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Test Bank for

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Deviant Behavior by Alan Swinkels

Thio’s

Deviant Behavior Thirteenth Edition

Jim D. Taylor University of Idaho

Martin D. Schwartz George Washington University

CHAPTER ONE

What Is Deviant Behavior? Multiple Choice Questions 1.

Which statement about the definition of deviance is TRUE? a) Almost all persons in a society will agree on the nature of deviant behavior. b) Definitions of deviant behavior are determined by consensus among a nation‟s religious groups. c) There is often a great deal of disagreement among people as to who or what they consider deviant. d) Few persons in a society are concerned about the definition of deviance.

Answer: c Learning Objective: 1.1 Identify your personal definitions of deviant behavior. Topic: Conflicting Definitions Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 2.

In 1965, sociologist J. L. Simmons asked a sample of people from the general public who they thought were deviant. Which conclusion can be reached based on Simmons‟ results? a) Only those considered to be “bad people,” such as drug addicts, prostitutes, or criminals, were seen as deviant. b) There was a great deal of consensus among those polled as to who was deviant and who was not. c) Perceptions of deviance fell clearly into four main categories. d) Almost anyone, in someone else‟s eyes, can be considered deviant in some way.

Answer: d Learning Objective: 1.1 Identify your personal definitions of deviant behavior. Topic: Conflicting Definitions Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Analyze It 3.

Among sociologists, there is a) much personal involvement in illegal deviant behavior. b) a growing awareness that deviance is best studied by criminologists. c) widespread agreement about what behavior should be considered deviant. d) a lack of consensus about what kinds of behavior should be seen as deviant.

Answer: d Learning Objective: 1.1 Identify your personal definitions of deviant behavior. Topic: Conflicting Definitions Difficulty Level: Easy

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 4.

Compared to the others, which group is most capable of avoiding being falsely, erroneously, or unjustly labeled as deviant? a) Affluent people b) People living below the poverty line c) People in positions of power d) People who are socially powerless

Answer: c Learning Objective: 1.1 Identify your personal definitions of deviant behavior. Topic: Conflicting Definitions Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Apply What You Know 5.

Denis relies on a wheelchair because of his cerebral palsy. Would he be considered “deviant” according to some definitions offered by sociologists? a) Yes, because the mere fact of using a wheelchair violates formal norms b) No, because deviance only applies to people who break laws or commit violent acts c) Yes, because people with disabilities are often devalued by society d) No, because his positive/negative “deviance ratio” is imbalanced

Answer: c Learning Objective: 1.1 Identify your personal definitions of deviant behavior. Topic: Conflicting Definitions Difficulty Level: Difficult Skill Level: Apply What You Know 6.

Which statement about deviance is TRUE? a) Deviance should include only important violations of norms. b) All sociologists agree that deviance includes mundane, routine, and normal violations of formal norms. c) Deviance is considered a “fringe topic” by most sociologists. d) Sociologists do not agree on a precise definition of deviance.

Answer: d Learning Objective: 1.1 Identify your personal definitions of deviant behavior. Topic: Conflicting Definitions Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 7.

Which types of people are examples of positive deviants? a) Saints, intellectuals, and geniuses b) Sex workers and professional gamblers c) People who are badly scarred, blind, or mutilated d) Murderers, rapists, and kidnappers

Answer: a Learning Objective: 1.1 Identify your personal definitions of deviant behavior.

Topic: Conflicting Definitions Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 8.

Sociologists who are influenced by the positivist perspective of absolutism tend to view deviant behavior as an attribute that _____________. a) is dictated by those in power b) fades over time c) varies according to one‟s culture d) inheres in the individual

Answer: d Learning Objective: 1.1 Identify your personal definitions of deviant behavior. Topic: Conflicting Definitions Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 9.

Sociologists who endorse the role of power in the definition of deviance have discovered that people who are wealthy and powerful a) are rarely deviant. b) typically can avoid being labeled as deviant. c) are welcoming toward most types of deviant behavior. d) ignore most forms of deviant behavior.

Answer: b Learning Objective: 1.1 Identify your personal definitions of deviant behavior. Topic: Conflicting Definitions Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 10. According to sociologists who study the role of power in the definition of deviance, deviance is any act that a) violates the criminal law. b) violates deeply held moral values. c) powerful people consider to be a violation of some social rule. d) involves the behavior of people living below the poverty line. Answer: c Learning Objective: 1.1 Identify your personal definitions of deviant behavior. Topic: Conflicting Definitions Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 11. Sociological definitions of deviance fall into two opposing perspectives, the positivist and the _____________. a) traditional b) feminist c) constructionist d) modernist

Answer: c Learning Objective: 1.1 Identify your personal definitions of deviant behavior. Topic: Conflicting Definitions Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Remember the Facts 12. Prior to the twentieth century, criminals were thought to a) have certain familial characteristics that noncriminals did not. b) be feebleminded, psychotic, neurotic, psychopathic, or otherwise mentally disturbed. c) possess the same mental and physical characteristics as noncriminals. d) have stronger educational backgrounds compared to noncriminals. Answer: b Learning Objective: 1.2 Characterize the positivist perspective on deviance using its three major assumptions. Topic: The Positivist Perspective Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Remember the Facts 13. Determinist, objectivist, and absolutist are terms associated with aspects of the __________ perspective on deviance. a) constructionist b) humanist c) modern d) positivist Answer: d Learning Objective: 1.2 Characterize the positivist perspective on deviance using its three major assumptions. Topic: The Positivist Perspective Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 14. Some students were discussing their sociology class over lunch. “It‟s fascinating to me that „deviant‟ is nothing more than a label we apply to some people,” said Assunta. “Whoever controls the labels controls the perceptions.” “It‟s pretty clear that there are deviants and there are nondeviants, and that a person falls squarely into one category or the other,” countered Beppo. “Huh,” grunted Corrado. “You can‟t see deviance…it‟s not like it‟s an object. You just infer it.” “I dunno,” shrugged Dino. “I think people choose to be deviant or not; it‟s a voluntary act.” Which of these four studious sociology scholars endorses the positivist perspective on deviance? a) Assunta b) Beppo c) Corrado d) Dino Answer: b Learning Objective: 1.2 Characterize the positivist perspective on deviance using its

three major assumptions. Topic: The Positivist Perspective Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Apply What You Know 15.

_____________ refers to the belief that deviance is intrinsically real. a) Absolutism b) Voluntarism c) Relativism d) Determinism

Answer: a Learning Objective: 1.2 Characterize the positivist perspective on deviance using its three major assumptions. Topic: The Positivist Perspective Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 16. Rico believes that deviant behavior has characteristics that distinguish it from conventional behavior; therefore, Rico believes deviance is ___________. a) a label b) a biased concept c) biologically determined d) intrinsically real Answer: d Learning Objective: 1.2 Characterize the positivist perspective on deviance using its three major assumptions. Topic: The Positivist Perspective Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 17. Early criminologists believed deviance was intrinsically real because they believed criminals possessed a) different moral standards that were acceptable in their subculture. b) the same biological traits found in noncriminals. c) a distinctive set of labels that set them apart from noncriminals. d) certain biological traits that were absent in noncriminals. Answer: d Learning Objective: 1.2 Characterize the positivist perspective on deviance using its three major assumptions. Topic: The Positivist Perspective Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Remember the Facts 18. Because they consider deviance real, positivist sociologists tend to focus their efforts on a) the positive ways in which nondeviants view other people who have been labeled deviant.

b) the behaviors of lawmakers and law enforcers. c) nondeviants who label others as deviants, rather than studying deviant behavior and deviant persons. d) deviant behavior and deviant persons, rather than nondeviants who label others as deviants. Answer: d Learning Objective: 1.2 Characterize the positivist perspective on deviance using its three major assumptions. Topic: The Positivist Perspective Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Remember the Facts 19. Early in the twentieth century, criminologists believed that a) criminals are made, not born. b) criminals are born, not made. c) criminal status varies within time and space. d) crime is determined by the social environment. Answer: b Learning Objective: 1.2 Characterize the positivist perspective on deviance using its three major assumptions. Topic: The Positivist Perspective Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Remember the Facts 20. Today‟s positivist sociologists now recognize the importance of __________ in understanding deviant behavior. a) religion b) psychological traits c) heredity d) social factors Answer: d Learning Objective: 1.2 Characterize the positivist perspective on deviance using its three major assumptions. Topic: The Positivist Perspective Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 21. Sara has a visible disability that influences the way people talk to her. A positivist sociologist might examine Sara‟s case through the lens of the ____________ perspective. a) absolutist b) subjectivist c) relativist d) voluntarist Answer: a Learning Objective: 1.2 Characterize the positivist perspective on deviance using its

three major assumptions. Topic: The Positivist Perspective Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Remember the Facts 22. Most current positivist sociologists continue to reject the idea of free will as an explanation of deviance, because free will cannot explain why one person a) commits deviant acts whereas others do not. b) refrains from committing deviant acts. c) commits both deviant and nondeviant acts. d) is born with a tendency toward deviance. Answer: a Learning Objective: 1.2 Characterize the positivist perspective on deviance using its three major assumptions. Topic: The Positivist Perspective Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 23. Deviance as an “observable object” means that deviance a) is largely a subjective phenomenon. b) can be studied in an objective way. c) is behavior that at least a few people agree constitutes some kind of social violation. d) exists solely in the minds of the beholders. Answer: b Learning Objective: 1.2 Characterize the positivist perspective on deviance using its three major assumptions. Topic: The Positivist Perspective Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 24. One problem positivist sociologists face that natural scientists do not is a) sociologists are able to use more objective criteria than natural scientists are. b) sociologists typically have access to greater amounts of federal funding and better tangible resources. c) sociologists have difficulties with personal biases and making moral judgments about their research subjects. d) sociologists find studying human behavior is substantially easier than studying the natural environment. Answer: c Learning Objective: 1.2 Characterize the positivist perspective on deviance using its three major assumptions. Topic: The Positivist Perspective Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 25. The positivist perspective assumes that deviance is

a) a matter of choice. b) relativistic. c) determined behavior. d) difficult to document Answer: c Learning Objective: 1.2 Characterize the positivist perspective on deviance using its three major assumptions. Topic: The Positivist Perspective Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 26. To say that deviance is determined behavior implies that humans a) gain benefits from deviant behavior. b) can choose to be good or bad. c) have free will. d) cannot choose between good and bad actions. Answer: d Learning Objective: 1.2 Characterize the positivist perspective on deviance using its three major assumptions. Topic: The Positivist Perspective Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 27. According to positivist sociologists, attributing deviant behavior to choice is a form of pseudo-explanation, because the concept of choice a) does not explain why someone chooses either deviance or conventional behavior. b) is more of a religious concept than a behavioral or sociological one. c) is not a relevant concept for science. d) illustrates that most explanations of deviance involve false claims and biased assumptions. Answer: a Learning Objective: 1.2 Characterize the positivist perspective on deviance using its three major assumptions. Topic: The Positivist Perspective Difficulty Level: Difficult Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 28. According to the concept of determinism, deviance is determined by a) forces beyond the individual‟s control. b) forces within the individual‟s control. c) strictly human behavior. d) the level of free will exhibited by the individual. Answer: a Learning Objective: 1.2 Characterize the positivist perspective on deviance using its three major assumptions.

Topic: The Positivist Perspective Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Remember the Facts 29. The main purpose of the positivist approach to deviance is ____________. a) developing empathy with deviant persons b) seeking the causes of deviant behavior c) to make moral judgments about deviant behavior d) to study biases toward persons seen as deviant Answer: b Learning Objective: 1.2 Characterize the positivist perspective on deviance using its three major assumptions. Topic: The Positivist Perspective Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 30. Sociologists who adopt the constructionist perspective argue that deviance should be seen as a) intrinsically real. b) an objective fact. c) a subjective experience. d) a deterministic act. Answer: c Learning Objective: 1.3 Describe the assumptions of the constructionist perspective on deviance. Topic: The Constructionist Perspective Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 31. The fact that the same behavior can be seen as conventional by some people and as deviant by others encapsulates the a) relativist view. b) deviance principle. c) positivist view. d) subjectivist view. Answer: a Learning Objective: 1.3 Describe the assumptions of the constructionist perspective on deviance. Topic: The Constructionist Perspective Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 32.

Compared to the others, which statement would MOST likely be uttered by a sociologist who endorses the constructionist view of deviance? a) “Deviance is absolutely real.” b) “Deviance is determined by the individual‟s free will.” c) “Deviance is an observable fact.”

d) “Deviance is determined by forces beyond the individual‟s control.” Answer: b Learning Objective: 1.3 Describe the assumptions of the constructionist perspective on deviance. Topic: The Constructionist Perspective Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Apply What You Know 33. Which question reflects the constructionist perspective on deviance? a) Why do people become deviant? b) Why is a given act defined by society as deviant? c) Why are so many sociologists seen as deviant? d) Why is deviance an objective fact? Answer: b Learning Objective: 1.3 Describe the assumptions of the constructionist perspective on deviance. Topic: The Constructionist Perspective Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 34. Dr. Sardonicus was summarizing his thoughts on deviance to his sociology class. “It seems clear to me that deviance is best characterized as a voluntary act.” It would appear that Dr. Sardonicus endorses the ___________ perspective. a) feminist b) constructionist c) absolutist d) determinist Answer: b Learning Objective: 1.3 Describe the assumptions of the constructionist perspective on deviance. Topic: The Constructionist Perspective Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Apply What You Know 35. Which aspect of deviance would be of special interest to constructionist sociologists? a) Surface facts about deviance b) Statistical data and international crime patterns c) How deviants seek positive meanings in deviant activity d) Moral reactions to deviant behavior Answer: c Learning Objective: 1.3 Describe the assumptions of the constructionist perspective on deviance. Topic: The Constructionist Perspective Difficulty Level: Difficult Skill Level: Analyze It

36. To say that deviance is a subjective experience means that the deviant person is a) a determined subject. b) a morally degenerate person. c) a secret deviant. d) a conscious, feeling, thinking subject. Answer: d Learning Objective: 1.3 Describe the assumptions of the constructionist perspective on deviance. Topic: The Constructionist Perspective Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 37. According to the constructionist perspective, sociologists need to a) treat deviance as immoral and unpleasant. b) objectively measure types of deviant behavior. c) adopt an internal, subjective view of people. d) adopt an external, objective view of deviance. Answer: c Learning Objective: 1.3 Describe the assumptions of the constructionist perspective on deviance. Topic: The Constructionist Perspective Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 38. Positivists treat deviance as if it were unpleasant and harmful to society, whereas constructionists ____________. a) have an appreciation for and empathy with deviants b) emphasize the importance of social control of deviant behavior c) stress the importance of being deviant themselves d) study the biological aspects of deviant human behavior Answer: a Learning Objective: 1.3 Describe the assumptions of the constructionist perspective on deviance. Topic: The Constructionist Perspective Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 39. According to the constructionist perspective, deviant behavior is a) determined behavior. b) an expression of human volition. c) robot-like behavior. d) passive reaction to social forces. Answer: b Learning Objective: 1.3 Describe the assumptions of the constructionist perspective on deviance.

Topic: The Constructionist Perspective Difficulty Level: Difficult Skill Level: Analyze It 40. From the constructionist perspective, deviants are a) actively seeking meaning in the deviant activities. b) totally different from conventional people. c) biologically defective. d) propelled by well-defined social forces. Answer: a Learning Objective: 1.3 Describe the assumptions of the constructionist perspective on deviance. Topic: The Constructionist Perspective Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Analyze It 41. An integrated definition of deviant behavior must focus on a) the deviant behavior itself. b) the deviant label. c) improving the research skills of sociologists. d) both deviant behavior and the deviant label. Answer: d Learning Objective: 1.4 Compare sociological perspectives on deviance. Topic: An Integrated View Difficulty Level: Difficult Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 42. A street gang has been connected to a string of crimes such as murder, rape, and armed robbery. These serious types of deviant behavior are more likely to catch the attention of a) subjectivists. b) relativists. c) constructionists. d) positivists. Answer: d Learning Objective: 1.4 Compare sociological perspectives on deviance. Topic: An Integrated View Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Apply What You Know 43. The __________ perspective is more pertinent for studying less serious kinds of deviance. a) objective b) constructionist c) deterministic d) psychological

Answer: b Learning Objective: 1.4 Compare sociological perspectives on deviance. Topic: An Integrated View Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Remember the Facts 44. Which kind of deviance is best understood through a positivist perspective? a) Higher-consensus deviance b) Lower-consensus deviance c) Immoral deviance d) Criminal deviance Answer: a Learning Objective: 1.4 Compare sociological perspectives on deviance. Topic: An Integrated View Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 45. Deviant behavior is any behavior that a) violates the law. b) violates social norms. c) is considered deviant by public consensus, which may range from maximum to minimum. d) is considered deviant by the police and officials of society, which may range from mild to moderate. Answer: c Learning Objective: 1.4 Compare sociological perspectives on deviance. Topic: An Integrated View Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 46. Which condition separates the positivist and constructionist perspectives on deviance? a) The variety and type of religious attitudes toward deviant behavior b) The amount of private consensus about what constitutes deviant behavior c) The number of persons involved in deviant behavior d) The amount of public consensus about which behaviors are deviant Answer: d Learning Objective: 1.4 Compare sociological perspectives on deviance. Topic: An Integrated View Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 47. Chris frequently engages in recreational drug use and promiscuous sex. These behaviors are best categorized by which type of deviance? a) Lower-consensus deviance, as studied most frequently by constructionist sociologists b) Lower-consensus deviance, as studied most frequently by positivist sociologists

c) Higher-consensus deviance, as studied most frequently by constructionist sociologists d) Higher-consensus deviance, as studied most frequently by positivist sociologists Answer: a Learning Objective: 1.4 Compare sociological perspectives on deviance. Topic: An Integrated View Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Apply What You Know 48. Which reason explains why, for U.S. citizens, deviant behavior is seen as “more or less,” rather than “completely,” deviant? a) Most deviance in the United States is low-consensus deviance. b) The causes of deviance are largely unknown. c) U.S. society is pluralistic. d) U.S. citizens have adopted a singular, cohesive culture. Answer: c Learning Objective: 1.4 Compare sociological perspectives on deviance. Topic: An Integrated View Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 49. Crime is a violation of a(n) ___________ norm, whereas deviance is a violation of a(n) ____________ norm. a) consensual; statistical b) informal; formal c) formal; informal d) statistical; consensual Answer: c Learning Objective: 1.5 Differentiate between deviance and crime. Topic: A Word About Deviance and Crime Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 50. Compared to the others, which observation BEST illustrates why crime and deviance are separable concepts? a) Crimes are a violation of informal norms; deviance is always a violation of formal norms. b) Crimes can only be behavioral, but deviance can include beliefs and attitudes. c) Most crimes are not also deviant. d) Across most societies studied to date, crimes are much more prevalent than is deviant behavior. Answer: b Learning Objective: 1.5 Differentiate between deviance and crime. Topic: A Word About Deviance and Crime Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

True/False Questions 1.

Some sociologists argue that people can be considered deviant simply because they are disvalued by society.

Answer: True Learning Objective: 1.1 Identify your personal definitions of deviant behavior. Topic: Conflicting Definitions Difficulty Level: Difficult Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 2.

Even mainstream identities such as “Democrat” or “Republican” can be considered deviant by some people.

Answer: True Learning Objective: 1.1 Identify your personal definitions of deviant behavior. Topic: Conflicting Definitions Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 3.

Despite years of research, most sociologists today cannot agree upon a precise definition of deviant behavior.

Answer: True Learning Objective: 1.1 Identify your personal definitions of deviant behavior. Topic: Conflicting Definitions Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 4.

Most sociologists agree that extreme positive behavior such as a religious fanaticism or social reform is not really “deviant.”

Answer: False Learning Objective: 1.1 Identify your personal definitions of deviant behavior. Topic: Conflicting Definitions Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 5.

Some sociologists argue that deviance does not have to be real in order for behaviors and conditions to be labeled deviant.

Answer: True Learning Objective: 1.1 Identify your personal definitions of deviant behavior. Topic: Conflicting Definitions Difficulty Level: Difficult Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 6.

For some sociologists, deviance is any act considered by relatively powerful people at a given time and place to be a violation of some social rule.

Answer: True

Learning Objective: 1.1 Identify your personal definitions of deviant behavior. Topic: Conflicting Definitions Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 7.

Objectivism is the belief that deviance is absolutely or intrinsically real.

Early positivist criminologists believed that a person‟s criminal status changed through time and from culture to culture.

The positivist perspective is associated with the humanities, such as art and philosophy, whereas the constructionist perspective is associated with the sciences, such as physics and biology.

Answer: False Learning Objective: 1.2 Characterize the positivist perspective on deviance using its three major assumptions. Topic: The Positivist Perspective Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Remember the Facts 10. Current positivist sociologists have largely abandoned the use of biological and psychological traits to differentiate criminals from noncriminals. Answer: True Learning Objective: 1.2 Characterize the positivist perspective on deviance using its three major assumptions. Topic: The Positivist Perspective Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 11. According to the positivist perspective, deviance is seen as both real and separate from conforming behavior. Answer: True Learning Objective: 1.2 Characterize the positivist perspective on deviance using its three major assumptions.

Topic: The Positivist Perspective Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 12. Many traditional criminologists, using the positivist perspective, believed that criminals possessed specific biological and psychological traits that made them different from noncriminals. Answer: True Learning Objective: 1.2 Characterize the positivist perspective on deviance using its three major assumptions. Topic: The Positivist Perspective Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Remember the Facts 13. The positivist perspective on deviance assumes that humans are active in determining their own lives and are not passive subjects of powerful forces. Answer: False Learning Objective: 1.2 Characterize the positivist perspective on deviance using its three major assumptions. Topic: The Positivist Perspective Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 14. The positivist perspective on deviance implies that if a deviant person is treated as an object, that person can be studied objectively. Answer: True Learning Objective: 1.2 Characterize the positivist perspective on deviance using its three major assumptions. Topic: The Positivist Perspective Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 15.

Sociologists who adopt the positivist perspective on deviance endorse the idea that deviance is determined behavior, or a product of causation.

Answer: True Learning Objective: 1.2 Characterize the positivist perspective on deviance using its three major assumptions. Topic: The Positivist Perspective Difficulty Level: Difficult Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 16. The three assumptions underlying the positivist perspective on deviance are absolutism, determinism, and voluntarism. Answer: False Learning Objective: 1.2 Characterize the positivist perspective on deviance using its three major assumptions. Topic: The Positivist Perspective

Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 17. According to constructionist sociologists using the labeling perspective, if deviant behavior is not labeled as such, the behavior is not seen as deviant. Answer: True Learning Objective: 1.3 Describe the assumptions of the constructionist perspective on deviance. Topic: The Constructionist Perspective Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 18. Relativism is one of the assumptions underlying the constructionist perspective on deviance. Answer: True Learning Objective: 1.3 Describe the assumptions of the constructionist perspective on deviance. Topic: The Constructionist Perspective Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 19. Voluntarism is the belief that deviance is a subjective, personal experience. Answer: False Learning Objective: 1.3 Describe the assumptions of the constructionist perspective on deviance. Topic: The Constructionist Perspective Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 20. Constructionists tend to present deviants as basically the same as conventional people. Answer: True Learning Objective: 1.3 Describe the assumptions of the constructionist perspective on deviance. Topic: The Constructionist Perspective Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Remember the Facts 21. Constructionists tend to study deviants using the technique of thick description. Answer: True Learning Objective: 1.3 Describe the assumptions of the constructionist perspective on deviance. Topic: The Constructionist Perspective Difficulty Level: Difficult Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 22.

The constructionist perspective is relevant to the study of what society considers

relatively serious types of deviant behavior, such as murder, rape, or armed robbery. Answer: False Learning Objective: 1.4 Compare sociological perspectives on deviance. Topic: An Integrated View Difficulty Level: Difficult Skill Level: Apply What You Know 23.

There is a relative lack of consensus in society as to whether the less serious forms of deviant behavior are truly deviant.

Answer: True Learning Objective: 1.4 Compare sociological perspectives on deviance. Topic: An Integrated View Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 24. The constructionist perspective on deviance is best suited for the study of lowconsensus deviance. Answer: True Learning Objective: 1.4 Compare sociological perspectives on deviance. Topic: An Integrated View Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 25. Deviant behavior is any behavior considered deviant by public consensus, which may range from the maximum to the minimum. Answer: True Learning Objective: 1.4 Compare sociological perspectives on deviance. Topic: An Integrated View Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 26. An attorney, pleading leniency for a guilty client, asks the judge to take into consideration the client‟s unfortunate background, including child abuse and abandonment, before passing a sentence. It is logical to conclude that the attorney is asking the judge to view deviance from a positivist perspective. Answer: True Learning Objective: 1.4 Compare sociological perspectives on deviance. Topic: An Integrated View Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Apply What You Know 27. Deviant behavior is a matter of degree rather than kind. Answer: True Learning Objective: 1.4 Compare sociological perspectives on deviance.

Topic: An Integrated View Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 28. All deviant behaviors are crimes. Answer: False Learning Objective: 1.5 Differentiate between deviance and crime. Topic: A Word About Deviance and Crime Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 29. Constructionists tend to analyze how social control agencies define some people as deviant and carry out sanctions against them. Answer: True Learning Objective: 1.5 Differentiate between deviance and crime. Topic: A Word About Deviance and Crime Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 30. Constructionist analyses often reveal the arbitrariness of official action, the bias in the administration of law, and the unjustness of controlling deviants. Answer: True Learning Objective: 1.5 Differentiate between deviance and crime. Topic: A Word About Deviance and Crime Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 31. From the sociological perspective, crime is a violation of a formal norm. Answer: True Learning Objective: 1.5 Differentiate between deviance and crime. Topic: A Word About Deviance and Crime Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 32. Not all deviances are crimes, but most crimes are deviances. Answer: True Learning Objective: 1.5 Differentiate between deviance and crime. Topic: A Word About Deviance and Crime Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 33. Crimes can only be behavioral, whereas deviance can include beliefs and attitudes. Answer: True Learning Objective: 1.5 Differentiate between deviance and crime. Topic: A Word About Deviance and Crime Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts Fill-in-the-Blank Questions 1.

There is a clear lack of ____________ among sociologists and among the general public as to how to define “deviance.”

Answer: consensus Learning Objective: 1.1 Identify your personal definitions of deviant behavior. Topic: Conflicting Definitions Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 2.

__________ is the notion that deviance can be treated as an observable object.

Answer: Objectivism Learning Objective: 1.2 Characterize the positivist perspective on deviance using its three major assumptions. Topic: The Positivist Perspective Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Remember the Facts 3.

According to the __________ perspective on deviance, deviance is intrinsically real and a determined behavior.

Answer: positivist Learning Objective: 1.2 Characterize the positivist perspective on deviance using its three major assumptions. Topic: The Positivist Perspective Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Remember the Facts 4.

Today‟s positivist sociologists recognize the important role of ____________ in determining a person‟s status as a criminal.

Answer: social factors Learning Objective: 1.2 Characterize the positivist perspective on deviance using its three major assumptions. Topic: The Positivist Perspective Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Remember the Facts 5.

One aspect of the constructionist perspective on deviance is __________, or studying how the world appears to and is interpreted by the deviant.

Answer: subjectivism Learning Objective: 1.3 Describe the assumptions of the constructionist perspective on deviance. Topic: The Constructionist Perspective Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Remember the Facts

The constructionist notion of __________ stands in direct opposition to the positivist notion of determinism (that deviance is determined behavior and the product of causation).

Answer: voluntarism Learning Objective: 1.3 Describe the assumptions of the constructionist perspective on deviance. Topic: The Constructionist Perspective Difficulty Level: Difficult Skill Level: Remember the Facts 7.

___________ behavior is any behavior considered deviant by public consensus, which may range from the maximum to the minimum.

Answer: Deviant Learning Objective: 1.4 Compare sociological perspectives on deviance. Topic: An Integrated View Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Remember the Facts 8. __________ consensus deviance is the type that has often been studied by positivist sociologists. Answer: Higher Learning Objective: 1.4 Compare sociological perspectives on deviance. Topic: An Integrated View Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 9.

If you tell a child that they are a thief often enough, the child is going to believe it. This statement best fits the __________ perspective on deviance.

Answer: constructionist Learning Objective: 1.4 Compare sociological perspectives on deviance. Topic: An Integrated View Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Apply What You Know 10. Enzo robbed a liquor store owner at gunpoint and fled the scene, violating several laws in the process. Enzo‟s actions therefore constitute a __________ rather than simply deviance. Answer: crime Learning Objective: 1.5 Differentiate between deviance and crime. Topic: A Word About Deviance and Crime Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Apply What You Know 11. The nature of crime is that it can only be ____________ .

Answer: behavioral Learning Objective: 1.5 Differentiate between deviance and crime. Topic: A Word About Deviance and Crime Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts Essay Questions 1.

Discuss why the general public and sociologists have failed to agree upon a definition of deviance. Why is achieving a definition so difficult?

Sample Answer: There is a great deal of disagreement among people as to what they consider “deviant.” One sociologist asked a sample of the general public who they thought was deviant, and they mentioned 252 different kinds of people! There also is a good deal of disagreement among the public as to what deviant behavior is. A similar lack of consensus exists among sociologists, who disagree more over the definition of deviant behavior than they do on most topics. All of this lack of consensus is partially due to the unique properties of deviance. Our very understanding of deviance is tied to various factors, including, but not limited to, the social and political climate, regional differences, economic conditions, traditions, customs, and even religious beliefs and practices. In many ways, deviance is a moving target, and an exceptionally dynamic one. Learning Objective: 1.1 Identify your personal definitions of deviant behavior. Topic: Conflicting Definitions Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 2.

Discuss how the three basic assumptions underlying the positivist perspective interact with one another.

Sample Answer: The positivist perspective on deviance adopts the assumptions of absolutism, objectivism, and determinism. The absolutist view assumes that deviant persons have certain characteristics that make them different from conventional other people. Thus, sociologists who are influenced by such a perspective tend to view deviant behavior as an attribute that inheres in the individual, permanently and essentially. The objectivist view assumes that deviant behavior is something that can be studied objectively. Positivist sociologists, therefore, assume that they can be as objective in studying deviance as natural scientists can be in studying physical phenomena. The deterministic view assumes that deviant behavior is caused by forces beyond the individual‟s control. Simply put if a sociologist believes that deviance is something inside the deviant person, that objectively exists and can be recognized, and that is determined by causal forces, there aren‟t going to be a lot of “cracks” in that analysis to allow for other points of view: “You‟re deviant because you‟re deviant, and I can clearly see that your deviance is due to you being deviant.” Learning Objective: 1.2 Characterize the positivist perspective on deviance using its three major assumptions. Topic: The Positivist Perspective Difficulty Level: Difficult Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

Describe some ways in which positivist sociologists have used the principle of objectivism to change their views of deviance.

Sample Answer: To positivist sociologists, deviant behavior is an observable object in that a deviant person is like an object, a real ―something‖ that can be studied objectively. As human beings themselves, positivist sociologists must have certain feelings about their subject. However, they try to control their personal biases by forcing themselves not to pass moral judgment on deviant behavior or share the deviant person‟s feelings. Instead, they try to concentrate on the subject matter as it outwardly appears. Further, these sociologists have tried to follow the scientific rule that all their ideas about deviant behavior should be subject to public test. This drive to achieve scientific objectivity has made today‟s positivist sociologists more objective than their predecessors. They have, therefore, produced works that can tell us much more about the nature of deviant behavior. No longer in vogue today are such value-loaded and subjective notions as evil, immorality, moral failing, debauchery, and demoralization, which were routinely used in the past to describe the essence of deviance. Replacing those outmoded notions are more value-free and objective concepts, such as norm violation, retreatism, ritualism, rebellion, and conflict. Learning Objective: 1.2 Characterize the positivist perspective on deviance using its three major assumptions. Topic: The Positivist Perspective Difficulty Level: Difficult Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 4.

Describe how the assumptions of the positivist perspective stand in direct contrast to those of the constructionist perspective.

Sample Answer: Positivists believe in absolutism (the belief that deviance is absolutely or intrinsically real), objectivism (the notion of deviance as an observable object), and determinism (the theory that deviance is determined behavior, or a product of causation). Constructionists believe in the polar opposites of these assumptions, and instead endorse relativism (the belief that deviance is a label, defined as such at a given time and place), subjectivism (the belief that deviance is a subjective, personal experience), and voluntarism (the theory that deviance is a voluntary act, and thus an expression of free will). Learning Objective: 1.3 Describe the assumptions of the constructionist perspective on deviance. Topic: The Constructionist Perspective Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 5.

Describe the relationship that the constructionist perspective holds toward social control agencies. What do constructionist analyses reveal about official action, administration of the law, and controlling deviance?

Sample Answer: Constructionists tend to analyze how social control agencies define some people as deviant and carry out sanctions against them. Such analyses often reveal the arbitrariness of official action, the bias in the administration of law, and the unjustness of controlling deviants. All these convey the strong impression that control agents, being in positions of power, exercise their free will by actively, intentionally, and purposefully controlling the “deviants.” These constructionist musings stem directly from their adoption of the assumption of voluntarism.

Learning Objective: 1.3 Describe the assumptions of the constructionist perspective on deviance. Topic: The Constructionist Perspective Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 6.

Compare and contrast the positivist and constructionist perspectives on deviance. How do they differ but also work together to provide a better definition of deviance?

Sample Answer: Both positivist and constructionist sociologists, in emphasizing their own views, assume, in a way, that their opponents are correct. Each group merely thinks of the other‟s argument as less important than its own. Thus, although they accept constructionists‟ view of deviance as a label, positivists simply take it for granted, considering it less important than their own assumption of deviance as real behavior. On the other hand, although constructionists accept positivists‟ view of deviance as an act that has really occurred, they consider it more worthwhile to focus on society‟s definition of the act as deviant. In melding these perspectives, we may see deviant behavior as being both a real act and a label. One cannot exist without the other. If there is no real act, there is no deviant behavior; if there is no label, there is no deviant behavior. In order for us to use the label “deviant,” the behavior must occur. Similarly, for us to understand that behavior, the label “deviant” must be used. Deviance, then, is both behavior and label. Learning Objective: 1.4 Compare sociological perspectives on deviance. Topic: An Integrated View Difficulty Level: Difficult Skill Level: Analyze It 7.

Comparing the positivist and constructionist approaches, which is more effective in addressing the subject of deviant behavior? Are the two perspectives more like opposites or more like complements of one another?

Sample Answer: Although they complement each other, the two conflicting perspectives are not necessarily equally applicable to all types of deviant behavior. On the contrary, one perspective seems more relevant than the other in studying the types of deviance that more easily fit its assumptions and the temperaments of the sociologists embracing that perspective. Specifically, the positivist perspective is more relevant to the study of what society considers relatively serious types of deviant behavior, such as murder, rape, armed robbery, and the like. The constructionist perspective is more pertinent to the less serious kinds of deviance, particularly those that do not gravely harm other people. Thus this perspective finds itself at home in the world of adulterers, sex workers, individuals addicted to drugs, strippers, sex tourists, tax evaders, and the like. Learning Objective: 1.4 Compare sociological perspectives on deviance. Topic: An Integrated View Difficulty Level: Difficult Skill Level: Analyze It 8.

Define and discuss higher- and lower-consensus deviance. What are some examples of each type of deviance, and why does the public often disagree over whether a form of deviance is higher or lower?

Sample Answer: Higher-consensus deviance is the type that has often been studied by positivist sociologists. Lower-consensus deviance is the type that has more frequently

been studied by constructionist sociologists. The types of deviant behavior—seen through the positivist and constructionist perspectives—differ in their amount of public consensus regarding their deviant nature. On the one side, a given deviant act is, from the positivist standpoint, “intrinsically real,” largely because there is a relatively great public consensus that it is really deviant; murder would be an example. On the other side, a given deviant act is, from the constructionist perspective, “not real in itself but basically a label,” largely because there is a relative lack of public consensus supporting it as really deviant; extreme body modification might be an example. However, both positivists and constructionists currently are interested in investigating both types of deviance. This is probably because positivists are nowadays more likely to regard traditionally lower-consensus deviances (e.g., corporate fraud and governmental abuses) as harmful and dangerous as higher-consensus deviances (e.g., homicide, rape, and robbery). Learning Objective: 1.4 Compare sociological perspectives on deviance. Topic: An Integrated View Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 9.

Assess the difference between deviant behavior and crime.

Sample Answer: How does deviance differ from crime? First, crime always involves violating a law, but deviance does not. Deviance may involve breaking the law, so that some deviances such as murder, robbery, and rape are also crimes. However, most deviances are not crimes; they merely depart from some societal norm, rule, or standard. Second, crime is a violation of a formal norm, which the law is, but deviance is more a violation of an informal norm that derives from a popular belief. Third, the number and variety of deviances are far greater than those of crimes. Crimes can only be behavioral in nature, because there are only laws against some unacceptable behaviors, not some strange beliefs and attitudes. But deviances include more than behaviors and even more than beliefs and attitudes. Fourth, not all deviances are crimes, but are all crimes deviances? Most crimes, such as murder, rape, and robbery, are deviant because they violate informal norms in addition to breaking the law as a formal norm. But a few crimes are not deviant because they are relatively acceptable throughout society, such as gambling or smoking under the age of 18. Learning Objective: 1.5 Differentiate between deviance and crime. Topic: A Word About Deviance and Crime Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 10. Identify three behaviors that might be considered by many people to be deviant but not criminal. Do any of these behaviors hold the possibility of becoming crimes? Sample answers will vary, but here are some examples: Some behaviors such as binge drinking, prescription drug abuse, being transgender, exotic dancing, having physical disabilities, being obese, tattooing, and cyberdeviance might be seen as deviant by some members—even a great many members—of a given society. Whether they are also crimes (or hold the possibility of becoming crimes) is a separate issue. For example, many states (such as Texas) have passed increasingly prohibitive laws against gender-affirming surgery or teaching about transgender issues in public schools, indicating that some lawmakers see as criminal what an increasing number of people consider it to be acceptable according to contemporary norms . During the 1920s, Prohibition made consuming alcohol a crime. Today excessive drinking is seen as more

of a personal and/or social problem, although there clearly are laws against alcoholrelated behaviors, such as driving while intoxicated or selling alcohol to minors. Sex workers are often seen as both deviant and criminal…except in Nevada, where prostitution is legal. Marijuana use was at one time seen as both deviant and criminal; currently, many U.S. states have either legalized or decriminalized such use. In short, the line between “deviant” and “criminal” can sometimes be blurred, and, as these examples illustrate, some behaviors might be seen as belonging to one, the other, neither, or both categories. Learning Objective: 1.5 Differentiate between deviance and crime. Topic: A Word About Deviance and Crime Difficulty Level: Difficult Skill Level: Apply What You Know

CHAPTER TWO

Positivist Theories Multiple Choice Questions 1. Positivist theories of deviance attempt to explain its __________. a) prevalence b) functions c) causes d) meanings Answer: c Learning Objective: 2.1 Explain a deviant activity according to different versions of anomie-strain theory. Topic: Anomie-Strain Theory Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 2. Dr. Gomez is a sociologist who is interested in how socioeconomic conditions might play a causal role in producing problems of drug addiction. Dr. Gomez is following a __________ theory of deviant behavior. a) positivist b) constructionist c) scientific d) feminist Answer: a Learning Objective: 2.1 Explain a deviant activity according to different versions of anomie-strain theory. Topic: Anomie-Strain Theory Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Apply What You Know

3. ___________ developed to address what were perceived as shortcomings in psychoanalytic explanations for deviance. a) Differential association theory b) Anomie-strain theory c) Control theory d) Symbolic interactionism Answer: b Learning Objective: 2.1 Explain a deviant activity according to different versions of anomie-strain theory. Topic: Anomie-Strain Theory Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Analyze It 4. The essence of several types of anomie-strain theories is that a) personal, internal psychological strain leads to deviant behavior. b) socially induced strain encourages individuals to commit deviant acts. c) significant social and political upheaval is the root of all deviance. d) cultural change leads to both social strain and outbreaks of deviant behavior. Answer: b Learning Objective: 2.1 Explain a deviant activity according to different versions of anomie-strain theory. Topic: Anomie-Strain Theory Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 5. According to Robert Merton‟s notion of a goal–means gap, the psychoanalytic approach to explaining deviant behavior is incorrect, because that theory assumes that a) society discourages the individual from engaging in deviant activities. b) society encourages the individual to engage in deviant behavior. c) society has no impact on human biological impulses. d) individuals freely choose to engage in deviant behavior. Answer: a Learning Objective: 2.1 Explain a deviant activity according to different versions of anomie-strain theory. Topic: Anomie-Strain Theory Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 6. Robert Merton‟s version of anomie-strain theory is based on the premise that a) the breakdown of social norms, or anomie, allows deviance to occur. b) society encourages the individual to engage in deviant activities. c) deviant behavior is the expression of an individual‟s fundamental psychological desires. d) society cannot restrain an individual from using power to prevent deviance.

Answer: b Learning Objective: 2.1 Explain a deviant activity according to different versions of anomie-strain theory. Topic: Anomie-Strain Theory Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 7. According to sociologist Robert Merton, the only cultural value of importance in American society is a) family relationships. b) hard work. c) success. d) religious faith. Answer: c Learning Objective: 2.1 Explain a deviant activity according to different versions of anomie-strain theory. Topic: Anomie-Strain Theory Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Analyze It 8. According to sociologist Robert Merton‟s anomie-strain theory, which statement is true? a) All Americans have about the same chance of reaching high success goals. b) Both the cultural goals of success and the legitimate means of achieving high success goals are freely available to all Americans. c) Relatively few Americans believe that success is an important part of life. d) The legitimate means of achieving high success goals are not freely or equally available to people at all socioeconomic levels. Answer: d Learning Objective: 2.1 Explain a deviant activity according to different versions of anomie-strain theory. Topic: Anomie-Strain Theory Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Analyze It 9. According to sociologist Robert Merton, when people hold high success aspirations and are not given the opportunity to realize them, they might a) resort to illegitimate means of achieving their success aspirations. b) reset their success goals to an even higher level. c) feel irrepressible psychological pressures to behave violently. d) engage in disintegrative shaming. Answer: a Learning Objective: 2.1 Explain a deviant activity according to different versions of anomie-strain theory. Topic: Anomie-Strain Theory

Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 10. All of Courtney‟s friends have jewelry and new clothes, but she has no money to buy them. She therefore resorts to shoplifting to get what she wants. According to Robert Merton‟s anomie-strain theory, Courtney‟s behavior is an example of a) conformity. b) innovation. c) ritualism. d) retreatism. Answer: b Learning Objective: 2.1 Explain a deviant activity according to different versions of anomie-strain theory. Topic: Anomie-Strain Theory Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Apply What You Know 11. Pierre, disillusioned with the way things are going, decides to live in a New Age commune away from the rest of society. According to Robert Merton‟s anomie-strain theory, Pierre‟s behavior is an example of a) conformity. b) innovation. c) ritualism. d) retreatism. Answer: d Learning Objective: 2.1 Explain a deviant activity according to different versions of anomie-strain theory. Topic: Anomie-Strain Theory Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Apply What You Know 12. Montel, a steel worker in Cleveland, Ohio, has no aspirations of being wealthy and successful. Nevertheless, he works hard and takes pride in his job. According to Robert Merton‟s anomie-strain theory, this is an example of a) conformity. b) innovation. c) ritualism. d) retreatism. Answer: c Learning Objective: 2.1 Explain a deviant activity according to different versions of anomie-strain theory. Topic: Anomie-Strain Theory Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Apply What You Know

13. Albert Cohen‟s theory is similar to Robert Merton‟s approach, but Cohen replaced the word “success” with the word “__________.” a) wealth b) innovation c) anomie d) status Answer: d Learning Objective: 2.1 Explain a deviant activity according to different versions of anomie-strain theory. Topic: Anomie-Strain Theory Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Remember the Facts 14. Albert Cohen‟s version of anomie-strain theory basically added the concept of __________ to Robert Merton‟s existing theoretical notions. a) deterrence b) shaming c) status frustration d) differential reinforcement Answer: c Learning Objective: 2.1 Explain a deviant activity according to different versions of anomie-strain theory. Topic: Anomie-Strain Theory Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 15. According to Albert Cohen‟s version of anomie-strain theory, the place in American society where boys from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are likely to experience the greatest status frustration is a) their home. b) school. c) the overall neighborhood. d) at a part-time job. Answer: b Learning Objective: 2.1 Explain a deviant activity according to different versions of anomie-strain theory. Topic: Anomie-Strain Theory Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 16. According to sociologist Albert Cohen, when boys living in lower socioeconomic backgrounds experience status frustration, they set up their own competitive system in the form of a) violent gangs. b) religious groups.

c) delinquent subcultures. d) boys clubs. Answer: c Learning Objective: 2.1 Explain a deviant activity according to different versions of anomie-strain theory. Topic: Anomie-Strain Theory Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 17. Albert Cohen‟s theory of status frustration closely resembles Robert Merton‟s goal– means gap because they both a) integrated aspects of control theory into their ideas. b) argue that deviant actions are the product of individual choice. c) assert that people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely to engage in deviant actions. d) assume that socioeconomic status has little to do with deviant behavior. Answer: c Learning Objective: 2.1 Explain a deviant activity according to different versions of anomie-strain theory. Topic: Anomie-Strain Theory Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 18. Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin attempted to extend Robert Merton‟s central idea that people living in lower socioeconomic conditions are denied legitimate opportunity by introducing the concept of a) status frustration. b) the means–goal gap. c) differential illegitimate opportunity. d) differential reinforcement. Answer: c Learning Objective: 2.1 Explain a deviant activity according to different versions of anomie-strain theory. Topic: Anomie-Strain Theory Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 19. According to Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin, lower-class boys from lower socioeconomic backgrounds experience different opportunities in the form of three subcultures; namely, ______________. a) criminal, conflict, and rebellious b) criminal, retreatist, and innovative c) conflict, rebellious, and innovative d) criminal, conflict, and retreatist

Answer: d Learning Objective: 2.1 Explain a deviant activity according to different versions of anomie-strain theory. Topic: Anomie-Strain Theory Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Remember the Facts 20. Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin used the concept of differential illegitimate opportunity to propose that some people living in lower socioeconomic conditions have a) a greater chance to improve their socioeconomic standing through the use of illegitimate opportunities. b) a greater likelihood of pursuing legitimate opportunities compared to people at other socioeconomic levels. c) the experience of becoming “triple failures.” d) fewer opportunities to pursue illegitimate opportunities, compared to people at other socioeconomic levels. Answer: d Learning Objective: 2.1 Explain a deviant activity according to different versions of anomie-strain theory. Topic: Anomie-Strain Theory Difficulty Level: Difficult Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 21. Which sequence of events is consistent with Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin‟s version of anomie-strain theory? a) Goal–means gap → status frustration → deviance b) Goal–means gap → differential shaming → double failure c) Goal–means gap → differential illegitimate opportunity → different deviant activities d) Goal–means gap → deviance Answer: c Learning Objective: 2.1 Explain a deviant activity according to different versions of anomie-strain theory. Topic: Anomie-Strain Theory Difficulty Level: Difficult Skill Level: Analyze It 22. Many sociologists have criticized Robert Merton‟s version of anomie-strain theory for assuming that people living in lower socioeconomic conditions a) are entirely dishonest. b) have the same level of success aspirations as people in other socioeconomic conditions. c) have higher levels of success aspirations as others. d) have low incomes because they have deviant values. Answer: b

Learning Objective: 2.1 Explain a deviant activity according to different versions of anomie-strain theory. Topic: Anomie-Strain Theory Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 23. One positive outcome associated with anomie-strain theory is that a) it focuses on how society, rather than the individual, causes much deviance. b) it documents how the individual is solely responsible for enacting freely chosen deviant behavior. c) it incorporates notions of both social learning and social control. d) it has gathered a wealth of empirical evidence to support its claims. Answer: a Learning Objective: 2.1 Explain a deviant activity according to different versions of anomie-strain theory. Topic: Anomie-Strain Theory Difficulty Level: Difficult Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 24. According to Edwin Sutherland‟s differential association theory, a person becomes deviant when there is a(n) a) feeling of internal psychological strain produced by a lack of economic opportunity. b) differential reinforcement for deviant acts rather than conventional ones. c) excess of deviant over conventional contacts in the person‟s life. d) feeling of personal anomie produced by negative social forces. Answer: c Learning Objective: 2.2 Describe the sociological applications of social learning theory. Topic: Social Learning Theory Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 25. Which concept forms the core of Edwin Sutherland‟s differential association theory? a) Numerous prior convictions for criminal activity b) An excess of criminal versus conventional social contacts c) Differential identification with criminals leading to differential reinforcement of deviant behavior d) The presence of strong deviant personality traits Answer: b Learning Objective: 2.2 Describe the sociological applications of social learning theory. Topic: Social Learning Theory Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

26. Which sequence of events is consistent with Edwin Sutherland‟s version of social learning theory? a) Differential association → reintegrative shaming → criminal behavior b) Differential association → differential identification → criminal behavior c) Differential association → differential reinforcement → criminal behavior d) Differential association → criminal behavior Answer: d Learning Objective: 2.2 Describe the sociological applications of social learning theory. Topic: Social Learning Theory Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 27. Daniel Glaser argued that Edwin Sutherland‟s theory was too __________ and proposed that a process of identification with criminals also had to take place. a) liberal b) mechanistic c) voluntary d) psychoanalytic Answer: b Learning Objective: 2.2 Describe the sociological applications of social learning theory. Topic: Social Learning Theory Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 28. According to sociologist Daniel Glaser, before a person pursues criminal behavior, that person must first __________ real or imaginary persons whose criminal behavior seems acceptable. a) strongly reject b) rebel against c) identify with d) be reinforced by Answer: c Learning Objective: 2.2 Describe the sociological applications of social learning theory. Topic: Social Learning Theory Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 29. Robert Burgess and Ronald Akers argued that before a person becomes criminal, a process of __________ must occur where the person is rewarded for continuing differential deviant behavior. a) reinforcement

b) integration c) accommodation d) rejection Answer: a Learning Objective: 2.2 Describe the sociological applications of social learning theory. Topic: Social Learning Theory Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Remember the Facts 30. Robert Burgess and Ronald Akers found Edwin Sutherland‟s differential association theory inadequate, because they argued that Sutherland a) ignored the individual‟s ability to make free choices. b) placed too much emphasis on the rewards, rather than the consequences, of deviant behavior. c) could not empirically test his theory. d) did not specify what is involved in the process of learning to become a criminal. Answer: d Learning Objective: 2.2 Describe the sociological applications of social learning theory. Topic: Social Learning Theory Difficulty Level: Difficult Skill Level: Remember the Facts 31. Which statement is an accurate criticism of Robert Burgess and Ronald Akers‟s differential reinforcement theory? a) It explains only why some people commit crimes without any prior interaction with others. b) It cannot explain why a person initially commits a deviant act. c) It explains only why a person initially commits a deviant rather than a conventional act, but not why they continue to behave that way. d) It fails to explain why a person continues to commit deviant acts over time. Answer: b Learning Objective: 2.2 Describe the sociological applications of social learning theory. Topic: Social Learning Theory Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Analyze It 32. According to control theories of deviance, the central question is a) “what causes deviance?” b) “what causes conformity?” c) “what causes criminality?” d) “what is the definition of deviance?”

Answer: b Learning Objective: 2.3 Compare ways that different versions of control theory explain conformity. Topic: Control Theory Difficulty Level: Difficult Skill Level: Analyze It 33. Most control theorists seem to a) imply that too much social control will force criminals to commit more crimes. b) accept the Freudian idea that our inborn animal impulses, if left unchecked, will turn into deviant behavior. c) accept the notion that a person has to learn some skill and adopt a certain ideology in order to act deviantly. d) assume that social control often indirectly or unexpectedly causes deviant behavior. Answer: b Learning Objective: 2.3 Compare ways that different versions of control theory explain conformity. Topic: Control Theory Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 34. For control theorists, what causes deviance is ____________. a) an abundance of social control b) differential reinforcement for committing deviant acts c) the absence of social control d) differential identification with other deviant individuals Answer: c Learning Objective: 2.3 Compare ways that different versions of control theory explain conformity. Topic: Control Theory Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Analyze It 35. According to Travis Hirschi‟s theory of social control, if elements of bonding to society are weak, an individual might a) develop a strong sense of self-control to compensate. b) receive differential reinforcement from others. c) adopt a response of ritualism. d) slide into deviance. Answer: d Learning Objective: 2.3 Compare ways that different versions of control theory explain conformity. Topic: Control Theory Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 36. According to Travis Hirschi, what are the four ways in which an individual may bond with society? a) Ritualism, innovation, rebellion, conformity b) Attachment, commitment, involvement, belief c) Conformity, attachment, retreatism, commitment d) Involvement, belief, attachment, innovation Answer: b Learning Objective: 2.3 Compare ways that different versions of control theory explain conformity. Topic: Control Theory Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Remember the Facts 37. An expression of social disapproval designed to invoke remorse in a wrongdoer is called a) labeling. b) retreatism. c) bonding. d) shaming. Answer: d Learning Objective: 2.3 Compare ways that different versions of control theory explain conformity. Topic: Control Theory Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Analyze It 38. If a society makes a deviant person feel guilty while showing understanding and forgiveness, it practices __________ shaming. a) bureaucratic b) disintegrative c) reintegrative d) degrading Answer: c Learning Objective: 2.3 Compare ways that different versions of control theory explain conformity. Topic: Control Theory Difficulty Level: Easy Skill Level: Remember the Facts 39. Jerzy has exhibited a long history of deviant and criminal behavior, from petty crimes when he was younger, to burglary, carjacking, and armed robbery as an adult. Consequently, stigmatized, rejected, and ostracized by society, sociologist John Braithwaite would identify this reaction to Jerzy as __________.

a) differential reinforcement b) reintegrative shaming c) disintegrative shaming d) a type of formal deterrence Answer: c Learning Objective: 2.3 Compare ways that different versions of control theory explain conformity. Topic: Control Theory Difficulty Level: Difficult Skill Level: Apply What You Know 40. The deterrence doctrine assumes that human beings, when anticipating deviant behavior, are a) basically rational. b) deterred by religious or moral feelings. c) motivated by personal gain. d) basically irrational. Answer: a Learning Objective: 2.3 Compare ways that different versions of control theory explain conformity. Topic: Control Theory Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 41. According to critics, reintegrative shaming can work only with a) hardened criminals. b) deviants, rather than criminals. c) first-time offenders. d) registered sex offenders. Answer: c Learning Objective: 2.3 Compare ways that different versions of control theory explain conformity. Topic: Control Theory Difficulty Level: Moderate Skill Level: Understand the Concepts 42. Sociologists criticizing control theory point out that control can become a possible cause of deviance. They therefore conclude that most versions of this theory are too __________. a) psychoanalytic in their application b) focused adult deviance c) simplistic d) likely to invoke anomie-strain concepts Answer: c