Social Deviance – Weeks 1 & 2 Lecture Notes

30 question-and-answer flashcards covering sociological imagination, social control, strain theory, major obedience studies, labeling theory, and power dynamics in defining deviance.

What is the central task and promise of the sociological imagination, according to C. Wright Mills?

To grasp the connection between history and biography and understand how they interact within society.

According to Mills, how can imagining life in a different society highlight the importance of social forces?

It shows we would likely speak a different language, follow another religion, and have different economic prospects, illustrating society’s influence on personal experience.

In Mills’s framework, what is the difference between a personal trouble and a public issue?

A personal trouble affects an individual (e.g., one unemployed person), while a public issue affects large numbers (e.g., 30 % unemployment) and reflects broader social forces.

Summarize the sociological imagination in one sentence.

It is a mindset that locates personal circumstances within broader social patterns grounded in structure and history.

Name two learning goals for Week 2 of the course.

1) Understand and apply sociological theories of deviance, 2) Describe deviance in relation to social structure, stratification, and social change.

Which two Goode chapters are assigned for Week 2?

Chapter 2 – Explaining Deviant Behavior and Chapter 3 – Constructing Deviance.

What is the main focus of Structural Strain Theory, as applied in the Baltimore Riots article?

How societal strain between goals and means can lead to collective deviance such as riots.

List the four social bonds in Hirschi’s Social Control theory.

Attachment, Commitment, Involvement, and Belief.

How does ‘attachment’ reduce the likelihood of deviance?

Strong emotional and social bonds with others discourage rule-breaking behavior.

Define ‘commitment’ in Social Control theory.

Investments in conventional activities (education, job, reputation) that people do not want to lose by acting deviant.

What role does ‘involvement’ play in preventing deviance?

Busy participation in socially approved activities leaves less time and opportunity for deviant acts.

According to Social Control theory, how does ‘belief’ influence conformity?

Respect for laws and moral standards encourages individuals to follow societal rules.

What is the basic premise of Strain Theory?

When society promotes cultural goals but offers unequal access to legitimate means, individuals experience strain that can lead to deviance.

Match each Merton adaptation with its stance toward goals and means: Conformity, Innovation, Ritualism, Retreatism, Rebellion.

Conformity: accepts goals & means; Innovation: accepts goals, rejects/creates means; Ritualism: rejects goals, accepts means; Retreatism: rejects both; Rebellion: rejects & seeks to replace both.

What was the primary aim of Stanley Milgram’s shock experiment?

To study obedience to authority and determine whether people would harm others when instructed by an authority figure.

Describe the basic method of the Milgram experiment.

Participants believed they were delivering increasing electric shocks to a learner for wrong answers under an experimenter’s orders.

What key result emerged from the Milgram experiment?

A majority of participants administered the maximum shock level despite moral discomfort, demonstrating strong obedience to authority.

Name one major ethical concern raised by the Milgram study.

Use of deception causing emotional distress to participants who believed they harmed someone.

Who conducted the Stanford Prison Experiment, and in which year?

Philip Zimbardo in 1971.

What was the purpose of the Stanford Prison Experiment?

To investigate how people conform to roles of authority (guards) and subordination (prisoners) in institutional settings.

How long was the Stanford Prison Experiment originally planned, and when was it actually stopped?

Planned for two weeks but terminated after six days due to ethical concerns.

State one major finding of the Stanford Prison Experiment.

Situational pressures can lead ordinary individuals to display extreme, authoritarian, or submissive behaviors quickly.

Define ‘Labeling Theory’ in one sentence.

It explains how societal reactions and labels shape individuals’ identities and can lead to continued deviant behavior.

Differentiate primary deviance from secondary deviance.

Primary deviance is initial rule-breaking with little lasting impact; secondary deviance occurs when a person internalizes a deviant label and adopts it as identity.

How do social institutions contribute to labeling, according to labeling theory?

Schools, courts, and families assign labels that can stigmatize individuals and influence future opportunities and behavior.

Contrast absolutist and relativist perspectives on deviance.

Absolutism views deviance as universally wrong; relativism sees deviance as subjective and defined by social context.

Who are ‘moral entrepreneurs’?

Individuals or groups who campaign to define and enforce norms, often creating moral panics (e.g., activists, lawmakers).

Why does Goode emphasize audience and context in determining deviance?

Because behaviors like drug use or dress codes may be acceptable in one setting but deviant in another depending on observers and situation.

Give an example of a behavior once considered deviant that has become more accepted over time.

Homosexuality, marijuana use, or visible tattoos.

How does the concept of social power relate to defining deviance?

Groups with power (government, media, religious bodies) shape norms and apply them more strictly to marginalized groups, reinforcing inequality.