Question 1

In his book, Punished, Victor Rios talks about how in low-income Black and Latino boys' social world, the normal misbehavior of adolescence such as fighting is treated as serious crime in need of criminal justice intervention. He calls this environment ______.

Accepted Answer

Rios refers to this environment as the "youth control complex," a term he uses to describe the systematic way in which everyday behaviors of young people, particularly those from marginalized communities, are criminalized.

Question 2

People who are labeled as deviant, but have NOT committed an act of crime or violated social norms, are what Howard Becker refers to as ______.

Accepted Answer

Howard Becker refers to individuals who are labeled as deviant without having committed a crime or violated social norms as "falsely accused." This concept is part of his labeling theory, which examines how the labels society assigns can influence individuals' behavior and identity.

Question 3

A juvenile offender is caught stealing and must speak before the judge to try to get his sentence reduced. How would he accurately employ a denial of injury?

Accepted Answer

A denial of injury involves arguing that the offense caused no harm or injury, so pointing out that no physical harm was done to anyone fits this description.

Question 4

A woman accused of assault defends herself by explaining that the other person encouraged the attack by calling her names. What is occurring?

Accepted Answer

The woman is using a technique of neutralization, specifically the defense of denial of responsibility, by shifting the blame for her actions onto the victim's behavior (calling her names), suggesting that her actions were provoked rather than entirely her choice. Techniques of neutralization are ways individuals justify or rationalize deviant behavior.

Question 5

A teenage girl is caught smoking marijuana. When asked why she did it, she claims that she isn't to blame, but rather her friends are because they told her to. This is an example of which technique of neutralization?

Accepted Answer

This is an example of "denial of responsibility," where the individual argues that they were not acting of their own accord but were influenced or pressured by others, thus deflecting blame away from themselves.

Question 6

Which technique of neutralization involves drawing attention from a person's own behavior by blaming the victim, who only accused him or her out of spite?

Accepted Answer

Condemning the condemners is a technique of neutralization where the focus is shifted from the accused's behavior to the motives and behaviors of those who disapprove of or condemn the accused's actions. This technique involves arguing that those who condemn are doing so out of spite or for unjust reasons, rather than addressing the actual behavior in question.

Question 7

When Toma was arrested for releasing all the animals from a lab that was using them for research, she told the judge she didn't do anything wrong, and that the lab was the criminal. What technique of neutralization was Toma using?

Accepted Answer

The answer of When Toma was arrested for releasing all...

Question 8

Which of these is an example of a visible stigma?

Accepted Answer

Facial disfigurement is a visible stigma because it can be seen by others, unlike the other options which are not immediately visible.

Question 9

A public figure commits a crime that makes national headlines. How might this person engage in a compensatory strategy?

Accepted Answer

Compensatory strategies involve efforts to offset negative impressions or actions with positive ones. In this context, using increased positivity to become more likable is a way to compensate for the negative impact of the crime on the public figure's image.

Question 10

Roger really wanted Maoira to like him, even though she knew he had been incarcerated when he was younger. So he told her about the work he was doing at the prison to help rehabilitate the inmates, including teaching reading and offering advice. What compensatory strategy was Roger using?

Accepted Answer

Roger was using individuating information to compensate for his past incarceration. By sharing his work at the prison, he was providing information that would help Maoira see him as an individual, rather than just someone who had been in prison.

Question 11

Leo didn't want his coworkers at the construction site to know he was married to a man, so he told them he was married to his high school sweetheart and they had two kids. Which stigma management technique did Leo use?

Accepted Answer

Leo used fabrication by creating a false story about his marital status and family situation to avoid stigma.

Question 12

Which stigma management technique does NOT involve deception, but rather keeping one's stigmatized identity hidden?

Accepted Answer

Concealment involves keeping one's stigmatized identity hidden without actively lying or fabricating information, unlike other techniques that may involve some form of deception or manipulation of information.

Question 13

Rahanna thought it was strange that Jacob wouldn't tell her anything about his past, but she figured out why when she noticed a tattoo of a gang sign on his upper arm. Which stigma management technique was used?

Accepted Answer

Signaling involves using symbols, signs, or actions to communicate or indicate something about oneself. In this case, Jacob's tattoo, which is a gang sign, inadvertently signals to Rahanna information about his past that he had not verbally disclosed.

Question 14

When Connie finally called Mason an alcoholic, Mason said that even though he drank a lot, he wasn't like those other drinkers because he could stop any time he wanted to. He just liked to drink. Which stigma management technique did Mason use?

Accepted Answer

Mason used differentiating by distinguishing his behavior from that of "those other drinkers," implying that his situation or condition is different or less severe, thus managing the stigma associated with being labeled an alcoholic.

Question 15

When the president admitted he had smoked marijuana in his youth, his opponents tried to use it against him, but he maintained that everyone did it in college and it was no big deal. Which stigma management technique did he use?

Accepted Answer

The president used the normalizing technique by suggesting that smoking marijuana in college was a common behavior, thereby minimizing its perceived negative impact or stigma.

Question 16

Deviance is conceptualized in different ways by different people.

Accepted Answer

Deviance is a social construct, meaning its definition varies across different cultures, societies, and contexts. What is considered deviant behavior in one society may be seen as normal in another, indicating that the conceptualization of deviance is not universal but rather subjective and variable.

Question 17

The legalistic approach would consider wearing an evening gown to a funeral deviant.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The legalistic approach would consider wearing an...

Question 18

Grounding a teenager after breaking curfew would be considered a formal sanction.

Accepted Answer

Grounding a teenager after breaking curfew is considered an informal sanction because it is a private or unofficial form of punishment imposed by family members, not by an official institution or through formal legal processes.

Question 19

According to Durkheim, anomie occurs when the bonds between society and the individuals become firmly interconnected.

Accepted Answer

Anomie, according to Durkheim, occurs when there is a breakdown or absence of social norms and values, leading to a state of normlessness, not when the bonds between society and individuals become firmly interconnected.

Question 20

According to Durkheim's functionalist view, when deviance increases, the bar for being defined as "deviant" rises.

Accepted Answer

Durkheim's functionalist perspective suggests that as deviant behavior becomes more common, society adjusts its norms, thus raising the threshold for what is considered deviant. This is because deviance plays a role in defining societal norms and boundaries.

Quiz 6: Identifying Deviant Behavior