Chapter 7 Key Term

Question 1

norms

Answer 1

Rules of conduct that specify appropriate behavior in a given range of social situations. A norm either prescribes a given type of behavior or forbids it. All human groups follow definite norms, which are always backed by sanctions of one kind or another, varying from informal disapproval to physical punishment.

Question 2

deviance

Answer 2

modes of action that do not conform to the norms or values held by most members of a group or society. What is regarded as deviant is as variable as the norms and values as the norms and values that distinguish different cultures and subcultures from one another. Forms of behavior that are highly esteemed by one group may be regarded negatively by others.

Question 3

deviant subculture

Answer 3

A subculture whose member hold values that differ substantially from those of the majority.

Question 4

sanctions

Answer 4

a mode of reward or punishment that reinforces socially expected forms of behavior.

Question 5

laws

Answer 5

Rules of behavior established by a political authority and backed by state power.

Question 6

crime

Answer 6

The result of any action that contravenes the laws established by a political authority.

Question 7

anomie

Answer 7

A concept first brought into wide usage in sociology by Durkheim to refer to a situation which social norms lose their hold over individual behavior.

Question 8

relative deprivation

Answer 8

Deprivation a person feels by comparing himself with a group.

Question 9

differential association

Answer 9

An interpretation of the development of criminal behavior proposed by Edwin H Sutherland, according to whom criminal behavior is learned through association with others who regularly engage in crime.

Question 10

labeling theory

Answer 10

An approach to the study of deviance that suggests that people become “deviant” because certain label are attached to their behavior by political authorities and others.

Question 11

primary deviation

Answer 11

According to Edwin Lemert, the actions that cause others to label one as a deviant.

Question 12

secondary deviation

Answer 12

According to Edwin Lemert, following the act of primary deviation, secondary deviation occurs when an individual accepts the label of deviant and acts accordingly.

Question 13

conflict theory

Answer 13

the argument that deviance is deliberately chosen and often political in nature

Question 14

control theory

Answer 14

the theory that views crime as the outcome of an imbalance between impulses toward criminal activity and controls that deter it. Control theorists hold that criminals are rational beings who will act to maximize their own reward unless they are rendered unable to do so through either social or physical controls.

Question 15

white-collar crime

Answer 15

criminal activities carried out by those in white-collar or professional jobs.

Question 16

corporate crime

Answer 16

offenses committed by large corporations in society. Examples of corporate crime include pollution, false advertising, and violations of health and safety regulations.

Question 17

cybercrime

Answer 17

criminal activities by means of electronic networks or involving the use of information technologies. Electronic money laundering, personal identity theft, electronic vandalism, and monitoring electronic correspondence are all emergent forms of cybercrime.