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 4 of 5

  • A. anomie
  • B. social disorganization
  • C. deviance
  • D. none of the above

Explanation: Anomie is a condition in which norms lose their clarity or strength, leaving people without reliable guidance for behaviour.

Correct answer: anomie
  • A. operating to favor powerful groups at the expense of others
  • B. an indispensable functional requirement for social survival
  • C. a source of social chaos
  • D. both b and c

Explanation: Functionalists see social control as necessary for maintaining conformity, order and cooperation, making it an indispensable condition of…

Correct answer: an indispensable functional requirement for social survival
  • A. increases our willingness to contribute to the larger social enterprise
  • B. increases our willingness to play our roles
  • C. can impair and undermine organized social life
  • D. enhances our trust of one another

Explanation: Deviance is dysfunctional when it disrupts shared expectations and weakens the orderly coordination of social life.

Correct answer: can impair and undermine organized social life
  • A. reform
  • B. revenge
  • C. None of these
  • D. affirmation of moral standards

Explanation: From a Durkheimian perspective, punishment publicly reaffirms the society's moral boundaries and shared standards.

Correct answer: affirmation of moral standards
  • A. Revolutionary France
  • B. the Roman Empire
  • C. Nazi Germany
  • D. the English Civil War

Explanation: The modern political use of terrorism is linked to the French Revolution, especially the Reign of Terror.

Correct answer: Revolutionary France
  • A. control theory
  • B. labelling theory
  • C. functionalist theory
  • D. conflict theory

Explanation: Labelling theory treats deviance as a product of social interaction: authorities or groups define certain people and acts as deviant.

Correct answer: labelling theory
  • A. access and exchange private information about consumers
  • B. reduce prison overcrowding by the use of electronic tagging
  • C. all of the above
  • D. monitor employees' activities at work

Explanation: Digital surveillance supports all three practices: collecting consumer data, enforcing electronic tagging and monitoring workers.

Correct answer: all of the above
  • A. emphasized human relations and employee satisfaction
  • B. increased the amount of power held by managers
  • C. stripped inmates of their previous identities
  • D. isolated people and put them under surveillance

Explanation: Foucault described carceral institutions as spaces where people are isolated, observed and disciplined through continuous surveillance.

Correct answer: isolated people and put them under surveillance
  • A. the most commonly used recreational drug is Ecstasy
  • B. it has increased and is no longer confined to a hedonistic youth subculture
  • C. teenage girls are more likely to experiment with hard drugs than teenage boys
  • D. despite a series of moral panics, the use of illegal drugs is very rare

Explanation: British drug-use patterns show that use expanded beyond a small hedonistic youth subculture.

Correct answer: it has increased and is no longer confined to a hedonistic youth subculture
  • A. the rates of violent crime were similar for men and women
  • B. women's sexual delinquency was more likely to be normalized than men's
  • C. women's criminal behavior tended to reflect traditional gender roles
  • D. all of the above

Explanation: Smart linked women's criminal behaviour to conventional gender expectations, such as offences arising from roles traditionally assigned to…

Correct answer: women's criminal behavior tended to reflect traditional gender roles
  • A. murder
  • B. rape
  • C. robbery
  • D. all of the above

Explanation: During the 1980s and 1990s, the United States recorded higher rates of murder, rape, and robbery than European countries.

Correct answer: all of the above
  • A. each of the above
  • B. bribery
  • C. income tax evasion
  • D. consumer fraud

Explanation: White-collar crime involves financially motivated offences committed in occupational or organisational settings, including consumer fraud…

Correct answer: each of the above
  • A. conflict theorists' functionalists labelling
  • B. functionalists conflict labelling
  • C. labelling theorists conflict functionalist
  • D. conflict theorists' labelling functionalist

Explanation: Functionalists generally treat deviance standards as expressions of shared cultural norms, while conflict and labelling theorists stress…

Correct answer: functionalists conflict labelling
  • A. ritualism
  • B. innovation
  • C. conformity
  • D. rebellion

Explanation: Merton regarded conformity as the most common adaptation because most people accept society's approved goals and legitimate means, even in…

Correct answer: conformity
  • A. Inconsistent
  • B. None of these
  • C. Normless
  • D. Deviant

Explanation: Societal reaction theory holds that behaviour becomes deviant when people or institutions label it as deviant.

Correct answer: Deviant
  • A. Danwie
  • B. Communis
  • C. Nessar
  • D. None of these

Explanation: A danwei is a Chinese work unit or small organizational group through which social and economic life was traditionally regulated.

Correct answer: Danwie
  • A. Formal to informal control
  • B. General to specialized
  • C. Informal to formal
  • D. None of these

Explanation: Primary groups rely mainly on personal, informal sanctions such as approval or disapproval, whereas secondary groups depend more on…

Correct answer: Informal to formal
  • A. None of these
  • B. Law enforcing agencies
  • C. Clan System
  • D. Social norms and traditions

Explanation: Most social control operates through everyday norms, traditions, and expectations rather than through police or courts.

Correct answer: Social norms and traditions
  • A. does keep "hard core" criminals off the street
  • B. cannot keep "hard core" criminals off the street
  • C. is an effort to address the problem of one-time criminals
  • D. maximizes effective use of prison bed space

Explanation: Selective confinement, or selective incapacitation, targets persistent and dangerous offenders for imprisonment so they cannot commit…

Correct answer: does keep "hard core" criminals off the street
  • A. police
  • B. prisons
  • C. military
  • D. courts

Explanation: The criminal justice system conventionally includes law enforcement, courts, and corrections such as prisons.

Correct answer: military