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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98 questions · page 3 of 10

21. Peer approval of your actions would be a good example of_____________?

Moderate
  • A. age-specific support
  • B. informal social control
  • C. internalization of norms
  • D. formal social control
  • E. positivism

Explanation: Peer approval operates through informal social control because friends and peers reward or disapprove of behaviour without using official laws or institutions. Formal control would involve agencies such as the police, courts, or schools.

Correct answer: informal social control

22. Sociologists believe that no behavior is____________?

Moderate
  • A. Without a deal of grate variation
  • B. inherently deviant
  • C. totally in keeping with tradition
  • D. Without a corresponding judgment
  • E. Completely irrelevant

Explanation: Sociologists generally hold that no behaviour is inherently deviant; deviance depends on social rules and the reactions of others. The same act may be accepted in one group or situation and condemned in another.

Correct answer: inherently deviant

23. How is terrorism different from the types of crime described by the Chicago School ?

Moderate
  • A. it is a committed on a larger, often global, scale, and is well organized
  • B. it is associated with political conflict between states and their citizens
  • C. it can have far-reaching effects upon international relations
  • D. all of the above

Explanation: Terrorism is typically organised across a broad, sometimes global scale and is tied to political conflict, with possible effects on international relations. These features make all three descriptions applicable, so “all of the above” is the best answer.

Correct answer: all of the above

24. The Mafia is an example of____________?

Moderate
  • A. White collar crime
  • B. organized crime
  • C. none-criminal deviance
  • D. global terrorism

Explanation: The Mafia is a structured criminal organisation involved in continuing illegal activities through coordination, hierarchy, and sometimes violence or corruption. That makes it an example of organised crime rather than white-collar crime or terrorism.

Correct answer: organized crime

25. Lombroso claimed that______________?

Moderate
  • A. criminals were socialized into an underworld of crime
  • B. no act is intrinsically deviant
  • C. biological failings drove some people into crime
  • D. women were less likely to be arrested than menSearch Public Records

Explanation: Lombroso’s positivist theory linked criminal behaviour to inherited biological traits or atavistic features, rather than seeing crime as learned through socialisation. The other options belong to different sociological explanations or describe a gender pattern.

Correct answer: biological failings drove some people into crime

26. What is the term that describes repeat offending by those who have been in prison ?

Moderate
  • A. rehabilitation
  • B. deterrence
  • C. reform
  • D. recidivism

Explanation: Recidivism means returning to crime after a previous conviction or period of imprisonment. Rehabilitation and reform aim to reduce reoffending, while deterrence seeks to prevent crime through the threat of punishment.

Correct answer: recidivism

27. Which of these is NOT an example of target hardening ?

Moderate
  • A. anti-social behavior orders
  • B. Steering locks
  • C. burglar alrams
  • D. CCTVTry Prep Courses

Explanation: Target hardening makes crime more difficult by strengthening or protecting a potential target, as with steering locks, burglar alarms and CCTV. Anti-social behaviour orders regulate behaviour through legal controls but do not physically secure a target.

Correct answer: anti-social behavior orders

28. Which approach framed their analysis of crime and deviance in terms of this preservation of power by the ruling class ?

Moderate
  • A. New Left Realism
  • B. Right Realism
  • C. new criminology
  • D. interactionism

Explanation: New criminology, influenced by Marxism, interpreted crime and deviance in relation to class power and the interests of the ruling class. Interactionism focuses more on labelling and social reactions, while the realist approaches have different emphases.

Correct answer: new criminology

29. Merton describes types of response to a situation where there are widely socially endorsed values but limited means of achieving them. Which of his types describes an acceptance of the values but willingness to use any means to achieve them?

Moderate
  • A. Conformists
  • B. innovators
  • C. ritualists
  • D. retrealists

Explanation: Innovators accept dominant cultural goals, such as wealth, but use illegitimate or unapproved means when legitimate opportunities are restricted. Conformists accept both goals and means, whereas ritualists abandon the goals while following the rules.

Correct answer: innovators

30. What is defined as 'non-conformity to a given set or norms that are accepted by a significant number of people in a community or society ?

Moderate
  • A. criminality
  • B. deviance
  • C. recidivism
  • D. degeneracy

Explanation: Deviance is non-conformity to norms accepted by a significant part of a community or society. Criminality is narrower because it refers specifically to behaviour prohibited by law.

Correct answer: deviance