Deck 9: Deviance or Difference

Question 1

In what way did Merton (1938,1968)adopt and differ to Durkheim's theory of anomie in his strain theory of deviance?

A)Merton considered that anomie was a cause of deviance
B)Merton argued that some social structures exert pressures on particular individuals to undertake non-conformist behaviours
C)Merton thought that structural strain was when there was a dysfunction between culturally defined goals and legitimate institutionalised means of achieving them
D)Merton thought that some people had to choose illegitimate goals if they were to adapt to social structures

Answer 1

A

Question 2

View Figure 9.1 on page 214 and look at the stages of the criminal career.Briefly suggest how labelling theory may apply at each stage and to what extent.

Answer 2

Student response could include a description of labelling theory and an outline of the processes of self-identification that may happen at various points in the criminal career.

Question 3

Which of the following is NOT a belief held by the jazz musicians Becker (1963)researched?

A)We don't need to conform
B)We are not subject mechanisms of social control
C)The same rules do not apply to us
D)They need to fit in

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which of the following is NOT one of Merton's (1938,1968)typologies of the ways individuals adapt to strain?

A)Conformity
B)Rebellion
C)Religion
D)Innovation

Question 5

Using the example of the American dream,which behaviour is not represented by one of Robert Merton's five types of adaptations according to his structural strain theory?

A)Bob and Jane are pursuing the American dream by working hard,saving their money and investing in the stock market as a way to get ahead
B)Kate fully believes in the American dream and works hard as a medical doctor while leading political demonstrations advocating political revolutions to build a better society
C)George is a hippie that doesn't believe in the American dream and spends most of his days in a marijuana-induced state of bliss
D)Mary and Mike really want to achieve the American dream but lack skills needed in the job market so they have developed an illegal trade selling term papers to university students

Question 6

Identify the perspective that analyses society as a multiplicity of social worlds where the boundaries between us and them are fluid.

A)Functionalist
B)Post-structuralist
C)Marxist
D)Elitist

Question 7

What was one of the findings of Cohen's (1955)research into subcultures?

A)That whilst behaviour may appear to be non-conformity to wider society,it may actually be normal to particular subcultures
B)That individuals engage in crime when they have been influenced to do so by other individuals
C)That society has a culturally prescribed goal and the institutional means to get it
D)That some individuals can label others as deviant

Question 8

Who concluded that there is no longer a sociology of deviance?

A)Becker
B)Summer
C)Sumner
D)Downes

Question 9

The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York on 11 September 2001 are an example of:

A)Altruistic suicide
B)Egoistic suicide
C)Anomic suicide
D)Anomie

Question 10

Cohen's (1955)research on delinquent subcultures found all EXCEPT:

A)Deviant or criminal subcultures share goals similar to mainstream culture
B)Behaviour that appears irrational by mainstream individuals may be rational to gang members
C)Subcultures may emerge when individuals in certain structural situations cannot achieve mainstream goals
D)Working-class boys experienced status frustration

Question 11

Research a picture/photograph of an individual who is a member of a subcultural group.Using labelling theory,argue in what ways the picture/photograph defines this individual as being a member of a subculture,remembering to clearly define what is deviant or different in comparison to the norm.

Question 12

Which of the following is NOT a function of deviance according to Durkheim?

A)The establishment of boundaries between acceptable and norm-breaking behaviour
B)Reinforce shared standards of morality among members of a community
C)A rite of passage from youth to adulthood
D)A way of pushing the moral boundaries of the community and suggesting alternative ways of behaving

Question 13

Draw on Sumner's (1994)work to examine whether deviance is dead and whether there is only difference.

Question 14

The identification of deviance relies on some form of _____________ as to what is the norm or non-deviant behaviour.

A)Continuum
B)Consensus
C)Concern
D)Conformity

Question 15

Non-sociological theories attempt to locate deviance according to the kinds of people that commit deviant acts.All of the following are kinds of people theories,EXCEPT which?

A)Religious
B)Biological
C)Psychology
D)Norms

Question 16

Which of the following is NOT a criticism made by the Left Realism perspective about labelling theory?

A)That the working classes are disproportionately the victims of crime and that they have few resources to combat it
B)The marginalisation of the working classes is central to any explanation of crime
C)Subcultural factors such as definitions of masculinity can contribute to some types of crime
D)Those who are rule breakers are outsiders and as such will remain deviant

Question 17

According to symbolic interactionist theories:

A)Deviance is created by deviants
B)Deviance follows rule-breaking behaviour
C)If individuals expect people to behave in a deviant way,deviant behaviour will occur
D)Insights gained from labelling theory have failed to change social policy

Question 18

The sociology of deviance explains the way some:

A)Behaviours are defined as deviant and others as conformist
B)People behave in order to conform
C)Behaviours attract attention in society
D)People behave in order to be different

Question 19

Which of the following best describes the notion that people feel disadvantaged after comparing their circumstances unfavourably with others?

A)Labelling
B)Definition of the situation
C)Self-fulfilling prophecy
D)Relative deprivation

Question 20

Becker's (1963)labelling theory is an example of which sociological approach to deviance?

A)Functionalist
B)Symbolic interactionist
C)Marxist
D)Structuralist

Question 21

According to Michel Foucault:

A)Self-regulation is an ultimate goal in the normalisation process
B)Religion altered the nature of punishment to be guided by professional knowledge
C)Contemporary agents of social control are highly visible
D)Power is located in unusual events that break the patterns of everyday life

Question 22

Retrieve some crime statistics from a government website and choose one table or graph which shows crime over a period of time.Explain what the crime data reports and evaluate what the data indicates about a larger social process.

Question 23

Which of the following is an accurate statement about youth gangs in Australia?

A)They are a myth constructed by the media
B)They are always attached to bike groups
C)They are prevalent in the suburbs
D)They have multiple leaders and are usually armed

Question 24

Which of the following statements would NOT emerge from a critical social control theory analysis of deviance and social control?

A)Social control can be either internal,in the form of compliance,or external,in the form of coercion
B)If adults have ties to conventional society via employment and marriage,then research shows they are less likely to engage in crime and deviance
C)Where there are weak communities,shaming will contribute to higher crime rates
D)Law,especially criminal law,has proved unable to control the activities of those whose interests are contrary to those in power

Question 25

Which if the following is NOT part of how Queer theory analyses deviance?

A)Deconstructs gender roles
B)Recognises a wide range of sexualised behaviours
C)Challenges the way social difference is tolerated
D)Affirms the masculinity femininity binary