Chapter 6: Deviance and Social Control: Sickos, Weirdos, and Folks Like Us

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. What is the violation of social norms called?

a. deviance

b. stigma

c. recidivism

d. crime

Learning Objective: 6.1: Describe who is deviant and why.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: What Is Deviance?

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. Which of the following is TRUE of deviance?

a. Acts of deviance are necessarily considered serious offenses.

b. Deviance may be considered understandable in certain instances.

c. Individuals may be labeled deviant, but not statuses or groups.

d. All people have the same likelihood of being labeled deviant.

Learning Objective: 6.1: Describe who is deviant and why.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: What Is Deviance?

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. As ______ point out, deviance can be useful for society by setting examples of unacceptable behavior, leading to guidelines of behavior necessary to maintain order.

a. rational choice theorists

b. conflict theorists

c. structural-functionalists

d. symbolic interactionists

Learning Objective: 6.1: Describe who is deviant and why.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: What Is Deviance?

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. Deviance that violates the law is referred to as ______.

a. primary deviance

b. crime

c. recidivism

d. stigma

Learning Objective: 6.1: Describe who is deviant and why.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Crime: Deviance That Violates the Law

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. Which of the following is considered a consensus crime?

a. public intoxication

b. prostitution

c. disorderly conduct

d. pre-meditated murder

Learning Objective: 6.1: Describe who is deviant and why.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Crime: Deviance That Violates the Law

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. Emily is in high school. Her best friend recently moved to a different state, so Emily started hanging out with a new group of friends. Some of her new friends experiment with illicit drugs after school. On repeated occasions, the group tries to convince Emily to join them. She finally decides to try what they are trying because she wants to fit in. Emily’s deviance is best described by which of the following theories?

a. rational choice theory

b. differential association theory

c. rational choice theory

d. labeling theory

Learning Objective: 6.2: Compare key ideas in the differential association, labeling, rational choice, structural-functional, and conflict perspectives of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Symbolic Interaction Approaches to Deviance: Differential Association

Difficulty Level: Hard

7. According to differential association theory, the possibility of becoming deviant depends on four factors: the duration of time spent with the group, the intensity of the interaction, the frequency of interaction, and ______.

a. the size of the group

b. the calculated risks of associating with the group

c. the social capital offered by the group

d. the priority of the group in one’s friendship network

Learning Objective: 6.2: Compare key ideas in the differential association, labeling, rational choice, structural-functional, and conflict perspectives of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Symbolic Interaction Approaches to Deviance: Differential Association

Difficulty Level: Medium

8. The statement, “Members of society create deviance by defining certain behaviors as deviant” fits best with which of the following theories of deviance?

a. differential association theory

b. rational choice theory

c. labeling theory

d. strain theory

Learning Objective: 6.2: Compare key ideas in the differential association, labeling, rational choice, structural-functional, and conflict perspectives of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Symbolic Interaction Approaches to Deviance: Labeling

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. Yesterday, for the first time ever, Carson smoked marijuana. According to labeling theory, Carson committed ______.

a. primary deviance

b. secondary deviance

c. tertiary deviance

d. formal deviance

Learning Objective: 6.2: Compare key ideas in the differential association, labeling, rational choice, structural-functional, and conflict perspectives of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Symbolic Interaction Approaches to Deviance: Labeling

Difficulty Level: Medium

10. When Michael steals a car during his gang’s initiation, he gets arrested. When he’s released from prison, he tries to turn his life around and get a job, but employers don’t want to hire him because of his reputation and criminal record. Low on cash, he decides to go back to the gang and sell drugs to make ends meet. This is an example of ______.

a. primary deviance

b. secondary deviance

c. tertiary deviance

d. formal deviance

Learning Objective: 6.2: Compare key ideas in the differential association, labeling, rational choice, structural-functional, and conflict perspectives of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Symbolic Interaction Approaches to Deviance: Labeling

Difficulty Level: Medium

11. A belief that becomes a reality in part because of the prediction is referred to as a ______ prophecy.

a. labeling

b. social control

c. self-fulfilling

d. consensus

Learning Objective: 6.2: Compare key ideas in the differential association, labeling, rational choice, structural-functional, and conflict perspectives of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Symbolic Interaction Approaches to Deviance: Labeling

Difficulty Level: Easy

12. The self-fulfilling prophecy is associated with which theory?

a. strain theory

b. labeling theory

c. differential association theory

d. social control theory

Learning Objective: 6.2: Compare key ideas in the differential association, labeling, rational choice, structural-functional, and conflict perspectives of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Symbolic Interaction Approaches to Deviance: Labeling

Difficulty Level: Medium

13. James is eight. His siblings call him a delinquent because he’s started getting in trouble at school. His mother often tells him how much he looks like his father, who is serving a ten year sentence. As a result, he views himself as a “bad kid” who will end up in prison like his father. Which of the following best describes this scenario?

a. self-fulfilling prophecy

b. rationalization of social life

c. rational choice theory

d. differential association theory

Learning Objective: 6.2: Compare key ideas in the differential association, labeling, rational choice, structural-functional, and conflict perspectives of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Symbolic Interaction Approaches to Deviance: Labeling

Difficulty Level: Hard

14. To study why some women decide to kill their abusive husbands, Robin plans to determine how these women weigh the potential costs and benefits of their crimes. Robin’s approach aligns with which of the following theories?

a. labeling theory

b. differential association theory

c. rational choice theory

d. feminist theory

Learning Objective: 6.2: Compare key ideas in the differential association, labeling, rational choice, structural-functional, and conflict perspectives of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Rational Choice Approaches to Deviance

Difficulty Level: Medium

15. What is social control?

a. how norms evolve

b. why people deviate from norms

c. how norms are established

d. why people obey norms

Learning Objective: 6.2: Compare key ideas in the differential association, labeling, rational choice, structural-functional, and conflict perspectives of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Structural-Functional Approaches to Deviance

Difficulty Level: Easy

16. The roots of social control theory can be traced back to which of the following?

a. Max Weber’s work on the sociology of religion

b. Émile Durkheim’s work on suicide

c. Karl Marx’s work on the problem of alienation

d. C. Wright Mills’s work on the power elite

Learning Objective: 6.2: Compare key ideas in the differential association, labeling, rational choice, structural-functional, and conflict perspectives of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Structural-Functional Approaches to Deviance

Difficulty Level: Medium

17. Kina is seventeen. To prevent her from becoming deviant, her parents encourage her to attend church, study hard, and believe that “nice girls finish first.” Her parents’ beliefs reflect which of the following theories?

a. strain theory

b. social control theory

c. conflict theory

d. labeling theory

Learning Objective: 6.2: Compare key ideas in the differential association, labeling, rational choice, structural-functional, and conflict perspectives of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Structural-Functional Approaches to Deviance: Social Control

Difficulty Level: Hard

18. Which of the following is an informal external control?

a. the voice within us that tells us what is right and wrong

b. ridicule from family members

c. prison sentences

d. court-mandated therapy

Learning Objective: 6.2: Compare key ideas in the differential association, labeling, rational choice, structural-functional, and conflict perspectives of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Structural-Functional Approaches to Deviance: Social Control

Difficulty Level: Medium

19. What is the term for the state of normlessness that occurs when rules for behavior in society break down under extreme stress from rapid social change or conflict?

a. anomie

b. suicide

c. recidivism

d. consensus

Learning Objective: 6.2: Compare key ideas in the differential association, labeling, rational choice, structural-functional, and conflict perspectives of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Structural Functional Approaches to Deviance: Anomie

Difficulty Level: Easy

20. Which of the following sociologists first described the concept of anomie?

a. Karl Marx

b. August Comte

c. Émile Durkheim

d. W.E.B. DuBois

Learning Objective: 6.2: Compare key ideas in the differential association, labeling, rational choice, structural-functional, and conflict perspectives of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Structural Functional Approaches to Deviance: Anomie

Difficulty Level: Easy

21. Chelsea was appalled that her friends would pursue conventional jobs after high school. Instead, she joined a militant anti-fascist group. According to strain theory, Chelsea’s behavior results from which of the following?

a. conformity

b. rebellion

c. innovation

d. ritualism

Learning Objective: 6.2: Compare key ideas in the differential association, labeling, rational choice, structural-functional, and conflict perspectives of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Structural Functional Approaches to Deviance: Strain

Difficulty Level: Medium

22. Susan dreamed of opening her own restaurant but couldn’t afford the startup costs. She decided to steal from her grandmother’s estate in order to finance her business. Though she felt some hesitation, Susan decided that the possibility of her success justified her actions. According to strain theory, Susan’s behavior results from which of the following?

a. conformity

b. innovation

c. ritualism

d. retreatism

Learning Objective: 6.2: Compare key ideas in the differential association, labeling, rational choice, structural-functional, and conflict perspectives of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Structural-Functional Approaches to Deviance: Strain

Difficulty Level: Hard

23. Carlos originally hoped to graduate from college so that he could become a journalist. However, because he couldn’t earn enough money to afford tuition, he decided that a college degree and a future career in journalism was no longer important. According to strain theory, Carlos’s behavior results from which of the following?

a. conformity

b. innovation

c. retreatism

d. rebellion

Learning Objective: 6.2: Compare key ideas in the differential association, labeling, rational choice, structural-functional, and conflict perspectives of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Structural-Functional Approaches to Deviance: Strain

Difficulty Level: Hard

24. Which of the following perspectives views deviance as the result of social inequality or of the struggle among groups for power?

a. structural-functionalist theory

b. strain theory

c. conflict theory

d. labeling theory

Learning Objective: 6.2: Compare key ideas in the differential association, labeling, rational choice, structural-functional, and conflict perspectives of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Conflict Theory Approaches to Deviance

Difficulty Level: Easy

25. Elizabeth is studying the way in which mass incarceration benefits affluent Americans. Her research reflects which of the following perspectives?

a. symbolic interactionist theory

b. structural-functionalist theory

c. strain theory

d. conflict theory

Learning Objective: 6.2: Compare key ideas in the differential association, labeling, rational choice, structural-functional, and conflict perspectives of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Conflict Theory Approaches to Deviance

Difficulty Level: Medium

26. According to feminist theorists, which of the following did the #MeToo movement bring to light?

a. The gender wage gap persists to this day.

b. Patriarchal values are reflected in gendered language.

c. Women receive harsher punishments than men for committing the same crimes.

d. Those who commit crimes against women do not face severe—or in some cases any—punishment.

Learning Objective: 6.2: Compare key ideas in the differential association, labeling, rational choice, structural-functional, and conflict perspectives of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: A Multi-Level Analysis of Deviance: Feminist Theories

Difficulty Level: Medium

27. Which of the following theories is used to understand global crime, arguing that its cause lies in the global economy, the inequalities between countries, and the competition between countries for resources and wealth?

a. world systems theory

b. feminist theory

c. structural-functional theory

d. modernization theory

Learning Objective: 6.2: Compare key ideas in the differential association, labeling, rational choice, structural-functional, and conflict perspectives of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Global Crimes

Difficulty Level: Easy

28. Which of the following is the official record of crime in the United States?

a. the Uniform Crime Reports

b. the National Crime Victimization Survey

c. the Crime Clock

d. the National Incident Based Reporting System

Learning Objective: 6.3: Provide possible explanations for why the crime rate has fallen in recent years.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: How Much Crime Is There?

Difficulty Level: Medium

29. Crimes committed by or between individual consenting adults are referred to as ______ crimes.

a. predatory

b. victimless

c. consensus

d. organized

Learning Objective: 6.3: Provide possible explanations for why the crime rate has fallen in recent years.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Crimes Without Victims

Difficulty Level: Easy

30. Which of the following types of crime refers to criminal offenses against a person or property of protected status that is motivated by the offender’s bias?

a. victimless crimes

b. organized crimes

c. predatory crimes

d. hate crimes

Learning Objective: 6.3: Provide possible explanations for why the crime rate has fallen in recent years.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Hate Crimes

Difficulty Level: Easy

31. Racketeering is one of three common forms of ______ crime.

a. public-order

b. hate

c. organized

d. predatory

Learning Objective: 6.4: Describe types of organized crime and crime by organizations prevalent today.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Organized Crime

Difficulty Level: Medium

32. Liz is a marketing coordinator at a university. She puts in longer hours than her supervisor, who makes significantly more money. One day, Liz steals 15 ink cartridges to use in her home printer because she thinks it’s only fair that she benefit more from all of her hard work. What type of crime has Liz committed?

a. a predatory crime

b. an occupational crime

c. a hate crime

d. an organized crime

Learning Objective: 6.4: Describe types of organized crime and crime by organizations prevalent today.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Occupational Crime

Difficulty Level: Medium

33. Embezzlement is an example of which of the following?

a. crimes against the company

b. crimes against employees

c. crimes against customers

d. crimes against the general public

Learning Objective: 6.4: Describe types of organized crime and crime by organizations prevalent today.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Occupational Crime

Difficulty Level: Medium

34. Some companies fail to install adequate safety equipment because they feel pressured to maintain profit margins. This behavior can best be explained by which of the following theories?

a. differential association theory

b. symbolic interactionist theory

c. labeling theory

d. strain theory

Learning Objective: 6.4: Describe types of organized crime and crime by organizations prevalent today.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Occupational Crime

Difficulty Level: Medium

35. John is a supervisor of 30 employees at a small restaurant. He makes his employees work overtime without pay, and he steals their tips. John is guilty of ______.

a. crimes against customers

b. misrepresentation

c. wage theft

d. embezzlement

Learning Objective: 6.4: Describe types of organized crime and crime by organizations prevalent today.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Occupational Crime

Difficulty Level: Medium

36. ______ is the calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate government or societies in the pursuit if goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological.

a. Terrorism

b. Transnationalism

c. Treason

d. Crime

Learning Objective: 6.5: Give examples of crimes committed at the national and global level today.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: National and Global Crime: Macro-Level Analysis

Difficulty Level: Easy

37. An act that attempts to break down a prison inmate’s sense of self in order to resocialize him or her is known as ______.

a. mortification

b. degradation

c. resocialization

d. recidivism

Learning Objective: 6.6: Explain which theoretical perspective would be most useful in explaining the function of prisons in U.S. society today.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Prisons

Difficulty Level: Medium

38. Which of the following is the most common argument for using the death penalty?

a. deterrence

b. constitutionality

c. financial cost

d. retribution

Learning Objective: 6.6: Explain which theoretical perspective would be most useful in explaining the function of prisons in U.S. society today.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Death Penalty

Difficulty Level: Medium

39. What is recidivism?

a. the extortion of funds in exchange for “protection”

b. the conflict that occurs between the elites and minority groups

c. returning to prison after already serving a prior term

d. an act that marks an offender as deviant

Learning Objective: 6.6: Explain which theoretical perspective would be most useful in explaining the function of prisons in U.S. society today.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Alternative Forms of Social Control

Difficulty Level: Medium

40. In order to help ex-offenders overcome discrimination by employers in the hiring process, a ______ campaign has urged employers to stop requiring job candidates to report whether they have a criminal record.

a. Ban the Box

b. Ban the Application

c. Felons for Hire

d. Future of Employment

Learning Objective: 6.6: Explain which theoretical perspective would be most useful in explaining the function of prisons in U.S. society today.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Alternative Forms of Social Control

Difficulty Level: Hard

True/False

1. Members of groups and societies socially construct deviance.

Learning Objective: 6.1: Describe who is deviant and why.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: What Is Deviance?

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. Deviance is always problematic for society.

Learning Objective: 6.1: Describe who is deviant and why.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: What Is Deviance?

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. Kidnapping for ransom is considered a consensus crime.

Learning Objective: 6.1: Describe who is deviant and why.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Crime: Deviance That Violates the Law

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. Symbolic interactionists focus on how our interactions with others influence whether we commit deviant acts.

Learning Objective: 6.3: Provide possible explanations for why the crime rate has fallen in recent years.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Crime: Deviance That Violates the Law

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. According to differential association theory, if one spends a great deal of time with deviant friends, the individual may become deviant.

Learning Objective: 6.2: Compare key ideas in the differential association, labeling, rational choice, structural-functional, and conflict perspectives of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Symbolic Interaction Approaches to Deviance: Differential Association

Difficulty Level: Easy

6. The major idea of labeling theory is that if social controls weaken, people are more likely to become deviant.

Learning Objective: 6.2: Compare key ideas in the differential association, labeling, rational choice, structural-functional, and conflict perspectives of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Easy

Answer Location: Symbolic Interaction Approaches to Deviance: Labeling

Difficulty Level: Medium

7. The process of labeling individuals and behaviors takes place at each level of analysis.

Learning Objective: 6.2: Compare key ideas in the differential association, labeling, rational choice, structural-functional, and conflict perspectives of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Symbolic Interaction Approaches to Deviance: Labeling

Difficulty Level: Medium

8. Labeling theorists define two stages in the process of becoming deviant: primary deviance and secondary deviance.

Learning Objective: 6.2: Compare key ideas in the differential association, labeling, rational choice, structural-functional, and conflict perspectives of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Symbolic Interaction Approaches to Deviance: Labeling

Difficulty Level: Easy

9. According to rational choice theory, increasing awareness of the costs of committing deviant acts should decrease deviance.

Learning Objective: 6.2: Compare key ideas in the differential association, labeling, rational choice, structural-functional, and conflict perspectives of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Rational Choice Approaches to Deviance

Difficulty Level: Easy

10. According to social control theory, external controls are always formal.

Learning Objective: 6.2: Compare key ideas in the differential association, labeling, rational choice, structural-functional, and conflict perspectives of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Structural-Functional Approaches to Deviance: Social Control

Difficulty Level: Medium

11. Anomie is typical in isolated, rural areas.

Learning Objective: 6.2: Compare key ideas in the differential association, labeling, rational choice, structural-functional, and conflict perspectives of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Structural-Functional Approaches to Deviance: Anomie

Difficulty Level: Medium

12. The frustration and anger that can result from being unable to meet common societal goals is known as strain.

Learning Objective: 6.2: Compare key ideas in the differential association, labeling, rational choice, structural-functional, and conflict perspectives of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Structural-Functional Approaches to Deviance: Strain

Difficulty Level: Easy

13. According to strain theory, ritualism means embracing the society’s definition of success and adhering to the established and approved means of achieving success.

Learning Objective: 6.2: Compare key ideas in the differential association, labeling, rational choice, structural-functional, and conflict perspectives of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Structural-Functional Approaches to Deviance: Strain

Difficulty Level: Medium

14. Miriam wanted to be able to own a fancy car, so she attended college and became a physician. She could then afford to purchase her luxury automobile. Merton would argue that Miriam was using conformity to adapt to strain.

Learning Objective: 6.2: Compare key ideas in the differential association, labeling, rational choice, structural-functional, and conflict perspectives of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Structural-Functional Approaches to Deviance: Strain

Difficulty Level: Medium

15. Conflict theorists argue that the greater the inequality in society, the more conflict will exist.

Learning Objective: 6.2: Compare key ideas in the differential association, labeling, rational choice, structural-functional, and conflict perspectives of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Conflict Theory Approaches to Deviance

Difficulty Level: Easy

16. The Uniform Crime Report includes eight Type I offenses, also known as FBI index crimes.

Learning Objective: 6.3: Provide possible explanations for why the crime rate has fallen in recent years.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: How Much Crime Is There?

Difficulty Level: Medium

17. Self-reporting surveys ask people how much crime they have experienced.

Learning Objective: 6.3: Provide possible explanations for why the crime rate has fallen in recent years.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: How Much Crime Is There?

Difficulty Level: Medium

18. The rate of violent and nonviolent crime in the United States has dropped since the mid-1990s.

Learning Objective: 6.3: Provide possible explanations for why the crime rate has fallen in recent years.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: How Much Crime Is There?

Difficulty Level: Medium

19. Americans tends to be most afraid of public-order crimes.

Learning Objective: 6.4: Describe types of organized crime and crime by organizations prevalent today.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Crimes Without Victims

Difficulty Level: Easy

20. Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme is an example of occupational crime.

Learning Objective: 6.4: Describe types of organized crime and crime by organizations prevalent today.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Occupational Crime

Difficulty Level: Medium

21. White-collar crime is costlier than violent crime in money, health, and lives.

Learning Objective: 6.4: Describe types of organized crime and crime by organizations prevalent today.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Occupational Crime

Difficulty Level: Medium

22. Since the 2016 presidential election, fewer people in the United States believe their government officials are corrupt.

Learning Objective: 6.5: Give examples of crime committed at the national and global level today.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: National and Global Crime: Macro-Level Analysis

Difficulty Level: Medium

23. Japan has attained a lower crime rate through its heavy investment in the criminal justice system.

Learning Objective: 6.5: Give examples of crime committed at the national and global level today.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Cross-National Comparison of Crimes

Difficulty Level: Medium

24. Detention facilities for undocumented immigrants are growing at a faster rate than regular prisons.

Learning Objective: 6.6: Explain which theoretical perspective would be most useful in explaining the function of prisons in U.S. society today.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Prisons and Profit

Difficulty Level: Medium

25. Most developed countries utilize the death penalty.

Learning Objective: 6.6: Explain which theoretical perspective would be most useful in explaining the function of prisons in U.S. society today.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Death Penalty

Difficulty Level: Easy

Essay

1. What does it mean when sociologists say that deviance can be functional for society? Provide an example.

Learning Objective: 6.1: Describe who is deviant and why.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: What Is Deviance?

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. That which is considered criminal changes over time. Give two examples from U.S. history that illustrate this fact.

Learning Objective: 6.1: Describe who is deviant and why.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Crime: Deviance That Violates the Law

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. According to differential association theory, the possibility of becoming deviant depends on four factors. List and briefly discuss these four factors.

Learning Objective: 6.2: Compare key ideas in the differential association, labeling, rational choice, structural-functional, and conflict perspectives of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Symbolic Interaction Approaches to Deviance: Differential Association

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. Compare and contrast primary and secondary deviance. Provide examples.

Learning Objective: 6.2: Compare key ideas in the differential association, labeling, rational choice, structural-functional, and conflict perspectives of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Symbolic Interaction Approaches to Deviance: Labeling

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. How does William J. Chambliss’s study of the Saints and the Roughnecks illustrate labeling theory?

Learning Objective: 6.1: Describe who is deviant and why.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Symbolic Interaction Approaches to Deviance: Labeling

Difficulty Level: Hard

6. Control theory asserts that there are four powerful factors that bond people. List and briefly discuss these four factors.

Learning Objective: 6.2: Compare key ideas in the differential association, labeling, rational choice, structural-functional, and conflict perspectives of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Structural-Functional Approaches to Deviance: Social Control

Difficulty Level: Medium

7. In general, what do conflict theorists believe we need to do to reduce crime? How does this differ from the structural functionalist perspective?

Learning Objective: 6.2: Compare key ideas in the differential association, labeling, rational choice, structural-functional, and conflict perspectives of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Conflict Theory Approaches to Deviance

Difficulty Level: Hard

8. How do we know how much crime occurs in the United States?

Learning Objective: 6.3: Provide possible explanations for why the crime rate has fallen in recent years.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: How Much Crime Is There?

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. Researchers have yet to come to a consensus as to why crime has declined in the United States since the mid-1990s, but there are several ideas under review. Discuss at least three possible factors for this decline.

Learning Objective: 6.3: Provide possible explanations for why the crime rate has fallen in recent years.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: How Much Crime Is There?

Difficulty Level: Hard

10. As minority groups gain notoriety or acceptance in society, they can face more hate crimes. Give an example of each.

Learning Objective: 6.3: Provide possible explanations for why the crime rate has fallen in recent years.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Hate Crimes

Difficulty Level: Medium

11. In the summer of 2010, a deep-water oil rig suffered a major malfunction and began to spew thousands of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The oil spill devastated the gulf’s economy, killing wildlife, covering beaches with oil and sludge, and making fishing in the waters hazardous. Investigators discovered that there was possible negligence on behalf of the oil company that owned the rig. How would sociologists categorize this crime? How do rational choice theory and strain theory help explain this crime?

Learning Objective: 6.4: Describe types of organized crime and crime by organizations prevalent today

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Occupational Crime

Difficulty Level: Hard

12. What is terrorism? What are the major types of terrorist groups?

Learning Objective: 6.5: Give examples of crimes committed at the national and global level today.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: National and Global Crime: Macro-Level Analysis

Difficulty Level: Medium

13. How can sociologists understand the difference in crime levels between the United States and Japan?

Learning Objective: 6.5: Give examples of crimes committed at the national and global level today.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Cross-National Comparison of Crimes

Difficulty Level: Hard

14. In 2016, the U.S. Justice Department announced that it would stop using private prisons. What was the reasoning behind this decision?

Learning Objective: 6.6: Explain which theoretical perspective would be most useful in explaining the function of prisons in U.S. society today.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Prisons and Profit

Difficulty Level: Medium

15. How effective is the death penalty in the United States? Provide three arguments against its use.

Learning Objective: 6.6: Explain which theoretical perspective would be most useful in explaining the function of prisons in U.S. society today.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Death Penalty

Difficulty Level: Medium