SOCL 2001 Tim Slack – Exam With 100%
Correct Answers
Social Control - correct answers ✔✔Means by which members of society encourage conformity
to norms
Positive and Negative Sanctions - correct answers ✔✔Conformity brings rewards.
Nonconformity carries penalties
Informal Social Control - correct answers ✔✔Use of informal sanctioning to facilitate normative
conformity
Formal Social Control - correct answers ✔✔Use of formally defined sanctioning mechanisms to
facilitate normative conformity
Laws - correct answers ✔✔Codified norms, enforced by the state
Conformity - correct answers ✔✔Going along with the group, without necessarily being
formally obligated to do so
Obedience - correct answers ✔✔Compliance with the directions of authority figures
Ex. The Milgrim Study
Deviance - correct answers ✔✔Behavior that violates the norms of a group or society. Violation
of informal or formal norms; not set in stone
Anomie - correct answers ✔✔Social Condition where norms lose their hold on social behavior
,Functionalist Perspective - correct answers ✔✔Deviance can be both functional and
dysfunctional for society.
helps define acceptable behavior and thus contributes to social stability. Can rise to a level
where social stability is disrupted.
Conflict perspective - correct answers ✔✔Definition of deviance serves the interests of elites.
control the criminal justice system and the legal system.
E.g. White collar vs. street crime; powder vs. crack cocaine; racial sentencing disparities
Symbolic Interactionist Perspective - correct answers ✔✔Differential association theory &
labeling theory
Differential association theory - correct answers ✔✔Symbolic Interactionist Perspective
One learns criminal behavior through interactions with others. Not just techniques, but motives
and rationalizations, values and norms.
What is "deviant" and how we understand that depends on group membership.
Labeling theory - correct answers ✔✔Symbolic Interactionist Perspective
Notion that social labels shape self-perception and perception of others.
Labels channel behavior into deviance or conformity.
Key question is who has the power to apply labels
Crime - correct answers ✔✔The violation of norms codified into law. Enforced by state
appointed authorities, through the use of formal sanctions.
Most crime is NOT random or violent.
Reasons for decline in crime - correct answers ✔✔-Economic expansion of the late 90s
, -Tapering off of crack epidemic
-New initiatives in community policing
-New gun control laws (though, crimes usually are committed with illegal weapons!!)
-Increasing size of the prison population
-Population aging and immigration
Sources of crime data - correct answers ✔✔Police reports and victimization surveys
(Under-reporting becomes an issue)
Stratification - correct answers ✔✔Hierarchical ranking of social groups; the structure of social
inequality. Often conceptualized in terms of wealth and power, but can be based on range of
variables.
E.g. Race/ethnicity, gender, health, education, geography
Social Class - correct answers ✔✔Hierarchical group rankings based on economic position.
Most often measured by: Income & Wealth
Income - correct answers ✔✔Cash flow, typically from wages and salaried earned from
employment, plus money from investments
Wealth - correct answers ✔✔All assets, including cash, savings, stocks, bonds, property, etc.
Reasons for Increasing Income Inequality in the US - correct answers ✔✔-Globalization and
economic restructuring
-Loss of ground among the less educated
-Move toward more regressive tax policies
-Changes in pay structures
Correct Answers
Social Control - correct answers ✔✔Means by which members of society encourage conformity
to norms
Positive and Negative Sanctions - correct answers ✔✔Conformity brings rewards.
Nonconformity carries penalties
Informal Social Control - correct answers ✔✔Use of informal sanctioning to facilitate normative
conformity
Formal Social Control - correct answers ✔✔Use of formally defined sanctioning mechanisms to
facilitate normative conformity
Laws - correct answers ✔✔Codified norms, enforced by the state
Conformity - correct answers ✔✔Going along with the group, without necessarily being
formally obligated to do so
Obedience - correct answers ✔✔Compliance with the directions of authority figures
Ex. The Milgrim Study
Deviance - correct answers ✔✔Behavior that violates the norms of a group or society. Violation
of informal or formal norms; not set in stone
Anomie - correct answers ✔✔Social Condition where norms lose their hold on social behavior
,Functionalist Perspective - correct answers ✔✔Deviance can be both functional and
dysfunctional for society.
helps define acceptable behavior and thus contributes to social stability. Can rise to a level
where social stability is disrupted.
Conflict perspective - correct answers ✔✔Definition of deviance serves the interests of elites.
control the criminal justice system and the legal system.
E.g. White collar vs. street crime; powder vs. crack cocaine; racial sentencing disparities
Symbolic Interactionist Perspective - correct answers ✔✔Differential association theory &
labeling theory
Differential association theory - correct answers ✔✔Symbolic Interactionist Perspective
One learns criminal behavior through interactions with others. Not just techniques, but motives
and rationalizations, values and norms.
What is "deviant" and how we understand that depends on group membership.
Labeling theory - correct answers ✔✔Symbolic Interactionist Perspective
Notion that social labels shape self-perception and perception of others.
Labels channel behavior into deviance or conformity.
Key question is who has the power to apply labels
Crime - correct answers ✔✔The violation of norms codified into law. Enforced by state
appointed authorities, through the use of formal sanctions.
Most crime is NOT random or violent.
Reasons for decline in crime - correct answers ✔✔-Economic expansion of the late 90s
, -Tapering off of crack epidemic
-New initiatives in community policing
-New gun control laws (though, crimes usually are committed with illegal weapons!!)
-Increasing size of the prison population
-Population aging and immigration
Sources of crime data - correct answers ✔✔Police reports and victimization surveys
(Under-reporting becomes an issue)
Stratification - correct answers ✔✔Hierarchical ranking of social groups; the structure of social
inequality. Often conceptualized in terms of wealth and power, but can be based on range of
variables.
E.g. Race/ethnicity, gender, health, education, geography
Social Class - correct answers ✔✔Hierarchical group rankings based on economic position.
Most often measured by: Income & Wealth
Income - correct answers ✔✔Cash flow, typically from wages and salaried earned from
employment, plus money from investments
Wealth - correct answers ✔✔All assets, including cash, savings, stocks, bonds, property, etc.
Reasons for Increasing Income Inequality in the US - correct answers ✔✔-Globalization and
economic restructuring
-Loss of ground among the less educated
-Move toward more regressive tax policies
-Changes in pay structures
