race can be improved by controlling hereditary factors was a theory called a. euryoky. b. eustacy. c. euglenics. d. eugenics.

Q: Scarpitti and Andersen argued that labelling _____ as mentally ill made it less likely that other people in society would challenge the existing privilege characteristics of economic, social, and political institutions. a. psychotics b. political dissidents c. homosexuals d. women

Q: The chapter suggests that treatment of the mentally ill, often through the use of drugs, is an attempt toa. make the normal more abnormal.b. validate, enforce, and reinforce the established ways of society.c. exert ideological social control over deviants.d. provide treatment to those who are suffering.

Q: According to Piven and Cloward, what is the subtle social function of having a category of people in a society who are always on welfare? a. Welfare receipients are looked down on, so those who accept low wages feel satisfied with their own social position. b. Because social programs grow or contract depending on the economy, having a group always on welfare keeps the programs from disappearing completely. c. Welfare recipients may be too lazy to hold a job, but welfare keeps them out of jail, which would have a higher cost to society. d. Welfare provides a safety net for those who cannot find work, especially single mothers and the disabled.

Q: The theories of Piven and Cloward appear to be borne out by the fact that social welfare programs _____ when stability is restored. a. are seen as even more necessary b. remain at the new level c. are built back up d. are contracted or abolished

Q: According to Piven and Cloward, the purpose of social welfare is to a. provide for the needy. b. segregate the rich from the poor. c. defuse social unrest. d. bar people from their traditional occupations.

Q: The chapter identifies four types of people who are considered deviant and therefore targets of direct social control. Which of the following is NOT one of those four types?a. The poorb. The one percentc. The mentally illd. Criminals

Q: _____ social control is defined as the attempt to punish or neutralize (render powerless) organizations or individuals who deviate from society's norms? a. Direct b. Indirect c. Ideological d. Legalized

Q: Which of the following would Karl Marx NOT be likely to consider a "have not" in a capitalist society? a. Single white mother making the minimum wage at a fast-food restaurant b. Ivy-league educated African American man pulled over by the police for driving a flashy car c. Man working in an automobile factory who is a recent immigrant from Ukraine d. White, male college professor of English descent, who has just lost a book contract

Q: Who maintained that the "have nots" would eventually feel their common oppression and unite to overthrow the owners of capital? a. Vladimir Putin b. David Saldana c. Karl Marx d. Carl Jung

Q: From time to time _____ try to exert ideological social control by mandating certain course content in public schools. Texas is often cited as an extreme example of this practice. a. the federal agencies b. state legislatures c. religious institutions d. families

Q: The most obvious way that government officials attempt to shape public opinion is through a. televised speeches. b. legislation. c. court decisions. d. encyclicals.