Sociology Chapter 8 Quiz

Deviance

behavior that violates significant social norms.

Anomie

confusion that results when norms of society are no longer applicable.

Techniques of Neutralization

people suspend their moral beliefs to commit deviant acts.

Degradation Ceremony

occurrence in a public setting in which an individual acquires a new identity of deviant.

Crime Syndicate

pursues crime as a big business.

Plea Bargaining

the process of legal negotiation that allows an accused person to plead guilty to a lesser charge in return for a lighter sentence.

Stigma

mark of social disgrace that sets the deviant apart from the rest of society.

Control Theory

theory that focuses on why people conform rather than on the causes of deviance.

Labeling Theory

theory that focuses on how individuals come to be identified as deviant.

Crime

any act that is so labeled by those in authority, is prohibited by law, and is punishable by the government.

Criminal-Justice System

police, courts, corrections, and juvenile-justice system.

Corrections

the sanctions such as imprisonment, parole, and probation used to punish criminals.

Criminologists

the scientific study of crime, criminals, criminal behavior, and corrections.

Cultural Transmission

theory that views deviance as a learned behavior.

Primary Deviance

nonconformity that goes undetected by those in authority.

Terrorism

the threat, or actual use of violence to achieve political goals.

Police Discretion

the power of the police to decide who to actually arrest is referred to as

Recidivism

habitual relapse into crime.

Strain Theory

theory that views deviance as the natural outgrowth of the values, norms, and structure of society.

Differential Association

if the majority of a persons interactions are with deviant individuals, the person is likely to be socialized into patterns of deviant behavior.

Secondary Deviance

nonconformity that results in the individual being labeled as deviant and accepting the label as true.

White-Collar Crime

describes offenses committed by individuals of high social status in the course of their professional lives.

Racial Profiling

many people charge that the high rate of arrests among African Americans is a result of a police use of

Conflict Theory

social life is a struggle between those who possess power (ruling classes) and those who do not (lower classes) (Quinney)