Question 1

The medical model defines deviance objectively, as a disease.

Accepted Answer

The medical model treats deviance as a disease, implying an objective, biological basis for deviant behavior, which can be diagnosed and treated.

Question 2

In criminal justice settings, the behavioral sciences do not play an important role in determining criminal responsibility.

Accepted Answer

Behavioral sciences are crucial in criminal justice settings for understanding the psychological and sociological aspects of criminal behavior, which can significantly influence assessments of criminal responsibility and the development of rehabilitation programs.

Question 3

The health care profession holds substantial power as an agent of social control, seeking to treat conditions that lead to undesired or deviant behavior.

Accepted Answer

The health care profession, through its ability to diagnose, treat, and sometimes institutionalize individuals based on certain behaviors or conditions, acts as an agent of social control by defining what is considered normal or abnormal, healthy or unhealthy, thereby influencing societal norms and behaviors.

Question 4

Health care professionals hold both the power to define illness and the exclusive ability to treat those illnesses that it has defined.

Accepted Answer

Health care professionals are the ones who define what is considered an illness and they are the only ones who can treat those illnesses.

Question 5

A rehabilitative focus, as opposed to a punitive one, is more humanitarian, which may lead to a more compassionate society.

Accepted Answer

A rehabilitative focus aims at understanding and addressing the underlying issues that lead to criminal behavior, such as poverty, lack of education, or substance abuse, with the goal of reintegrating individuals into society as productive members. This approach is more humanitarian because it seeks to heal and support rather than punish, fostering a more compassionate and empathetic society.

Question 6

Rather than condemning the individual, medicalization can make it easier to reintegrate a deviant individual into society after treatments have been administered.

Accepted Answer

Medicalization transforms deviant behavior from a moral issue into a medical condition, allowing for treatment and rehabilitation rather than punishment, which can facilitate reintegration into society.

Question 7

According to Conrad and Schneider as decisions are made about which behaviors to address through penal social control and which behaviors to address through therapeutic control, public policies change.

Accepted Answer

Conrad and Schneider argue that as society makes decisions about which behaviors are considered deviant or problematic, and thus subject to control, there is a shift in public policies towards either penal (punitive) or therapeutic (rehabilitative) approaches to manage these behaviors.

Question 8

The medical model claims objectivity and is morally neutral.

Accepted Answer

The medical model, while aiming for objectivity, inherently involves subjective judgments and is not morally neutral, as it reflects and reinforces societal norms and values about health and illness.

Question 9

In medicalization, by focusing on the individual, we fail to see that the politics of the dominant culture might be a cause of the deviance at issue.

Accepted Answer

Medicalization often individualizes issues, overlooking how societal norms and the politics of the dominant culture contribute to defining and perceiving certain behaviors or conditions as deviant.

Question 10

Social service agencies, diversion programs, halfway houses, and group homes are examples of social controls that were to be created or strengthened in response to deinstitutionalization.

Accepted Answer

Deinstitutionalization, particularly in the context of mental health, led to the need for alternative forms of care and support for individuals who previously would have been housed in institutions. Social service agencies, diversion programs, halfway houses, and group homes were developed or expanded as part of the effort to provide community-based care and support systems for these individuals, acting as forms of social control and integration.

Question 11

Deinstitutionalization resulted in a substantial change in how social control was supposed to be accomplished in the United States, and it reflected an increased use of medical technologies and medical collaborations.

Accepted Answer

Deinstitutionalization, which began in the mid-20th century, aimed to move people with mental illness out of state institutions and instead treat them in community-based settings. This shift reflected a broader change in social control mechanisms, relying more on medical technologies (such as psychotropic medications) and collaborations between medical professionals and community organizations to manage individuals' health and behavior outside of institutional settings.

Question 12

The principles of deinstitutionalization were completely realized, in practice.

Accepted Answer

Deinstitutionalization aimed to reintegrate individuals with mental illness or disabilities into the community and reduce reliance on long-term institutional care. However, in practice, it has not been fully realized due to inadequate community support, housing, and healthcare services, leading to issues such as homelessness and incarceration among those intended to benefit.

Question 13

Because of imperfect implementation of necessary programs, mental illness has become regulated through penal social control because there is "pressure to institutionalize persons who need 24-hour care wherever there is room, including jail."

Accepted Answer

This statement reflects the reality that due to inadequate mental health services and support systems, individuals with severe mental illnesses often end up in the criminal justice system as a default form of institutionalization, highlighting a significant issue in how societies manage mental health care.

Question 14

Social control is static.

Accepted Answer

Social control evolves over time as societal norms, values, and technologies change, influencing the methods and effectiveness of maintaining order and conformity within a society.

Question 15

Medicine acts as a powerful institution of social control.

Accepted Answer

Medicine regulates behaviors and norms by defining and treating illnesses, thereby influencing societal standards of normality and deviance.

Question 16

The medical model of deviance is driven, in part, by a profit motive.

Accepted Answer

The medical model of deviance, which treats deviant behavior as an illness to be treated by the medical profession, can be driven by a profit motive as it creates a market for medical treatments, therapies, and pharmaceuticals.

Question 17

Sometimes, socialization and social control do not result in full compliance with social norms, in which case deviance results.

Accepted Answer

Deviance occurs when individuals or groups do not fully comply with the norms or expectations of a society, which can be a result of various factors including differences in socialization, values, or access to resources.

Question 18

Research indicates that mentally ill offenders usually receive adequate treatment while incarcerated.

Accepted Answer

Research consistently shows that mentally ill offenders often do not receive adequate treatment while incarcerated, due to factors such as insufficient mental health services, overcrowded facilities, and a lack of trained personnel.

Question 19

The U.S. Surgeon General asserted in 1999 that "22 percent of the population has a diagnosable mental disorder."

Accepted Answer

The U.S. Surgeon General's report on mental health in 1999 stated that approximately 22 percent of the U.S. population had a diagnosable mental disorder.

Question 20

As the DSM has expanded its definitions of mental illness, there has been a corresponding increase in the number of routine behaviors now labeled mental illness.

Accepted Answer

The expansion of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) over the years has indeed led to more behaviors being classified under the umbrella of mental illness, reflecting both a broadening understanding of mental health and, to some, an over-pathologization of everyday behaviors.

Quiz 4: Theories of Deviance and Social Control