Sociology Ch. 6

Question 1

a behavior, trait, belief, or other characteristic that violates a norm and causes a negative reaction

Answer 1

deviance

Question 2

a theory of crime, proposed by Travis Hirschi, that posits that strong social bonds increase conformity and decrease deviance

Answer 2

social control theory

Question 3

individuals who accept society’s approved goals but not society’s approved means to achieve them

Answer 3

innovators

Question 4

individuals who have given up hope of achieving society’s approved goals but still operate according to society’s approved

Answer 4

ritualists

Question 5

individuals who renounce society’s approved goals and means entirely and live outside conventional norms altogether

Answer 5

retreatists

Question 6

individuals who reject society’s approved goals and means and instead create and work toward their own (sometimes revolutionary) goals using new means

Answer 6

rebels

Question 7

the formal and informal mechanisms used to elicit conformity to values and norms and thus promote social cohesion

Answer 7

social control

Question 8

Edwin Sutherland’s hypothesis that we learn to be deviant through our associations with deviant peers

Answer 8

differential association theory

Question 9

Howard Becker’s idea that deviance is a consequence of external judgments, or labels, that modify the individual’s self-concept and change the way others respond to the labeled person

Answer 9

labeling theory

Question 10

the use of electronic media (web pages, social networking sites, e-mail, Twitter, cell phones) to tease, harass, threaten, or humiliate someone

Answer 10

cyberbullying

Question 11

in labeling theory, the initial act or attitude that causes one to be labeled deviant

Answer 11

primary deviance

Question 12

in labeling theory, the subsequent deviant identity or career that develops as a result of being labeled deviant

Answer 12

secondary deviance

Question 13

redefining the stigma associated with a deviant label as a positive phenomenon

Answer 13

tertiary deviance

Question 14

an inaccurate statement or belief that, by altering the situation, becomes accurate; a prediction that causes itself to come true

Answer 14

self-fulfilling prophecy

Question 15

a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy in which the fear of performing poorly-and confirming stereotypes about their social groups-causes students to perform poorly

Answer 15

stereotype threat

Question 16

a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy in which positive stereotypes, such as the “model minority” label applied to Asian Americans, lead to positive performance outcomes

Answer 16

stereotype promise

Question 17

Erving Goffman’s term for any physical or social attribute that devalues a person or group’s identity and that may exclude those who are devalued from normal social interaction

Answer 17

stigma

Question 18

presenting yourself as a member of a different group than the stigmatized group to which you belong

Answer 18

passing

Question 19

among stigmatized individuals, the rejection of prevailing judgments or prejudice and the development of new standards that value their group identity

Answer 19

in-group orientation

Question 20

according to Howard Becker, those labeled deviant and subsequently segregated from “normal” society

Answer 20

outsiders

Question 21

process by which an individual self-identifies as deviant and initiates her own labeling process

Answer 21

deviance avowal

Question 22

a violation of a norm that has been codified into law

Answer 22

crime

Question 23

the systematic scientific study of crime, criminals, and criminal justice

Answer 23

criminology

Question 24

an official measure of crime in the United States, produced by the FBI’s official tabulation of every crime reported by more than 18,000 law enforcement agencies

Answer 24

Uniform Crime Report (UCR)

Question 25

crimes in which violence is either the objective or the means to an end, including murder, rape, aggravated assault, and robbery

Answer 25

violent crime

Question 26

crimes that do not involve violence, including burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson

Answer 26

property crime

Question 27

crimes committed via the Internet, including identity theft, embezzlement, fraud, sexual predation, and financial scams

Answer 27

cybercrime

Question 28

crime committed by a high-status individual in the course of his occupation

Answer 28

white collar crime

Question 29

an approach to punishment that relies on the threat of harsh penalties to discourage people from committing crimes

Answer 29

deterrence

Question 30

an approach to punishment that emphasizes retaliation or revenge for the crime as the appropriate goal

Answer 30

retribution

Question 31

an approach to punishment that seeks to protect society from criminals by imprisoning or executing them

Answer 31

incapacitation

Question 32

an approach to punishment that attempts to reform criminals as part of their penalty

Answer 32

rehabilitation

Question 33

a collection of social institutions, such as legislatures, police, courts, and prisons, that creates and enforces laws

Answer 33

criminal justice system

Question 34

the death penalty

Answer 34

capital punishment

Question 35

actions considered deviant within a given context but are later reinterpreted as appropriate or even heroic

Answer 35

positive deviance