Deck 7: Deviance and Conformity

Question 1

In a study by the American Medical Association in 1989, what media form was found to have the greatest influence on teenagers?

A) television
B) rented movies
C) music
D) video games

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which sociological theory used to explain deviance is best illustrated by the phrase "birds of a feather flock together"?

A) social control theory
B) containment theory
C) labeling theory
D) differential association theory

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Who was the sociologist who extensively addressed the types of stigma individuals experience and noted that stigmatized individuals are often seen as being "not quite human"?

A) Jeffrey Reiman
B) Erving Goffman
C) Marvin Wolfgang
D) Stanton Feldman

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Who was the sociologist who developed a social control theory to explain deviance that was based on inner and outer containments?

A) Walter Reckless
B) Kai Erikson
C) James B. Watson
D) Robert K. Merton

Question 5

What theory of social control states that deviance will be effectively reduced if negative social sanctions are perceived to be swift, certain, and severe?

A) social learning theory
B) the medical model
C) deterrence theory
D) the structuralist model

Question 6

What type of stigma is experienced by ethnic and racial minorities, gays and lesbians, and members of the Pagans motorcycle gang?

A) abominations of the body
B) blemishes of individual character
C) tribal stigma
D) flaws of individual choice

Question 7

The Italian surgeon who developed the theoretical explanation that atavism was the cause of deviance was ________.

A) Cesare Beccaria
B) Guido Sarducci
C) Anthony Zumpetta
D) Cesare Lombroso

Question 8

Who developed the Pyrrhic defeat theory and applied it as a plausible explanation for the failure of the criminal justice system in the United States?

A) Jeffrey Reiman
B) Douglas Massey
C) Nancy Denton
D) Kelly Troutman

Question 9

Which statement is MOST accurate in describing deviance and conformity?

A) Deviance and conformity are absolutes.
B) Deviance is always considered a negative behavior and conformity is positive.
C) With social reform and the proper incentives, deviance can be eliminated from society.
D) Deviance and conformity are relative terms based on a number of societal variables.

Question 10

What were the two main issues in the typology of adaptive behavior that Robert Merton developed in strain theory?

A) illegitimate opportunity and a desire to violate the norms of society
B) the profit motive and motive to achieve status
C) socially accepted goals and culturally approved means to achieve them
D) the concept of equal opportunity and the concept of personal responsibility

Question 11

Who was one of the first social scientist to conduct experiments that attempted to link television violence to aggressive behavior in children?

A) Albert Bandura
B) Marvin Wolfgang
C) Jeffrey Reiman
D) Solomon Asch

Question 12

Based on the theories of Edwin Lemert, what is it called when an individual violates a norm and is viewed as deviant but rejects the deviant label and maintains a conformist conception of him or herself?

A) elite deviance
B) public deviance
C) primary deviance
D) secondary deviance

Question 13

What does sociological research suggest as the major reason for banning gangsta rap that includes lyrics promoting suicide, racism, and murder?

A) The lyrics are turning young people into seriously uncontrollable juvenile delinquents.
B) The ban is motivated more by race and social class than by genuine concern for its potential effects.
C) The ban is motivated by traditional recording companies' wanting to regain their share of the market.
D) The high rise in juvenile suicide is directly related to the increase in the popularity of gangsta rap.

Question 14

What is the oldest theoretical explanation for deviant behavior?

A) phrenology
B) physiognomy
C) demonology
D) atavism

Question 15

Which philosophical emphasis are American corrections programs most aligned?

A) rehabilitation
B) reformulation
C) reintegration
D) retribution

Question 16

During the 1970s, the popular therapy for inmates was to refer to them as residents, define the symptoms of their criminality, determine a prognosis for their return to society, and develop a treatment plan to make it happen. Under which sociological explanation does such an approach qualify?

A) the symbolic interactionist model
B) the demonology model
C) the functionalist model
D) the medical model

Question 17

Some studies suggest watching violent television shows and playing violent video games provide a vicarious outlet for aggression and reduce the amount of violence engaged in by the viewer. What is this expending of violence through the use of media called?

A) the metamorphosis syndrome
B) the Klinefelter syndrome
C) the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
D) the cathartic effect

Question 18

Of the following variables, which is perhaps the MOST influential in deviance and conformity?

A) The time the behavior occurs.
B) The place the behavior occurs.
C) The cultural context in which the behavior occurs.
D) The situation in which the behavior occurs.

Question 19

Beliefs such as "we are a nation of laws, not men" and "no one is above the law" are examples of a typology of deviant behavior called ________ .

A) the societal reactive approach
B) the normative approach
C) the prescriptive approach
D) the proscriptive approach

Question 20

Which of the following statements best describes Émile Durkheim's view of crime and its effect on society?

A) Crime is a social pathology that will destroy society if left unchecked.
B) Crime is a normal part of all societies and all societies institutionalize sanctions to control criminals.
C) Crime is nonutilitarian, malicious, and negativistic.
D) Crime is a product of civilization and will continue to grow as society becomes more technologically advanced.

Question 21

states that deviance will be deterred if negative social sanctions (especially punishment) are perceived to be certain, swift, and severe.

A) Deterrence theory
B) Social control theory
C) Deviance theory
D) Rational choice theory

Question 22

The mode of adaptive behavior that accepts and pursues socially accepted goals but rejects culturally approved means to achieve them is ritualism.

Question 23

What sociological perspective views both deviance and conformity as integral components of the basic structure of society?

A) the conflict perspective
B) the neo-conflict perspective
C) the structural functionalist perspective
D) the symbolic interactionist perspective

Question 24

What mode of adaptive behavior rejects socially accepted goals but accepts the culturally approved means to achieve them?

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

Question 25

What did the U.S. Supreme Court finally agree upon to determine what constitutes obscenity and pornography?

A) Only members of a local community can define obscenity by determining what violates their moral standards.
B) Any material that exposes the human body in such a manner that it evokes sexual arousal is pornographic.
C) Material exposing males and/or females in sexual behavior violating legal or moral statutes is obscene.
D) Any behavior or display of the body that violates the 6th, 8th, or 14th amendments to the Constitution is obscene.

Question 26

In medieval England anyone over the age of six was required to witness beheadings, hangings, and other forms of public execution to discourage others from committing similar acts as the condemned. With this motive, such a requirement fulfilled which of the following goals?

A) general deterrence
B) specific deterrence
C) capital deterrence
D) social deterrence

Question 27

Based on the theories of Edwin Lemert, what is it called when an individual violates a norm and internalizes a deviant label and assumption of the deviant role?

A) elite deviance
B) public deviance
C) primary deviance
D) secondary deviance

Question 28

Who were the three sociologists who examined deviant subcultures by focusing on the lack of legitimate opportunity available to juvenile delinquents?

A) Albert Cohen, Richard Cloward, & Lloyd Ohlin
B) Douglas Massey, Jeffrey Reiman, & Stanton Samenow
C) Kai Erikson, Talcott Parsons, & Robert Merton
D) Edwin Sutherland, Travis Hirschi, & George Packer

Question 29

Which of the following terms is also used to describe victimless crime?

A) organized crime
B) elite deviance
C) public order offenses
D) street deviance

Question 30

In Ruth Cavan's model that classifies overconformity as well as underconformity as deviance, what does she label the scope of behavior considered as acceptable?

A) the sweet spot
B) the range of tolerance
C) the happy medium
D) the prescriptive approach

Question 31

What was the form of suicide Durkheim identified as occurring in large, complex, and loosely integrated societies?

A) egoistic suicide
B) altruistic suicide
C) fatalistic suicide
D) anomic suicide

Question 32

The Italian surgeon Cesare Lombroso developed a theoretical explanation for deviance and crime based on flawed genetic traits. He called this theoretical explanation ________.

A) stigma
B) physiognomy
C) phrenology
D) atavism

Question 33

How did Herbert Spencer describe deviance and its effect on society?

A) Deviance is a social pathology that potentially threatens the survival of society.
B) Deviance is inevitable and provides a valuable contribution to society.
C) Deviance is "the black death" of human behavior that proves man is naturally bad.
D) Deviance is sinful and can only be eliminated in a "Society of Saints."

Question 34

What Supreme Court case declared execution practices discriminatory and arbitrarily applied in the United States, which halted them for a four-year period?

A) Plessey v. Ferguson
B) Roe v. Wade
C) Gregg v. Georgia
D) Furman v. Georgia

Question 35

What group of theories views deviance as arising when groups with power attempt to impose their norms and values on less powerful groups?

A) symbolic theories of deviance
B) conflict theories of deviance
C) structuralist theories of deviance
D) socialistic theories of deviance

Question 36

The fact that most people do not commit murder because they believe it is morally wrong, rather than because it is illegal illustrates social control that is:

A) external to the individual
B) involuntary
C) formal
D) voluntary

Question 37

What conclusion did Robert Hodge and David Tripp reach following their research on media violence and violent behavior among children?

A) There is absolutely no connection between media violence and violence among children.
B) Media violence is definitely a cause of violence among children.
C) Only children who have predisposed personality disorders are affected by media violence.
D) The fear of media violence is exaggerated.

Question 38

Primary deviance occurs when an individual violates a norm and is viewed as deviant but rejects the deviant label and maintains a conformist conception of herself or himself.

Question 39

The normative approach uses pre-established standards of behavior to qualify deviance and implies there are absolute norms, the violation of which automatically constitutes deviance.

Question 40

Which group of sociological theories explains deviance as being normal and that conformity must be explained?

A) social control theories
B) social learning theories
C) labeling theories
D) trait theories

Question 41

Before the rise of science, the most commonly used explanation for deviant behavior was illiteracy.

Question 42

A scope of behavior considered acceptable and defined as acceptable is the ________.

Question 43

According to Walter Reckless, inner containment is the first barrier individuals develop against adopting deviant behavior as being acceptable.

Question 44

In everyday life, the definition of deviance is rather simple, direct, and consistent for all members of the same culture in the same society.

Question 45

Merton's five typologies of modes of adaptive behavior are synonymous with personality types.

Question 46

Social learning theories contend that all behavior (including deviance) is learned through social interaction.

Question 47

The study of bumps on the head and protrusions of the skull as being evidence of the cause of deviant behavior, such as mental illness, crime, and violence, is referred to as physiognomy.

Question 48

The term used to describe the approach that emphasizes defined guidelines for desired behavior and uses these guidelines to qualify behavior as being either deviant or conformist is the societal reactive approach.

Question 49

One of the advantages of the interactionist approach in understanding deviance is that it explains the initial motivations for deviance and how members of society decide which norms to enforce and what activities to label as deviant.

Question 50

Norms that tell us what we should do are classified as being ________; norms that tell us what we should not do are classified as being ________.

Question 51

Social control theories contend that deviance is normal and that conformity is the behavior that needs explained.

Question 52

The purpose of the "V-chip" is to block specific programs from television reception.

Question 53

While all crime is deviance, not all deviance is crime.

Question 54

Master status refers to any position an individual occupies in the social structure that overshadows the negative statuses one may occupy.

Question 55

The form of suicide Durkheim identified as occurring in "folk societies" and other closely bonded small groups was fatalistic suicide.

Question 56

There is no definitive conclusion regarding the effects of reading and viewing pornography in respect to whether or not it increases sex crimes or other acts of violence against women.

Question 57

When voluntary social control is insufficient and folkways or mores are violated, formal social control is necessary.

Question 58

The term ________ is used to refer to deviance as being analogous to illness and typically associated with disease and is the basis for the ________ of society where problems once thought of as social or behavioral in nature are now attributed to disease.

Question 59

Gossip, ridicule, ostracism, and shame are methods of informal social control.

Question 60

The collective term for behaviors that are discouraged or punished, such as placing one's feet on the table or cheating on exams, is proscriptive behavior.

Question 61

According to Edwin Lemert, ________ occurs when an individual violates a norm and is viewed as deviant but rejects the deviant label and maintains a conformist conception of him or herself. The internalization of a deviant label and the assumption of a deviant role, however, are viewed as ________.

Question 62

A state of social strain, normative confusion, or a rapid change in norms, accompanied by a situation when people's behavior is no longer restrained by conventional norms, is referred to as ________.

Question 63

According to Hirschi's social bond theory, the four elements contributing to a strong social bond are ________ to parents, school, church and other social institutions aligned with conformity; a[n] ________ to conventional norms; a[n] ________ in conventional activities; and a[n] ________ in the validity of social norms.

Question 64

Guidelines that govern our thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors that are also fundamental to explaining deviance are called ________.

Question 65

Informal norms that reflect cultural traditions and guide everyday interactions, such as manners at mealtime and choice of attire, are called ________.

Question 66

The 19th century sociologist who believed that deviant behavior was a social pathology that threatened society was ________.

Question 67

Power theorists explain deviance in two very important ways based on one's access to power. Simply stated, these two ways are: (1)___________ ____ and (2)_________ ___.

Question 68

The two sociologists who developed a set of five techniques of neutralization that permit "normal" individuals to engage in deviant behavior but neutralize the stigmatizing effect of their behavior were ________ and ________.

Question 69

The term also used to describe public order offenses is ________.

Question 70

________ viewed deviance as the result of ________, a problem that potentially threatens the survival of society, which was a part of the organic analogy he made of society.

Question 71

The condition identified by a 19th century Italian surgeon that attributed deviance to a package of genetic traits that distinguished violent and habitual criminals from the "normal" noncriminal population was called ________.

Question 72

The general category of deviance that includes all aspects of white-collar crime as well as other deviant acts perpetrated by those in power is called ________.

Question 73

The ________ theory, developed by Jeffrey Reiman contends that those in power have designed the criminal justice system to fail because "the failure of the criminal justice system yields such benefits to those in positions of power that it amounts to success."

Question 74

Any characteristic that sets people apart and discredits or discourages them from full social acceptance and participation is called ________.

Question 75

The form of suicide Durkheim identified as occurring because of extreme social constraint, which is the underlying cause of suicidal love pacts and suicide among slaves, was ________.

Question 76

Deterrence theory is an effective method of social control to curtail deviance, provided punishment for violation of norms is perceived as being ________, ________, and ________.

Question 77

The mode of adaptive behavior that rejects both socially accepted goals as well as the culturally approved means to achieve them is what Robert Merton would call ________.