Free Deviance and Social Control MCQs with Answers
98 Deviance and Social Control MCQs from Sociology, each with the correct answer and a written explanation of why it is correct. Free and unlimited, with no account needed.
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51. New style terrorism differs from old style terrorism in three main ways Which of the following is not one of the three ?
- A. it is global in the scope of its aims
- B. it has a nationalist ideology
- C. it adopts a loose international type of organization
- D. it is more ruthless in the recourse to violent means
Explanation: New terrorism is typically described as global in aims, loosely organised across borders and more willing to use extreme violence. Nationalist ideology was more characteristic of many older terrorist movements, so it is the exception.
Correct answer: it has a nationalist ideology52. A moral panic occurs when_______________?
- A. the media exaggerate reports of deviant groups generating hostile reactions
- B. children watch violent or sexually explicit films and then copy the behavior
- C. audiences challenge the ethnic stereotypes represented by the media
- D. elitists express concern with the Americanization of culture
Explanation: A moral panic develops when media and other authorities exaggerate a perceived threat from a deviant group, producing public fear and hostile reactions. Copying violent media behaviour describes a different media-effects argument.
Correct answer: the media exaggerate reports of deviant groups generating hostile reactions53. An important aspect of labelling theory is the recognition that some people or groups have the power to define labels and apply them to others This view recalls the emphasis placed on the social significance of power by the______________?
- A. functionalist perspective
- B. conflict perspective
- C. interactionist perspective
- D. anomie theory of deviance
Explanation: Labelling theory draws attention to the power to define behaviour and impose categories on others, which echoes the conflict perspective’s emphasis on unequal power. Functionalism instead stresses the contribution of institutions and norms to social stability.
Correct answer: conflict perspective54. In Merton's terms, a person who has abandoned the goal of material success and become compulsively committed to the institutional means is a (an)_____________?
- A. ritualist
- B. retreatism
- C. rebel
- D. innovator
Explanation: A Mertonian ritualist gives up the culturally approved goal of material success but continues to follow the accepted institutional rules and means. Retreatism involves abandoning both the goals and the means, while innovation accepts the goal but uses alternative means.
Correct answer: ritualist55. Which of the following conducted observation research on two groups of high school males-the Saints and the Roughnecks-and concluded that social class played an important role in the varying fortunes of the two groups ?
- A. Richard Quincy
- B. Edwin Sutherland
- C. Emile Durkheim
- D. William Chambliss
Explanation: William Chambliss studied the Saints and the Roughnecks and showed that social class influenced how their behaviour was interpreted and controlled. The more affluent group benefited from more favourable treatment despite similar delinquent activities.
Correct answer: William Chambliss56. Domestic violence is physical abuse by one family member against another which two of the following are most likely to be victims of such abuse ?
- A. female partners/spouses and older relatives
- B. male partners/spouses and children
- C. female partners/spouses and children
- D. older relatives and children
Explanation: Women in intimate partnerships and children are among the groups most commonly exposed to domestic abuse because the violence occurs within unequal family and household relationships. Older relatives can also be victims, but they are not the best pairing here.
Correct answer: female partners/spouses and children57. White-collar and corporate crimes______________?
- A. are committed by relatively affluent people often in the course of business activities
- B. are not very costly compared to the dollar cost of other crimes
- C. are crimes the average person is less likely to experience than street crime
- D. usually result in severe punishment for those who are caught
Explanation: White-collar and corporate crimes are typically committed by relatively privileged people while performing occupational or business activities. They can cause very large financial losses, and offenders do not necessarily receive severe punishment.
Correct answer: are committed by relatively affluent people often in the course of business activities58. Labeling theorists________________?
- A. focus on why individuals engage in deviant behavior
- B. contend that some acts such as rape are inherently criminal
- C. contend that labeling people as deviant has no effect on their behavior
- D. contend that in many cases those labeled deviant identity and pursue a career of deviance
Explanation: Labeling theory argues that being publicly defined as deviant can shape a person's self-image and later conduct, sometimes producing a deviant career. It focuses on the social reaction to deviance rather than treating deviance as an inherent quality of an act.
Correct answer: contend that in many cases those labeled deviant identity and pursue a career of deviance59. In order for a deviant act to be considered a crime______________?
- A. the state must undertake a political process of criminalizing it
- B. it must be committed by someone labelled a criminal
- C. it must involve the violation of a person or property
- D. the majority of the population must consider the act criminal
Explanation: An act becomes a crime through legal criminalisation by the state, not merely because most people dislike it or because it harms a person or property. This distinction separates crime from broader forms of deviance.
Correct answer: the state must undertake a political process of criminalizing it60. Fred is a intelligent student Last year he was on the honor roll This year he began hanging out with friends who spend more time playing video games than studying they routinely earn C, s and D, s Over time Fred slowly stops doing his homework and turning in work for extra credit. He drops out of his honors classes and his grades drop out from mostly A, s to C, s Which theory of deviance best explains what has happened here ?
- A. structural strain theory
- B. social control theory
- C. differential association theory
- D. Each of these theories explains the situation equally well
Explanation: Differential association theory explains Fred's change through sustained association with peers who model and reward attitudes favouring leisure over study. Social control theory could explain weakened commitment, but the peer-learning pattern most directly indicates differential association.
Correct answer: differential association theory