Sociology 1B Final Exam
Deviance - definition - answersany attitude, behavior, and or condition that violates a
social or a cultural norm.
- Refers to noncriminal attitudes, practices and conditions
- Not restricted to specific groups
- Include aspects that are not consciously known
- relative subject
Crime - definition - answersthe violation of a criminal law enacted by the federal, state,
or local government
Biological theories of crime - Atavism and Phrenology - answersAtavism:
- Cesare Lombroso theorized that criminals share certain common physical features
Phrenology:
- Sheldon and Eleanor Glueck wanted to understand if there was a relationship between
body type and criminality
Structural - functional perspective - Durkheim's theory; Merton's strain theory (know
adaptations to strain - conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism and rebellion);
Cloward and Ohlin's differential opportunity theory and Walter Reckless and Travis
Hirschi's control theory - answersDurkheim's theory: The Functions of Crime
- Crime affirms a society's norms and values.
- Recognizing crime helps everyone clarify the boundary between right and wrong.
- Reacting to crime brings people together.
- Crime encourages social change.
- Durkheim's theory asks not why some individual would engage in crime but why
society defines some behavior as criminal.
Merton's Strain Theory:
- Conformity is likely among people who accept society's goals and also have access to
the conventional means to get there.
- One response to a lack of opportunity is retreatism, turning away from both approved
goals and legitimate means.
- Rebellion involves not just rejecting conventional goals and means but also advocating
some entirely new system. Instead of dropping out of society the way retreatists do,
rebels come up with a new vision of how to live, playing out their ideas as members of
religious cults or revolutionary political groups.
, - Patterns of rule breaking depend on, first, whether or not people accept society's goals
and, second, whether or not society provides people with the opportunity to reach these
goals.
Cloward and Ohlin's differential opportunity theory:
- People commit crimes when they have more access to illegal opportunities than legal
means
- illegitimate opportunity structures include robbery, gambling, burglary, drug dealing,
prostitution, pimping and other remunerative crimes
- Not equally distributed in population
Walter Reckless and Travis Hirschi's control theory:
- everybody is deviant at heart but social bonds prevent us from deviating
- Forming strong social bonds with people and institutions that disapprove of deviance
keeps people from engaging in deviant behaviors
- Attachment, Commitment, involvement, Belief Factor
- Inner controls - internal factors that help an individual to control de
Durkheim's theory of deviance - deviance is a normal element of society; functions of
deviance - answers- Crime affirms a society's norms and values.
- Recognizing crime helps everyone clarify the boundary between right and wrong.
- Reacting to crime brings people together.
- Crime encourages social change.
- Durkheim's theory asks not why some individual would engage in crime but why
society defines some behavior as criminal.
Merton's Strain Theory of Deviance - what is the meaning of "strain" - answers-
Exposed to cultural goals that they are unable to obtain because they do not have
access to culturally approved means of achieving these goals
Types of Adaptation to strain (Merton) - Conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism and
rebellion - definition and examples for each method of adaptation - answers- Conformity
- Accepts hard work as appropriate way to succeed. (Working hard at low paying jobs)
- Innovation - Finds illegal ways to succeed (Criminals, drug dealers)
- Ritualism - Conflict between needing to succeed and exerting effort (Bureaucrat)
- Retreatism - Gives up on goals and means (Alcoholics, drug addicts)
- Rebellion - New set of goals and means (Militia group)
Cloward and Ohlin's differential opportunity theory - definition - answers- People commit
crimes when they have more access to illegal opportunities than legal means
- illegitimate opportunity structures include robbery, gambling, burglary, drug dealing,
prostitution, pimping and other remunerative crimes
- Not equally distributed in population
- Whether or not people turn to deviant behavior depends not only on access to
legitimate opportunity (such as schooling or jobs) but also on access to illegitimate
opportunity (such as the chance to learn how to carry out crime).
Deviance - definition - answersany attitude, behavior, and or condition that violates a
social or a cultural norm.
- Refers to noncriminal attitudes, practices and conditions
- Not restricted to specific groups
- Include aspects that are not consciously known
- relative subject
Crime - definition - answersthe violation of a criminal law enacted by the federal, state,
or local government
Biological theories of crime - Atavism and Phrenology - answersAtavism:
- Cesare Lombroso theorized that criminals share certain common physical features
Phrenology:
- Sheldon and Eleanor Glueck wanted to understand if there was a relationship between
body type and criminality
Structural - functional perspective - Durkheim's theory; Merton's strain theory (know
adaptations to strain - conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism and rebellion);
Cloward and Ohlin's differential opportunity theory and Walter Reckless and Travis
Hirschi's control theory - answersDurkheim's theory: The Functions of Crime
- Crime affirms a society's norms and values.
- Recognizing crime helps everyone clarify the boundary between right and wrong.
- Reacting to crime brings people together.
- Crime encourages social change.
- Durkheim's theory asks not why some individual would engage in crime but why
society defines some behavior as criminal.
Merton's Strain Theory:
- Conformity is likely among people who accept society's goals and also have access to
the conventional means to get there.
- One response to a lack of opportunity is retreatism, turning away from both approved
goals and legitimate means.
- Rebellion involves not just rejecting conventional goals and means but also advocating
some entirely new system. Instead of dropping out of society the way retreatists do,
rebels come up with a new vision of how to live, playing out their ideas as members of
religious cults or revolutionary political groups.
, - Patterns of rule breaking depend on, first, whether or not people accept society's goals
and, second, whether or not society provides people with the opportunity to reach these
goals.
Cloward and Ohlin's differential opportunity theory:
- People commit crimes when they have more access to illegal opportunities than legal
means
- illegitimate opportunity structures include robbery, gambling, burglary, drug dealing,
prostitution, pimping and other remunerative crimes
- Not equally distributed in population
Walter Reckless and Travis Hirschi's control theory:
- everybody is deviant at heart but social bonds prevent us from deviating
- Forming strong social bonds with people and institutions that disapprove of deviance
keeps people from engaging in deviant behaviors
- Attachment, Commitment, involvement, Belief Factor
- Inner controls - internal factors that help an individual to control de
Durkheim's theory of deviance - deviance is a normal element of society; functions of
deviance - answers- Crime affirms a society's norms and values.
- Recognizing crime helps everyone clarify the boundary between right and wrong.
- Reacting to crime brings people together.
- Crime encourages social change.
- Durkheim's theory asks not why some individual would engage in crime but why
society defines some behavior as criminal.
Merton's Strain Theory of Deviance - what is the meaning of "strain" - answers-
Exposed to cultural goals that they are unable to obtain because they do not have
access to culturally approved means of achieving these goals
Types of Adaptation to strain (Merton) - Conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism and
rebellion - definition and examples for each method of adaptation - answers- Conformity
- Accepts hard work as appropriate way to succeed. (Working hard at low paying jobs)
- Innovation - Finds illegal ways to succeed (Criminals, drug dealers)
- Ritualism - Conflict between needing to succeed and exerting effort (Bureaucrat)
- Retreatism - Gives up on goals and means (Alcoholics, drug addicts)
- Rebellion - New set of goals and means (Militia group)
Cloward and Ohlin's differential opportunity theory - definition - answers- People commit
crimes when they have more access to illegal opportunities than legal means
- illegitimate opportunity structures include robbery, gambling, burglary, drug dealing,
prostitution, pimping and other remunerative crimes
- Not equally distributed in population
- Whether or not people turn to deviant behavior depends not only on access to
legitimate opportunity (such as schooling or jobs) but also on access to illegitimate
opportunity (such as the chance to learn how to carry out crime).
