CH 7 Deviance and Criminology

Question 1

define crime

Answer 1

deviance that breaks the law

Question 2

true or false: in a sociological perspective, everyone is deviant in one way or another

Answer 2

true

Question 3

informal vs formal punishment

Answer 3

informal: some kind of gesture that indicates someone feels someone else did something deviant (shaming, raising eyebrows, stigmatization)
formal: being penalized for breaking a law

Question 4

3 varying criteria of deviance and crime

Answer 4

1. severity of social response
2. perceived harmfulness
3. degree of public agreement as to whether an act should be considered deviant or criminal

Question 5

4 types of deviance and crime

Answer 5

social diversions
social deviations
conflict crimes
consensus crimes

Question 6

social diversions

Answer 6

minor acts of deviance that are usually perceived as harmless, usually only evoke a mild societal reaction

Question 7

social deviations

Answer 7

more serious acts usually considered somehow harmful by at least 1 large group of people (think about how some people’s thoughts on gender identity)

Question 8

conflict crimes

Answer 8

acts that are deemed illegal but whose definition is controversial in the wider society (think marijuana legalization)

Question 9

consensus crimes

Answer 9

little controversy surrounding the seriousness of the crime, majority agree there should be punishment

Question 10

stigmatization

Answer 10

the act of describing someone as disgraceful or disapproving

Question 11

victimless crimes

Answer 11

violations of the law in which no victim is identified/no one steps forward as a victim

Question 12

2 shortcomings of crime statistics

Answer 12

-much crime is not reported to police (victimless)
-wider public and cops decides which acts to report and ignore

Question 13

how are self-report surveys useful in crime stats?

Answer 13

allow respondents to anonymously indicate their involvement in criminal activity

Question 14

victimization rates in canada since 2004

Answer 14

have declined; a fifth of the population says they’ve been a victim of crime in the past year

Question 15

Uniform crime reporting survey generates which 2 official estimates of crime in Canada

Answer 15

police-reported crime rate and crime severity index

Question 16

what does the crime severity index do

Answer 16

gives more weight to more serioius crimes

Question 17

4 explanations for long term decline in crime rate since 1992 in canada

Answer 17

1. increasing number of better trained cops
2. number of young people in canada is declining and young men are most prone to crime
3. better economic conditions than in the past (unemployment rate is strongly correlated with crime rate; less unemployment today)
4. legalization of abortion (there were more “unwanted” children being brought into the world before legalization and kids with less parental supervision were more prone to committing crimes)

Question 18

which gender and age commit the most crimes?

Answer 18

men and 15-24 yr olds

Question 19

4 explanations for overrepresentation of Indigenous peoples in canadian prisons

Answer 19

1. large number of Indigenous people live in poverty
2. Indigenous people commit more street crimes which are supposedly easier to detect than white collar crimes
3. discrimination
4. Western culture has disrupted Indigenous people’s social life

Question 20

true or false: research suggests that claims about the criminal justice system being discriminatory are credible

Answer 20

TRUE

Question 21

Becker’s main idea about deviance and its theory

Answer 21

becoming a criminal is learned through being taught the ways of the life by other deviants; symbolic interactionism

Question 22

delinquent youths will learn types of deviance roles depending on what?

Answer 22

the different types of deviants in their neighborhood

Question 23

labelling theory and what type of theory it is

Answer 23

says that deviance results from the response of others who label the person a deviant; variant of symbolic interactionism

Question 24

functionalists emphasize that what leads to deviant behavior?

Answer 24

social dysfunctions

Question 25

Durkheim’s controversial view on deviance and crime

Answer 25

says that society benefits from them because when someone breaks a rule it gives others the opportunity to condemn or punish the behavior, reinforcing social solidarity

Question 26

Durkheim says deviance and crime can help promote social change how?

Answer 26

crimes committed by civil rights activists in the past have lead to social change (ex: MLK Jr)

Question 27

Merton’s strain theory and what type of theory it is

Answer 27

says that a discrepancy b/w cultural ideals and reality leads to strain which increases a person’s likelihood of turning to deviance; functionalism

Question 28

Merton says the act of forcing oneself to follow social norms is called what?

Answer 28

conformity

Question 29

gang members strongly _________ deviance w/in the subculture

Answer 29

discourage

Question 30

what do conflict theorists say about the rich and powerful in terms of deviance?

Answer 30

these people impose deviant labels on others who try to defy the existing social order; and they are usually able to escape their own wrongdoings by using their money and influence

Question 31

why are the rich and powerful less likely to be convicted and reported for crimes?

Answer 31

they can afford to hire legal experts and bc most white collar crimes occur in private rather than in public

Question 32

control theory and what type of theory it is

Answer 32

says that everyone would probably engage in crime/deviance if we could get away with it

Question 33

adolescents most inclined to deviance likely lack 4 types of social control:

Answer 33

attachments to parents/teachers/role models
lack opportunities for education and work
lack involvement in conventional institutions
lack strong beliefs in values and morality

Question 34

when did the narrative about crimes against women start to change?

Answer 34

when women started becoming more powerful

Question 35

political economy

Answer 35

the way wealth influences power and vice versa

Question 36

main topic of interest of political economy

Answer 36

climate change and energy policy

Question 37

goal of social movements

Answer 37

to challenge laws with with a goal of creating change in the way wealth is distributed

Question 38

discuss satisfaction with democracy by annual income

Answer 38

the higher the income, the more satisfied citizens are with their government. people with more wealth are more likely to vote, run for office, be elected, etc. than the less wealthy

Question 39

citizen control in different types of governments/states

Answer 39

authoritarian: citizen control is restricted
totalitarian: control is virtually nonexistent
democracy: relatively high degree of control
liberal democracy: highest level of citizen influence over the state

Question 40

when does political change occur?

Answer 40

as the power of a population category (class, region) increases/decreases

Question 41

how are political systems characterized?

Answer 41

-type of authority
-degree that citizens influence the government

Question 42

how has the number of good vs bad jobs changed in canada?

Answer 42

number of good jobs is growing but number of bad jobs is growing faster

Question 43

automation

Answer 43

the use of machinery verus humans; automatic

Question 44

populists

Answer 44

anti immigration, pro capitalist and authoritarian, favor a society that is white and christian