Exam 6: Deviance

What is the justification for harsh sentencing guidelines like California's controversial "three strikes" law?

How do self-fulfilling prophecies work?

The United States has more inmates than any other country in the world today, even though prisons were not introduced as a method of punishment until the nineteenth century. Who is benefiting financially from the incarceration of so many inmates?

Hate crimes targeting Arab Americans and those mistakenly identified as Arab increased after Arab identity became stigmatized. What sort of stigma was this?

A citizen group sends letters to the governor of a southern state and asks her to reconsider stopping the execution of a man on death row convicted of murdering a police officer. The governor declines, stating that the purpose of the criminal justice system is to remove this convicted murderer from society so that everyone else can be protected. What type of justification for punishment is used by the governor?

John is the CEO of a large bank who is charged with fraud. John pays $13 billion to settle the case, and he does not go to jail. Andy is arrested for stealing money out of a parked car. Andy spends a month in jail while waiting for his trial since he is unable to pay his bail or bond. John and Andy exemplify the perspective of

What do changing societies and different groups gaining access to power do to our perception of deviance?

Erving Goffman's concept of passing should only be applied to race.

There are usually serious consequences when a politician is caught cheating on his spouse. In some cases, the politician is forced to resign from office when his constituents express their unhappiness with such behavior. According to Émile Durkheim, what function does this reaction serve?

In the United States, the ________ is made up of legislatures, the police, courts, and prisons.

A woman attributes her teenage son's deviant behavior to him "falling in with a bad crowd." Which symbolic interactionist theory of deviance does this explanation MOST closely resemble?

How do sociologists define positive deviance?

Although the term often references race, which of the following is also an example of "passing"?

An individual who works at a bookstore routinely takes home ballpoint pens and Post-it notes, uses the copy machine to make personal copies, and makes long-distance phone calls on the store's line. However, he would never consider stealing money from the cash register even if he knew he could get away with it. What is this behavior called?

Chapter 6 describes several ways in which the Uniform Crime Report may present an inaccurate picture of the demographics of crime. Describe the sources of bias that lead to these inaccuracies. Are these biases better explained by conflict theory or functionalism? Justify your answer.

Why does Elijah Anderson, in his book Streetwise, argue that young African American men are more likely to be arrested?

Construction crews are constantly annoyed at the way people, mostly teenage boys, steal the orange cones and flashing pylons that mark construction zones. Why does this sort of deviance happen, according to Jack Katz?

Robert Merton developed structural strain theory to explain why deviance occurs. What is the cause of the strain suggested by the name of the theory?

For Robert Merton, a prediction that came true only because the prediction was made is a

Martha Stewart was convicted of obstruction of justice after lying to the FBI during an investigation of her sale of a stock that dramatically fell in value immediately after she sold it. Her conviction was unusual, as this sort of white collar crime is much more likely to be dealt with in civil, rather than criminal, court. How does the tendency to deal with white collar criminals in civil court bias our understanding of the demographics of crime?