Unit 3 Examination
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GED 216 Sociology
Multiple Choice Questions (Enter your answers on the enclosed answer sheet)
Edwin Lemert described “primary deviance” as 1.
the most serious episodes of deviance.a. actions that parents define as deviant.b. a passing episode of deviance that has little effect on the person’s self-concept.c. the experience of deviance early in life. d.
His friends begin to criticize Marco as a “juice-head,” pushing him out of their social circle. 2. Marco begins to drink even more, becomes bitter, and joins a new group of friends who also are heavy drinkers. According to Lemert, Marco’s situation illustrates
the onset of primary deviance. a. the onset of secondary deviance.b. the formation of a deviant subculture.c. the onset of retreatism. d.
What concept did Erving Goffman use to refer to a powerful and negative label that greatly 3. changes a person’s self-concept and social identity?
a deviant rituala. a degradation ceremonyb. a secondary identityc. stigma d.
The concept “retrospective labeling” refers to the process of 4.
interpreting someone’s past consistent with present deviance.a. defining someone as deviant for things done long before.b. criminal adults encouraging their children to become deviant.c. predicting someone’s future based on past deviant acts. d.
Thomas Szasz made the controversial assertion that 5.
deviance is only what people label as deviant.a. most people in the United States will become insane for some period during their lives.b. mental illness is a myth so that “insanity” is only “differences” that bother other people.c. our society does not do nearly enough to treat the mentally ill. d.
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An example of the “medicalization of deviance” is 6.
theft being redefined as a “compulsive stealing.”a. drinking too much being redefined as a personal failing.b. promiscuity being redefined as a moral failing.c. when people steal drugs to self-medicate. d.
Whether people respond to deviance as a moral issue or a medical matter affects 7.
whether a person is labeled retrospectively or projectively.a. whether the person is subject to punishment or treatment.b. whether the person’s deviance is labeled as primary or secondary.c. whether or not the person gets the appropriate care. d.
Edwin Sutherland’s differential association theory links deviance to 8.
how labeling someone as deviant can increase the deviant behavior.a. the amount of contact a person has with others who encourage or discourage conventional b. behavior. how well a person can contain deviant impulses.c. how others respond to the race, ethnicity, gender, and class of the individual. d.
Travis Hirschi’s control theory suggests that the category of people most likely to engage in 9. deviance is
students enrolled in college.a. teenagers on sports teams with after-school jobs.b. youngsters who “hang out” waiting for something to happen.c. young people with respect for their parents. d.
According to the social-conflict approach, what a society labels as deviant is based primarily on 10.
how often the act occurs.a. the moral foundation of the culture.b. how harmful the act is to the public as a whole.c. differences in power between various categories of people. d.
Alexander Liazos speaks for the social-conflict approach when he states that 11.
powerless people are at the highest risk of being defined as deviant.a. deviance has both functions and dysfunctions.b. deviance exists only in the eye of the beholder.c. society should ignore victimless crime.d.
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Using a Marxist approach, Steven Spitzer claims that prime targets for deviant labeling include 12.
people who try to take the property of others.a. people who work hard but are poor.b. perpetrators of white-collar crime.c. people who have social power. d.
Crime committed by persons of high social position during the course of their occupations is 13. called
victimless crime.a. white-collar crime.b. organized crime.c. street crime. d.
Edwin Sutherland stated that white-collar crime 14.
almost always leads to a criminal conviction.a. provokes a strong response from the community.b. is usually resolved in a civil rather than a criminal court.c. rarely involves serious harm to the public as a whole. d.
_________ refers to the illegal actions of a corporation or people acting on its behalf. 15.
Corporate crime a. Organized crimeb. Victimless crimec. Secondary deviance d.
Organized crime refers to 16.
illegal actions by people with white-collar jobs.a. illegal actions on the part of a corporation or large business.b. crime involving the cooperation of two or more businesses.c. any business that supplies illegal goods or services. d.
A hate crime is defined as 17.
any crime against a person who is a minority.a. any crime involving anger or other powerful emotion.b. a criminal act motivated by race or other bias.c. any violation of antidiscrimination laws. d.
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Feminist theory states that gender figures into the study of deviance because 18.
women account for most of the arrests for serious crimes in the United States.a. every society in the world applies stronger normative controls to females than to males.b. most researchers in this area are women.c. women are more likely than men to commit a serious crime. d.
Women commit 19.
far more crimes than men.a. far fewer crimes than men.b. the same number of crimes as men.c. more property crimes than men, but men commit more violent crimes. d.
In legal terms, a crime is composed of which two components? 20.
the act and criminal intenta. a criminal and a victimb. the act and the social harmc. the law and the violation d.
“Crimes against the person” includes all but 21.
murder.a. aggravated assault.b. burglary.c. forcible rape. d.
Mike reports the theft of his dirt bike from the front yard of his house. The police would record 22. this as which type of crime?
burglarya. larceny-theftb. robberyc. auto-theft d.
Prostitution is widely regarded as a 23.
crime against the person. a. crime against property.b. victimless crime.c. corporate crime.d.
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Criminal statistics gathered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation reflect 24.
all crimes that take place.a. offenses cleared by arrest.b. offenses resulting in a criminal conviction.c. offenses known to the police. d.
Victimization surveys show that the actual amount of crime in the United States is about _____ 25. what official reports indicate.
half as great asa. the same asb. more than twice as high asc. ten times greater thand.
Unit 3 Examination
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GED 216 Sociology
Writing Assignment for Unit Three
• Responses must be typed double-spaced, using a standard font (i.e. Times New Roman) and 12 point type size.
Word count is NOT one of the criteria that is used in assigning points to writing assignments. However, students who are successful in earning the maximum number of points tend to submit writing assignments that fall in the following ranges:
Undergraduate courses: 350 - 500 words or 1 - 2 pages. Graduate courses: 500 - 750 words or 2 - 3 pages. Doctoral courses: 750 - 1000 words or 4 - 5 pages.
Plagiarism
All work must be free of any form of plagiarism. Put written answers into your own words. Do not simply cut and paste your answers from the Internet and do not copy your answers from the textbook. Be sure to refer to the course syllabus for more details on plagiarism and proper citation styles.
Please answer ONE of the following:
• Include your name, student number, course number, course title and unit number with your writing assignment.
• Begin each writing assignment by identifying the question number you are answering followed by the actual question itself (in bold type).
• Use a standard essay format for responses to all questions (i.e., an introduction, middle paragraphs and conclusion).
Describe the labeling theory of deviance. What basic insight about deviance is offered by 1. this approach? How does labeling figure into the difference between primary deviance and secondary deviance? What is the importance of stigma in labeling analysis?
Examine the Davis-Moore thesis. According to this theory, why is social inequality useful for 2. society? Provide two criticisms of this theory.
Apply the structural-functional and social-conflict approaches to the issue of gender. What 3. are key insights offered by each theoretical approach? How does each approach view gender differences and gender inequality? How does each respond to the changes in gender across the twentieth century?