chapter 1, Chapter 3, Chapter 2, chapter 7, Chapter 9 – Flashcards

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Which statement about the definition of deviance is TRUE?
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Sociologists cannot agree on a precise definition of deviance.
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To say that deviance is determined behavior implies that humans
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cannot choose between good and bad.
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All of the following are part of the positivist perspective on deviance, EXCEPT that deviance is
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a label.
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Among sociologists, there is
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a lack of consensus about what behavior should be seen as deviant.
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According to the labeling theory, deviance is
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a label imposed by others upon a given behavior.
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According to the constructionist perspective, sociologists need to
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develop an internal, subjective view of people.
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Which of the following kinds of deviance is best understood through a positivist perspective?
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higher-consensus deviance
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To say that deviance is a subjective experience means that the deviant person is
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a conscious, feeling, thinking subject.
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Deviant behavior is any behavior that
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is considered deviant by public consensus, which may range from maximum to minimum.
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According to the constructionist perspective, deviant behavior is
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an expression of human volition.
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Sociologists who study the role of power in the definition of deviance have discovered that the rich and powerful
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can avoid the label of deviance.
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According to sociologists who study the role of power in the definition of deviance, deviance is any act that
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the powerful consider to be a violation of some social rule.
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The fact that the same behavior can be seen as normal by some and as deviant by others is called the
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relativist view.
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Determinist, objectivist, and absolutist are other terms for aspects of the __________ perspective on deviance.
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positivist
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Which of the following aspects of deviance would be of special interest to constructionist sociologists?
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how deviants seek positive meanings in deviant activity
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Attributing deviant behavior to choice is a form of pseudo explanation because the concept of choice
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does not explain why someone chooses either deviance or normal behavior.
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The positivist perspective assumes that deviance is
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determined behavior.
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The main purpose of the positivist approach to deviance is
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seeking out the causes of deviant behavior.
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The author argues that an integrated definition of deviant behavior must focus on
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both deviant behavior and the deviant label.
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All of the following are definitions of deviance proposed by different sociologists, EXCEPT that deviance is
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always immoral behavior.
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Today's positivist sociologists now recognize the importance of __________ for understanding deviant behavior.
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social factors
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Which of the following types of people are examples of positive deviants?
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the saint, the intellectual, and the genius
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All of the following are assumptions of the constructionist perspective on deviance, EXCEPT that deviance should be seen as
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an objective fact.
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Which of the following conditions separates the positivist and constructionist perspectives on deviance?
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the amount of public consensus about what type of behavior is deviant.
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Early criminologists believed deviance was intrinsically real because they believed criminals possessed
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certain biological traits absent in non-criminals.
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Which of the following is one reason why, for U.S. citizens, deviant behavior is more or less, rather than completely, deviant?
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U.S. society is pluralistic.
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Definitions of deviance fall into two opposing perspectives, the positivist and the
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constructionist.
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Deviance as an "observable object" means that deviance
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can be studied in a factual way.
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From the constructionist perspective, deviants are
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actively seeking meaning in the deviant activities.
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Which of the following statements about the definition of deviance is TRUE?
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There is usually a great deal of disagreement among people as to what they consider deviant.
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Most positivist sociologists today continue to reject the idea of free will as an explanation of deviance because free will cannot explain why one person
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commits deviant acts while others do not.
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If you believe that deviant behavior has characteristics that distinguish it from conforming behavior, you believe deviance is
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intrinsically real.
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Early in the twentieth century, criminologists believed that
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criminals are born, not made.
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Which ONE of the following questions reflects the constructionist and labeling perspective on deviance?
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Why is a given act defined by society as deviant?
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Millions of people at one time or another have smoked marijuana. If sociologists asked a sample of U.S. citizens about this behavior, they would most likely discover that
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many people disagreed about the deviant status of marijuana.
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One problem positivist sociological researchers face that natural scientists do not is
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sociologists have difficulties with personal biases and making moral judgments about research subjects.
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The __________ perspective is more pertinent for studying less serious kinds of deviance.
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constructionist
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Labeling theory interprets deviance as a(n)
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process of symbolic interactionism.
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Which of the following are ways feminist theory shifts the focus of theories of deviance?
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a focus on women as offenders and victims related to their subordinate roles
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This theoretical perspective attributes deviance to the unequal distribution of resources brought about by the exploitative capitalist system.
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Marxist theory
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One reason why labeling theory has enjoyed tremendous popularity among sociologists is because this theory
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has considerable data to support some of its basic ideas.
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Harold Garfinkel studied Agnes, who was a person seeking a sex change operation, and discovered that she considered herself
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a normal woman with a physical defect (a penis).
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All of the following are the results of capitalism's creation of economic marginality and coercive control of the workers, EXCEPT for
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a greater reliance on the family.
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Which of the following is NOT a statement about the nature of postmodernist theory?
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It is relatively disinterested in the most modern forms of deviant behavior.
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Feminist theorists argue that most theories of deviance
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are only about men.
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Chambliss called the observing of how legal authorities actually discharge their duties the study of
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the law in action.
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Chambliss stated that the tendency of the police, prosecutors, and judges to become tools of power and privilege is caused by the __________, or the need of organizations to compel their members to maximum rewards.
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organizational imperative
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The sociologist Jack Katz studied a variety of murderers and armed robbers and discovered that they
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felt morally superior to their victims.
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At the heart of the conflict between phenomenologists and positivists is
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different philosophical views of humanity.
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According to the power theory, the types of deviance and the types of persons who commit deviant acts are strongly influenced by
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social inequality.
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According to phenomenologists, what deviance means is
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fundamentally problematic.
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Ethnography is defined as the style of research that seeks to understand
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the meanings the people under investigation ascribe to their experiences.
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What Marxists call "marginal surplus population" refers to
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those who are relatively superfluous or useless to the economy.
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Quinney and other conflict theorists see something terribly wrong with existing society and have called for
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political action.
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To analyze how their subjects feel and think about deviance, phenomenologists use the method of
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ethnography.
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All of the following are criticisms of phenomenological theory EXCEPT that phenomenologists
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incorrectly assume that powerless deviants are powerless people who have little free will.
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According to labeling theory, being labeled deviant produces
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negative consequences.
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The conflict approach contributes to our understanding of deviant behavior by showing how
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social inequality influences the making and enforcing of norms and laws.
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Which of the following theories examines the subjectivity of people, including their attitudes, feelings, and opinions about deviance?
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phenomenological theory
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Chambliss's analysis of the English legal system showed that the vagrancy laws
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served the interests of the influential members of society.
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According to this theoretical perspective, power, or the lack of it, determines the type of deviance one is likely to commit.
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power theory
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According to Erikson and others, labeling other persons as deviant has
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positive consequences for the community or individuals who apply the label.
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According to labeling theory, the focus of sociological research should be on
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the interaction between the supposed deviant and conventional people.
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According to Jack Douglas, there are two types of meanings: abstract meanings and __________ meanings.
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situated
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When the language of the strong dominates the language of the weak, the weak experience
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linguistic domination.
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According to Richard Quinney, there are different ways for the dominant class to define the social reality of crime. Which of the following is NOT one of them?
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It engages in behavior that is defined as criminal.
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The incompatible interests, needs, and desires of diverse groups of people in society can lead to
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social conflict.
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All of the following are reasons the powerful are more prone to deviance EXCEPT for
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greater deviant tendencies.
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According to labeling theory, the final step leading to secondary deviation involves
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acceptance of and adjustment to deviant social status by the deviant.
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According to the Marxist explanation of deviance, the cause of deviance can be traced to
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the exploitative nature of capitalism.
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______________ study the underlying causes of deviance through social and environmental factors.
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Positivists
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According to Albert Cohen, when lower-class boys experience status frustration, they set up their own competitive system in the form of
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delinquent subcultures.
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The essence of several types of anomie-strain theory is that the experience of
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socially induced strain pressures individuals to commit deviant acts.
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According to critics, reintegrative shaming can work only with
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first-time offenders.
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Joe, a steel worker in Cleveland, Ohio, has no aspirations of being rich and successful. Nevertheless, he works hard and takes pride in his job. According to Merton's theory, this is an example of
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ritualism.
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Albert Cohen's theory is similar to Merton's approach, but Cohen replaced the word "success" with the word "__________."
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status
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According to the deterrence doctrine, all of the following would help reduce the rate of crime, EXCEPT for making punishment
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more general.
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Most control theorists seem to
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accept the Freudian assumption that our inborn animal impulses, if unchecked, will turn into deviant behavior.
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According to control theories of deviance, the central question is
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what causes conformity.
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Recent developments in anomie-strain theory have located new sources of strain that might push individuals toward deviance. Which of the following is NOT one of those newly identified strains?
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the discrepancy between success aspirations and the opportunities for realizing those aspirations
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The deterrence doctrine assumes that human beings, when anticipating deviant behavior, are
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basically rational.
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According to Robert Merton's goal-means gap theory, the psychoanalytic approach to deviant behavior is wrong because that theory incorrectly assumes
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society discourages the individual from engaging in deviant behavior.
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If a society makes a deviant feel guilty while showing understanding and forgiveness, it practices __________ shaming.
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reintegrative
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Which of the following concepts constitutes the core of Sutherland's differential association theory?
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an excess of criminal over anticriminal contacts
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According to Glaser, before a person pursues criminal behavior, he or she must first __________ real or imaginary persons whose criminal behavior seems acceptable.
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identify with
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Many sociologists have criticized Merton's version of anomie-strain theory for assuming that lower-class people
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have the same level of success aspirations as other social classes.
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All of Jane's friends have jewelry and new clothes, but she had no money to buy them. She therefore resorted to shoplifting to get what she wanted. According to Merton's theory, her behavior is an example of
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innovation.
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According to Merton, the only cultural value of importance in American society is
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material success.
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One positive contribution of anomie-strain theory is that
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society, not the individual, causes much deviance.
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According to Cloward and Ohlin, lower-class boys experience different opportunities in the form of three subcultures, which are
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criminal, conflict, and retreatist.
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Which of the following statements is an accurate criticism of Burgess-Akers's social learning theory?
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It cannot explain why a person initially commits a deviant act.
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Burgess and Akers argued that before one becomes criminal, a process of __________ must occur where he or she is rewarded for continuing deviant behavior.
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differential reinforcement
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According to Merton's anomie-strain theory, which of the following statements is true?
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The legitimate means of achieving high success goals are not freely available to all classes of people.
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According to Merton, when persons hold high success aspirations and are not given the opportunity to realize them, they might
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resort to illegitimate means of achieving their aspirations.
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Burgess and Akers find Sutherland's differential association theory inadequate because Sutherland
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did not specify what is involved in the process of learning to become a criminal.
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According to Hirschi's theory of social control, if elements of bonding to society are weak, the individual might
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slide into deviance.
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Which of the following is NOT a primarily positivist theory of deviance?
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phenomenological theory
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Sociologists criticizing control theory point out that control can become a possible cause of deviance. They therefore conclude that most versions of this theory are too
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simplistic.
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According to Hirschi, which of the following is NOT a way for individuals to bond themselves to society?
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an experience of a gap between goals and means
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According to Cohen's theory, status frustration is most likely to occur among
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lower-class boys.
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The theories of positivist sociologists attempt to explain the __________ of deviance.
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causes
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Hank is a sociologist investigating the causes of crime. He is interested in how some areas of the city have traditions of crime that persist over generations, and how individuals easily move into groups following those traditions. What theory of deviance is guiding Hank's research?
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differential association theory
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Which of the following is NOT a kind of social control that can prevent deviance?
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differential association
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Daniel Glaser felt that Sutherland's theory was too __________ and proposed that a process of identification with criminals also had to take place.
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mechanistic
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According to Sutherland's differential association theory, a person becomes deviant or delinquent when there is a(n)
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excess of deviant contacts favorable to violation of the law.
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Cloward and Ohlin attempt to extend Merton's central idea that the lower classes are denied legitimate opportunity by introducing the concept of
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differential illegitimate opportunity.
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Cloward and Ohlin used the concept of differential illegitimate opportunity to mean that some members of the lower class have
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fewer opportunities to pursue illegitimate opportunities.
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According to Henry and Short's theory, all of the following are factors that promote suicide, EXCEPT for the
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cultural.
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Cutters fall into the "loner" category of deviance.
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False
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In the last two decades, the gender difference in suicide attempts has
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narrowed significantly.
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Sociological theories, as opposed to psychological ones, assume that the causes of suicide reside within rather that outside of the individual.
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False
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Societies whose cultures are communal in nature tend to have higher rates of suicides, compared to societies that are more individualistic.
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False
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Which of the following statements is FALSE?
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Women have a higher suicide rate than men.
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Compared with suicide threateners, suicide attempters are more ambiguous in expressing their suicidal feelings.
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True
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Almost all Americans argue that suicide is wrong, immoral behavior.
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False
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College students in the United States have higher suicide rates than their non-college peers because they
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are single and experience much stress.
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Psychological theories of suicide assume that suicide comes from
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a defect in the person.
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Jacobs assumes that suicide is no longer defined by our society as "a violation of the sacred, God-given trust of life."
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False
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According to the Durkheimian model, people with too much individualism commit altruistic suicide.
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False
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Suicide is a relatively rare form of deviant behavior, but it is more common than homicide.
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True
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One of the reasons why recently diagnosed, less-sick, HIV-infected patients are more suicidal than those dying of AIDS-related illnesses is
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the sudden transformation from being a totally healthy person to a seriously ill person.
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The type of suicide that slaves are more likely than free people to commit is called __________ suicide.
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fatalistic
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In Western societies today, higher suicide rates are due in part to
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increasingly permissive attitudes toward suicide.
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Generally, whites commit suicide
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twice as often as blacks
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Well-publicized suicides actually lead to a temporary reduction in suicide rates.
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False
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A strong religious identity and degree of religious conservatism is associated with a(n) _______ suicide rate.
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lower
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The Internet has helped to de-stigmatize cutting.
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True
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If a person wanted to attempt suicide, but was not sure he or she wanted to die, which of the following methods would be the least favored?
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hanging or shooting
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Over the last 20 years, teenage suicides have
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increased dramatically.
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Even though few persons have requested assisted suicide in Oregon, that state's assisted suicide law has been gaining support throughout the U.S. because of growing recognition of the patient's
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wishes to die for all of the above reasons.
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Which of the following statements about the relationship between economic conditions and suicide is TRUE?
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Suicide rates are higher in affluent societies than in poor ones.
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Those who threaten suicide
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would rather live than die.
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The Patient's Self-Determination Act passed by Congress requires hospitals to
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inform patients of rights to control their treatment through living wills.
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Compared with suicide threateners, suicide attempters are more detailed in expressing their suicidal thoughts and feelings.
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False
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The main impact of the Oregon assisted suicide law has been to create more support for assisted suicide throughout the U.S.
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True
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According to Jerry Jacobs's theory of the suicidal process, suicide victims overcome prohibitions against suicide through a series of events. What is the first stage of this process?
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finding themselves faced with unexpected and unsolvable problems
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Suicide is basically a mental disorder, and sociology has little to say about it.
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False
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One kind of reason suicide committers give for their action is a surrealistic view of reality.
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True
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The suicide bombers who attacked the U.S. on 9/11/2001 came from poor families and were paid to commit suicide.
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False
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Suicide rates depend significantly on
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how society responds to suicide.
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In his study on suicide, Emile Durkheim showed that
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All of the above
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Which of the following groups of people has the LOWEST suicide rates?
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married women with children
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Henry and Short's theory of suicide contains the concept of external restraint, which is similar to Durkheim's idea of "social regulation."
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True
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Durkheim argued that the extent of group integration and regulation influences suicide rates.
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True
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If a person kills him- or herself after murdering another, it is called __________ suicide.
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atonement
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In practically all countries, men are more prone to suicide than women.
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True
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Suicide prevention centers cannot substantially reduce suicide rates because
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suicide is basically a sociological problem.
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Some countries with developing economies like China have high suicide rates because they
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experience rapid social change.
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All cutters attempt suicide.
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False
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Research has documented that the greater the air time given to country music, the higher the suicide rate. Which of the following is a possible reason?
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the themes of country music, many of which are suicide-related
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Which of the following is a way suicide attempters differ from suicide committers?
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They are more likely to be young.
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In the past, most researchers attributed the link between urbanization and suicide to
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conflicting social norms.
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Which of the following statements about the suicide bombers who attacked the U.S. on 9/11/2001 is TRUE?
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They came from relatively well-off, middle-class families.
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One kind of reason suicide committers give for their action is a surrealistic view of reality.
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True
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All of the following are conditions under which doctors in the Netherlands can carry out euthanasia, EXCEPT that
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it must be approved by a panel of government officials.
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According to liberals, pornography does serve a practical purpose in society.
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True
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According to the text's author, men participate in adultery more than women because of
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a widespread belief that men should prove their masculinity.
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Teenage girls with high self-esteem generally
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abstain from sex.
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If you believe that pornography is dangerous to communal values such as marriage and the family, you agree with the __________ view of pornography.
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conservative
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Teenage sex is not tabooed in the United States.
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False
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The definition of adultery is relative across cultures.
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True
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According to the text, approximately ________ of American men do not participate in extramarital sex.
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75 percent
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The following are more likely to engage in extramarital sex, EXCEPT for
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those who have not experienced premarital sex.
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According to the author of the text, sexual harassment
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reflects men's attempt to preserve their traditional dominance over women.
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Unlike other prostitutes, call girls
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seem to adhere to a professional code of ethics.
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For most women today, affairs are mainly for sex and have little relationship to love or a lasting relationship.
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False
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The highest status prostitute is the
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call girl.
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All of the following are aspects of the feminist theory of prostitution, EXCEPT that
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prostitution should become a legitimate women's profession.
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The pimp is a man who
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The pimp is a man who
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According to the conservative view, pornography is merely erotic and harmless material that should not be controlled by the government.
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False
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Call girls are generally more discreet in their operations, compared to streetwalkers.
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True
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To support their professional ideology, a number of prostitutes claim that their work does all of the following, EXCEPT for
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introducing women to a highly skilled profession.
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Among the Kofyar of Nigeria, a woman who is unhappy with her husband but does not want to divorce may take an extra lover who lives openly with her in her husband's house. This is an example of
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legitimate adultery.
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The popular belief that a woman can earn a lot of money as a prostitute is one of the __________ factors that cause women to become prostitute.
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attracting
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It is relatively rare for prostitutes in the United States and other Western countries to contract the AIDS virus from their sex work.
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True
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Which of the following statements reflects a conservative position on sex education?
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Schools should teach only abstinence from sex.
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A call girl is especially skilled at making her commercial transactions appear non-commercial.
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True
question
The madam is one who
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solicits customers for a prostitute in return for a share of the proceeds.
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In some cultures, adultery may take both legitimate and illegitimate forms.
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True
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Which of the following is the most common reason why women enter prostitution?
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economic problems like unemployment and the need to support a family
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Which of the following is an example of a compulsive john?
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a man who cannot keep away from prostitutes, from whom he wants sex only
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The majority of the prostitute's customers are what Greenwald calls "occasional johns."
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True
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According to Davis's functional theory, prostitution exists to protect the moral order.
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True
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Pimps generally take 50 percent of a prostitute's earnings.
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False
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In the eyes of U.S. society,
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teenage sex is seen as deviant.
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__________ is the exchange of sex for money.
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Prostitution
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If a caller to a phone sex operator sounds attractive and is able to arouse the operator's personal or sexual interest, he is a ______ type of caller.
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likable
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Which of the following statements about adultery in other cultures is TRUE?
answer
In some cultures, certain adulteries are legitimate.
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Phone sex and nude dancing are similar in that both are selling sexual fantasies.
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True
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Teenage boys with high self-esteem generally
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have sex.
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What do phone sex and nude dancing have in common?
answer
The same women are involved in both businesses.
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Which of the following statements does NOT belong to the constructionist perspective on deviant behavior
answer
Deviance is an observable, objective set of behaviors.
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Cloward and Ohlin used the concept of differential illegitimate opportunity to mean that some members of the lower class have what?
answer
fewer opportunities to pursue illegitimate opportunities
question
Merton's version of anomie-strain theory is based on which of the following premises?
answer
society encourages the individual to engage in deviance
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In 1965, J. L. Simmons asked a sample of the general public who they thought were deviant. Which of the following did significant numbers of people feel were deviant?
answer
all of the above have been considered deviant at some point
question
Chambliss's analysis of the English legal system showed that the vagrancy laws
answer
served the interests of the influential members of society
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