Some acts, such as rape, are generally seen as very harmful and are severely punished. Others, such as tattooing, are commonly regarded as harmless and are not punished. This demonstrates which of the following dimensions of deviance?
A) the importance of the perceived prevalence of the deviant or criminal act in deciding on the severity of the sanction associated with the deviant act
B) the importance of the perceived harm to social solidarity in determining whether a given act is a crime or merely deviant
C) the importance of the actual harm to social solidarity in determining whether a given act is a crime or merely deviant
D) the importance of the degree of public agreement about whether an act should be considered deviant in deciding on the severity of the sanction associated with the deviant act

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The question is asking about a dimension of deviance, specifically the role of public agreement in determining the severity of sanction associated with a deviant act. Choice D addresses this directly by noting that public agreement about whether an act should be considered deviant plays a role in deciding the severity of punishment. The other choices either address different dimensions of deviance or make statements that are not necessarily true (e.g., Choice A suggests that prevalence alone determines severity of punishment, which is not always the case).

Some Acts, Such as Rape, Are Generally Seen as Very