SOCIOLOGY 111 EXAM QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS ALL CORRECT
1. According to Alexander, what explained the sudden explosion in incarceration, if not
for high crime rates? - Answer- The war on drugs and the get tough movement
2. According to sociologist Robert Merton's _____ theory, people feel tension when they
are exposed to cultural goals that they are unable to obtain because they do not have
access to culturally approved means of achieving those goals. The goals may be
material possessions and money; the approved means may include an education and
jobs. - Answer- Strain
3. According to functionalists, acts of civil disobedience (including lunch counter sit-ins
and bus boycotts) exemplify which function of deviance? - Answer- Deviance promotes
social change
4. According to sociologist Robert Merton's strain theory, _____ occurs when people
accept culturally-approved goals and pursue them through approved means. - Answer-
Conformity
5. According to sociologist Robert Merton's strain theory, _____ occurs when people
challenge both the approved goals and the approved means for achieving them and
advocate an alternative set of goals or means. - Answer- Rebellion
6. According to sociologist Robert Merton's strain theory, _____ occurs when people
give up on societal goals but still adhere to the socially approved means for achieving
them. - Answer- Ritualism
7. According to sociologist Robert Merton's strain theory, _____ occurs when people
abandon both the approved goals and the approved means of achieving them. -
Answer- Retreatism
8. Typically, sociologists and criminologists define a _____ as a group of people, usually
young, who band together for purposes generally considered to be deviant or criminal
by the larger society. - Answer- Gang
9. Michelle Alexander argues that "the US Supreme Court has _____." - Answer-
Closed the courthouse doors
10. "Today, there are more African American adults under correctional control, prison or
jail, on probation or parole, than were _____." - Answer- Enslaved in 1850
,11. Deviant behavior in its degree of seriousness, ranging from mild transgressions of
folkways, to more serious infringements of mores, to quite serious violations of the law.
A _____ is a behavior that violates criminal law and is punishable with fines, jail terms,
and/or other negative sanctions. - Answer- Crime
12. _____ who focus on power relations in society suggest that the lifestyles considered
deviant by political and economic elites are often defined as illegal. According to this
approach, norms and laws are established for the benefit of those in power and do not
reflect any absolute standard of right and wrong. - Answer- Conflict Theorists
13. _____ is any behavior, belief, or condition that violates significant social norms in
the society or group in which it occurs. - Answer- Deviance
14. A person may shoplift an item of clothing from a department store and be
apprehended and labeled as a "thief," subsequently accept that label, and then shoplift
items from stores on numerous occasions. This behavior is an example of _____ -
Answer- Secondary Deviance
15. The _____ feminist approach explains women's deviance and crime as a rational
response to the gender discrimination that women experience in families and the
workplace. - Answer- Liberal
16. The _____ feminist approach is based on the assumption that women are exploited
by both capitalism and patriarchy. From this approach, women's criminal behavior is
linked to gender conflict created by the economic and social struggle that often takes
place in postindustrial societies. - Answer- Marxist
17. The _____ views the cause of women's crime as originating in patriarch (male
domination over females). This approach focuses on social forces that shape women's
lives and experiences and shows how exploitation may trigger deviant behavior and
criminal activities. - Answer- Radical feminist approach
18. Although there is no single feminist perspective on deviance and crime, three
schools of thought have emerged. Which of the following is NOT one of the feminist
approaches identified in the text? - Answer- a. Conservative feminist approach
b. Choices were conservative feminist approach, Marxist (socialist) feminist approach,
radical feminist approach, and liberal feminist approach
19. Historically, punishment has had four major goals. Which of the following is NOT
one of the major goals identified in the text? - Answer- a. Reconstruction
b. Choices were reconstruction, incapacitation, deterrence, and retribution
20. Based on their research, sociologists Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin identified
three basic gang types which emerge on the basis of the type of illegitimate opportunity
, structure available in a specific area. Which of the following was NOT a gang type
identified? - Answer- a. Rebellist gang
b. Choices were rebellist gang, conflict gang, criminal gang, and retreatist gang
21. _____ crimes involve an illegal action voluntarily engaged in by the participants.
Many people assert that such conduct should not be labeled a crime; these offenses are
often referred to as "victimless crimes" because they involve a willing exchange of
illegal goods or services among adults. - Answer- Public Order
22. _____ crime refers to illegal acts committed by an organization's employees on
behalf of the organization and with its support. These crimes are a result of deliberate
decisions made by personnel to enhance resources or profits at the expense of
competitors, consumers, and the general public. - Answer- Corporate
23. According to sociologist Edwin Sutherland, _____ crime comprises illegal activities
committed by people in the course of their employment or financial affairs. - Answer-
Occupational (White Collar)
24. According to sociologist Robert Merton's strain theory, _____ occurs when people
accept society's goals but adopt disapproved means for achieving them - Answer-
Innovation
25. Societies also have various mechanisms to regulate people's behavior. _____ refers
to the systematic practices that social groups develop in order to encourage conformity
to norms, rules, and laws and to discourage deviance. - Answer- Social control
26. _____ crimes include robbery, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, and arson. In
most of these crimes, the primary motive is to obtain money or some other desired
valuable. - Answer- Property
27. _____ crime consists of actions such as murder, forcible rape, robbery, and
aggravated assault, and involves force or the threat of force against others. - Answer-
Violent
28. _____ refers to a violation of law or the commission of a status offense (such as
cutting school or running away from home) by young people. - Answer- Juvenile
delinquency
29. According to sociologist Robert Merton's strain theory, _____ occurs when people
accept society's goals but adopt disapproved means for achieving them. - Answer-
Innovation
30. Based on the symbolic interaction theory of sociologists Charles H. Cooley and
George H. Mead, the _____ theory states that deviance is socially constructed process
in which social control agencies designate certain people as deviants and they, in turn,
AND ANSWERS ALL CORRECT
1. According to Alexander, what explained the sudden explosion in incarceration, if not
for high crime rates? - Answer- The war on drugs and the get tough movement
2. According to sociologist Robert Merton's _____ theory, people feel tension when they
are exposed to cultural goals that they are unable to obtain because they do not have
access to culturally approved means of achieving those goals. The goals may be
material possessions and money; the approved means may include an education and
jobs. - Answer- Strain
3. According to functionalists, acts of civil disobedience (including lunch counter sit-ins
and bus boycotts) exemplify which function of deviance? - Answer- Deviance promotes
social change
4. According to sociologist Robert Merton's strain theory, _____ occurs when people
accept culturally-approved goals and pursue them through approved means. - Answer-
Conformity
5. According to sociologist Robert Merton's strain theory, _____ occurs when people
challenge both the approved goals and the approved means for achieving them and
advocate an alternative set of goals or means. - Answer- Rebellion
6. According to sociologist Robert Merton's strain theory, _____ occurs when people
give up on societal goals but still adhere to the socially approved means for achieving
them. - Answer- Ritualism
7. According to sociologist Robert Merton's strain theory, _____ occurs when people
abandon both the approved goals and the approved means of achieving them. -
Answer- Retreatism
8. Typically, sociologists and criminologists define a _____ as a group of people, usually
young, who band together for purposes generally considered to be deviant or criminal
by the larger society. - Answer- Gang
9. Michelle Alexander argues that "the US Supreme Court has _____." - Answer-
Closed the courthouse doors
10. "Today, there are more African American adults under correctional control, prison or
jail, on probation or parole, than were _____." - Answer- Enslaved in 1850
,11. Deviant behavior in its degree of seriousness, ranging from mild transgressions of
folkways, to more serious infringements of mores, to quite serious violations of the law.
A _____ is a behavior that violates criminal law and is punishable with fines, jail terms,
and/or other negative sanctions. - Answer- Crime
12. _____ who focus on power relations in society suggest that the lifestyles considered
deviant by political and economic elites are often defined as illegal. According to this
approach, norms and laws are established for the benefit of those in power and do not
reflect any absolute standard of right and wrong. - Answer- Conflict Theorists
13. _____ is any behavior, belief, or condition that violates significant social norms in
the society or group in which it occurs. - Answer- Deviance
14. A person may shoplift an item of clothing from a department store and be
apprehended and labeled as a "thief," subsequently accept that label, and then shoplift
items from stores on numerous occasions. This behavior is an example of _____ -
Answer- Secondary Deviance
15. The _____ feminist approach explains women's deviance and crime as a rational
response to the gender discrimination that women experience in families and the
workplace. - Answer- Liberal
16. The _____ feminist approach is based on the assumption that women are exploited
by both capitalism and patriarchy. From this approach, women's criminal behavior is
linked to gender conflict created by the economic and social struggle that often takes
place in postindustrial societies. - Answer- Marxist
17. The _____ views the cause of women's crime as originating in patriarch (male
domination over females). This approach focuses on social forces that shape women's
lives and experiences and shows how exploitation may trigger deviant behavior and
criminal activities. - Answer- Radical feminist approach
18. Although there is no single feminist perspective on deviance and crime, three
schools of thought have emerged. Which of the following is NOT one of the feminist
approaches identified in the text? - Answer- a. Conservative feminist approach
b. Choices were conservative feminist approach, Marxist (socialist) feminist approach,
radical feminist approach, and liberal feminist approach
19. Historically, punishment has had four major goals. Which of the following is NOT
one of the major goals identified in the text? - Answer- a. Reconstruction
b. Choices were reconstruction, incapacitation, deterrence, and retribution
20. Based on their research, sociologists Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin identified
three basic gang types which emerge on the basis of the type of illegitimate opportunity
, structure available in a specific area. Which of the following was NOT a gang type
identified? - Answer- a. Rebellist gang
b. Choices were rebellist gang, conflict gang, criminal gang, and retreatist gang
21. _____ crimes involve an illegal action voluntarily engaged in by the participants.
Many people assert that such conduct should not be labeled a crime; these offenses are
often referred to as "victimless crimes" because they involve a willing exchange of
illegal goods or services among adults. - Answer- Public Order
22. _____ crime refers to illegal acts committed by an organization's employees on
behalf of the organization and with its support. These crimes are a result of deliberate
decisions made by personnel to enhance resources or profits at the expense of
competitors, consumers, and the general public. - Answer- Corporate
23. According to sociologist Edwin Sutherland, _____ crime comprises illegal activities
committed by people in the course of their employment or financial affairs. - Answer-
Occupational (White Collar)
24. According to sociologist Robert Merton's strain theory, _____ occurs when people
accept society's goals but adopt disapproved means for achieving them - Answer-
Innovation
25. Societies also have various mechanisms to regulate people's behavior. _____ refers
to the systematic practices that social groups develop in order to encourage conformity
to norms, rules, and laws and to discourage deviance. - Answer- Social control
26. _____ crimes include robbery, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, and arson. In
most of these crimes, the primary motive is to obtain money or some other desired
valuable. - Answer- Property
27. _____ crime consists of actions such as murder, forcible rape, robbery, and
aggravated assault, and involves force or the threat of force against others. - Answer-
Violent
28. _____ refers to a violation of law or the commission of a status offense (such as
cutting school or running away from home) by young people. - Answer- Juvenile
delinquency
29. According to sociologist Robert Merton's strain theory, _____ occurs when people
accept society's goals but adopt disapproved means for achieving them. - Answer-
Innovation
30. Based on the symbolic interaction theory of sociologists Charles H. Cooley and
George H. Mead, the _____ theory states that deviance is socially constructed process
in which social control agencies designate certain people as deviants and they, in turn,
