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Introduction to Sociology

Which of the following sociological terms refers to "the recognized violation of cultural norms"?


Every society regulates the behavior of individuals with the goal of preventing deviance. This process of regulation is called:

Social Control

What concept refers to the formal system that responds to alleged violations of the law using police, courts, and prison officials?

The criminal justice system

Read the following four assertions about the social foundation of deviance. Then select the one that is FALSE.

Most acts that are deviant in one place are deviant everywhere.

Emile Durkheim's basic insight is that deviance is:

A normal element of social organization

Which of the following is a function of deviance noted by Emile Durkheim?

All of the above are correct.

Which of the following concepts is used in Robert Merton's strain theory of deviance to refer to the process of seeking conventional goals but rejecting conventional means to get there.


In his strain theory, Robert Merton would use which of the following concepts to describe people, including alcoholics and drug addicts, who "drop out."


In his strain theory, Robert Merton uses which of the following concepts to describe the behavior of a radical who rejects cultural goals and means in favor of some alternative system?


Using Robert Merton's strain theory, which of the following concepts correctly describes the behavior of a low-paid, yet compulsively conforming bank teller?


The basic idea behind labeling theory is that:

deviance arises not so much from what people do as how others respond to what they do

Edwin Lemert described "primary deviance" as:

a passing episode of deviance that has little effect on the person's self-concept.

When friends began to criticize Juan as a "boozer," pushing him out of their social circle, he began to drink even more and became bitter. Juan ended up joining a new group of friends, all of whom are all heavy drinkers. According to Edwin Lemert, this situation illustrates:

the onset of secondary deviance.

The concept "retrospective labeling" refers to the process of:

interpreting someone's past as consistent with present deviance.

Which of the following illustrates the "medicalization of deviance"?

All of the above are correct.

Edwin Sutherland's differential association theory links deviance to:

the amount of contact a person has with others who encourage or discourage the behavior in question

Travis Hirschi's control theory suggests which of the following categories of people would be most likely to engage in deviance?

youngsters who "hang out" waiting for something to happen

According to the social-conflict approach, what a society labels as deviant is based mostly on:

patterns of inequality and who has more power.

Alexander Liazos speaks for the social-conflict approach when he states that:

powerless people are at the highest risk of being defined as deviant

If you were to understand what is normal or deviant in the United States, you would find that the same things were normal or deviant in other nations of the world.


Emile Durkheim claimed that it would be impossible for any society to ever completely eliminate deviance.


Robert Merton claimed that the "strains of masculinity" are one important cause of crime.


According to Robert Merton's model, a drug dealer would be a good example of a deviant "innovator."


Labeling theory stresses that some actions are always deviant while others never are defined this way.




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