Deck 1: What Is Deviant Behavior

Question 1

Which statement about the definition of deviance is TRUE?

A)Deviance should include only important violations of the norms.
B)All sociologists agree that deviance includes mundane,routine,and normal violations of the norms.
C)Deviance is not an important subject anymore.
D)Sociologists cannot agree on a precise definition of deviance.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

According to the labeling theory,deviance is

A)an objective reality.
B)a property inherent in the actor.
C)a label created by the person who commits a deviant act.
D)a label imposed by others upon a given behavior.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Early criminologists believed deviance was intrinsically real because they believed criminals possessed

A)a superior way of life.
B)the same biological traits found in non-criminals.
C)a distinctive set of labels that set them apart from non-criminals.
D)certain biological traits absent in non-criminals.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Because they consider deviance real,positivist sociologists tend to focus their study on

A)the positive ways in which nondeviants view those who have been labeled deviant.
B)lawmakers and law enforcers.
C)nondeviants who label others deviants rather than deviant behavior and persons.
D)deviant behavior and persons rather than nondeviants who label others deviants.

Question 5

All of the following are definitions of deviance proposed by different sociologists,EXCEPT that deviance is

A)behavior that is labeled negative by politicians and the police.
B)a departure from the normative standards of a common culture.
C)always immoral behavior.
D)behavior eliciting anger or disapproval from large numbers of people.

Question 6

Which of the following statements 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 a nation's economy.
C)There is usually a great deal of disagreement among people as to what they consider deviant.
D)Few persons in a society are concerned about the definition of deviance.

Question 7

Determinist,objectivist,and absolutist are other terms for aspects of the __________ perspective on deviance.

A)constructionist
B)humanist
C)modern
D)positivist

Question 8

Which of the following types of people are examples of positive deviants?

A)the saint,the intellectual,and the genius
B)those who show bad manners at the dinner table
C)the badly scarred,the blind,and the deaf
D)murderers,rapists,and kidnappers

Question 9

If you believe that deviant behavior has characteristics that distinguish it from conforming behavior,you believe deviance is

A)a label.
B)a biased concept.
C)psychologically determined.
D)intrinsically real.

Question 10

In 1965,J.L.Simmons asked a sample of the general public who they thought were deviant.Which of the following did significant numbers of people feel were deviant?

A)alcoholics and prostitutes
B)communists and atheists
C)psychiatrists and priests
D)all of the above

Question 11

Among sociologists,there is

A)much involvement in illegal deviant behavior.
B)little interest in the study of deviance.
C)widespread agreement about what behavior should be considered deviant.
D)a lack of consensus about what behavior should be seen as deviant.

Question 12

Definitions of deviance fall into two opposing perspectives,the positivist and the

A)traditional.
B)moral.
C)constructionist.
D)modernist.

Question 13

Which group is most capable of avoiding being falsely,erroneously,or unjustly labeled deviant?

A)The affluent
B)The poor
C)The powerful
D)The powerless

Question 14

Before 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)have the same mental and physical characteristics as noncriminals.
D)be the result of different social factors.

Question 15

Sociologists who are influenced by the positivist perspective of absolutism tend to view deviant behavior as

A)an attribute that is dictated by those in power
B)an attribute that fades over time
C)an attribute that varies according to one's culture
D)an attribute that inheres in the individual

Question 16

Sociologists who study the role of power in the definition of deviance have discovered that the rich and powerful

A)are rarely deviant.
B)can avoid the label of deviance.
C)are prejudiced toward most types of deviant behavior.
D)ignore most forms of deviant behavior.

Question 17

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.

Question 18

Today's positivist sociologists now recognize the importance of __________ for understanding deviant behavior.

A)religion
B)psychological traits
C)heredity
D)social factors

Question 19

All of the following are part of the positivist perspective on deviance,EXCEPT that deviance is

A)a label.
B)intrinsically real.
C)an observable object.
D)determined by forces beyond an individual's control.

Question 20

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)the powerful consider to be a violation of some social rule.
D)involves the behavior of the poor.

Question 21

Which of the following is NOT one of the three assumptions that the positivist perspective holds on deviant behavior?

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.

Question 22

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.

Question 23

Charlie has a visible disability that influences the way people talk to him.A positivist social scientist might examine Charlie's case through the lens of

A)the absolutist perspective.
B)the subjectivist perspective.
C)the relativist perspective.
D)the voluntarist perspective.

Question 24

Which ONE of the following questions reflects the labeling 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?

Question 25

Which of the following aspects of deviance would be of special interest to constructionist sociologists?

A)demographic facts about deviance
B)statistical data
C)how deviants seek positive meanings in deviant activity
D)moral reactions to deviant behavior

Question 26

All of the following are assumptions of the constructionist perspective on deviance,EXCEPT that deviance should be seen as

A)a label.
B)an objective fact.
C)subjective experience.
D)a voluntary act.

Question 27

The fact that the same behavior can be seen as normal by some and as deviant by others is called the

A)relativist view.
B)deviance principle.
C)positivist view.
D)subjectivist view.

Question 28

Which of the following statements does NOT belong to the constructionist perspective on deviant behavior?

A)Deviance is largely the product of others labeling behavior as deviant.
B)Deviance is an observable,objective set of behaviors.
C)Deviance is often a voluntary act.
D)Deviance involves important subjective experiences.

Question 29

Positivists treat deviance as if it were unpleasant and harmful to society,while 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 human behavior.

Question 30

From the constructionist perspective,deviants are

A)actively seeking meaning in their deviant activities.
B)totally different from normal people.
C)biologically defective.
D)propelled by well-defined social forces.

Question 31

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 normal behavior.
B)is more of a religious concept.
C)is not a relevant concept for science.
D)is irrelevant when most explanations of deviance involve false claims.

Question 32

The main purpose of the positivist approach to deviance is

A)developing empathy with deviant persons.
B)seeking out the causes of deviant behavior.
C)to make moral judgments about deviant behavior.
D)to study biases toward persons seen as deviant.

Question 33

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.

Question 34

The positivist perspective assumes that deviance is

A)a matter of choice.
B)relativistic.
C)determined by factors outside an individual's control.
D)unimportant behavior.

Question 35

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.

Question 36

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 is deviant.
D)actually exists in the minds of the beholder.

Question 37

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.

Question 38

According to the constructionist perspective,sociologists need to

A)treat deviance as immoral and unpleasant.
B)objectively measure types of deviant behavior.
C)develop an internal,subjective view of people.
D)adopt an external,objective view of deviance.

Question 39

One problem positivist sociological researchers face that natural scientists do not is

A)positivists are able to use more objective criteria than natural scientists are.
B)natural scientists have a bigger problem with personal bias than sociologists.
C)positivists have difficulties with personal biases and making moral judgments about research subjects.
D)positivists find studying human behavior is substantially easier than studying the natural environment.

Question 40

Most positivist sociologists today 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 while others do not.
B)refrains from committing deviant acts.
C)commits both deviant and non-deviant acts.
D)is born with a tendency toward deviance.

Question 41

Which of the following conditions 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 is deviant behavior
C)the number of persons involved in deviant behavior
D)the amount of public consensus about what type of behavior is deviant

Question 42

The __________ perspective is more pertinent for studying less serious kinds of deviance.

A)objective
B)constructionist
C)deterministic
D)psychological

Question 43

Which of the following is one reason why,for U.S.citizens,deviant behavior is 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)Most people in the United States are immoral.

Question 44

Trae frequently engages in recreational drug use and premarital sex.These behaviors are best categorized by what 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

Question 45

Which of the following kinds of deviance is best understood through a positivist perspective?

A)higher-consensus deviance
B)lower-consensus deviance
C)immoral deviance
D)medical deviance

Question 46

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

Question 47

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

Question 48

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

Question 49

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

Question 50

Most U.S.residents generally agree about the definition of deviant behavior.

Question 51

A new 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

Question 52

Labeling theorists define deviance as a label imposed upon a given behavior.

Question 53

Most sociologists are in agreement that deviance is simply a violation of any social rule.

Question 54

Positivist sociologists today realize that they are not free from personal bias.

Question 55

Even mainstream identities such as "Democrat" or "Republican" can be considered deviant.

Question 56

According to the positivist perspective,deviance is seen as both real and separate from conforming behavior.

Question 57

The author argues that an integrated definition of deviant behavior must focus on

A)the deviant behavior itself.
B)the deviant label.
C)the methods of sociologists.
D)both deviant behavior and the deviant label.

Question 58

Early positivist criminologists were convinced that a person's criminal status changed through time and from culture to culture.

Question 59

Deviant behavior is any behavior that

A)violates the law.
B)violates formal 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 high to low.

Question 60

Many traditional criminologists,using the positivist perspective,believed that criminals possessed specific biological and psychological traits that made them different from non-criminals.

Question 61

Constructionists tend to analyze how social control agencies define some people as deviant and carry out sanctions against them.

Question 62

A sociologist is interested in studying the deviant behavior of prostitutes and other night people.He or she should utilize a constructionist perspective.

Question 63

To constructionist sociologists,deviant behavior is an observable object in that a deviant person is like an object,a real something that can be studied objectively.

Question 64

All deviant behaviors are crimes.

Question 65

The positivist perspective on deviance assumes that humans are active in determining their own lives,and are not passive subjects of powerful forces.

Question 66

The positivist perspective on deviance implies that if the deviant is treated as an object,he or she can be studied objectively.

Question 67

Culture plays a role in determining the definition of deviant behavior.

Question 68

Constructionist analyses often reveal the arbitrariness of official action,the bias in the administration of law,and the unjustness of controlling deviants.

Question 69

Crime is a violation of a formal norm.

Question 70

The constructionist perspective on deviance is best suited for the study of low-consensus deviance.

Question 71

According to the positivist perspective,the definition of deviant behavior is subjective.

Question 72

The positivist perspective holds that deviant behavior is a voluntary act,an expression of human volition,will,or choice.

Question 73

Attributing deviant behavior to one's genetic disposition is viewing deviant behavior from a constructionist perspective.

Question 74

An attorney,pleading leniency for his guilty client,asks the judge to take into consideration his 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.

Question 75

According to constructionist sociologists using the labeling perspective,if deviant behavior is not labeled as such,the behavior is not seen as deviant.

Question 76

Murder is one example of lower-consensus deviance.

Question 77

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

Question 78

The constructionist perspective on deviance centers on the behavior of deviants and does not examine the role of the police or courts in creating deviance.

Question 79

Sociologists using the constructionist perspective believe that deviants are passive objects whose behavior is determined by the environment.

Question 80

Constructionists tend to present deviants as basically the same as conventional people.