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Study Guide for Test 2

[Revised:  August 1, 2007]

 

Social Structure: The Power of Roles

1. What is social structure?

  • What is the difference between micro-level and macro-level studies or social relations?

2. What is the difference between roles and statuses?

3. What are ascribed status vs. achieved status?

4. What is role-conflict?

5. Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

6. Social Interaction in Everyday Life

  • Ethnomethodology
  • Impression Management
  • Dramaturgy Model

7. What was the Zimbardo Study?

8. What was the Rosenhan Study?

  • Master Status

9. What are institutions?

10. Essentialism.  What are "structures below the surface?"

 

Organizations

1. General Characteristics of Groups

  • Asch Line Experiment
  • Group Think
  • The Milgram Study

2. What is the difference between a primary group and a secondary group? List four characteristics of each.

3. How can a gang be a primary group?

4. What is the difference between cliques, networks, and networking?

5. What is the difference between Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft?

  • Distinguish between mechanical and organic solidarity.

6. Three types of organizations were discussed in the notes and in the text. Describe coercive, utilitarian, and normative organizations.

7. What is the Iron Law of Oligarchy?

8. What is rationalism?

  • Discuss the McDonaldization of society.

9. List four characteristics of a bureaucracy.

  • Ideal Types

10. Discuss the informal structure of bureaucracy.

11. Know the problems with bureaucracy:

  • What is goal displacement?
  • What is alienation?
  • What is red tape?
  • What is the Peter Principle?

12. List four characteristics of a community.

13.  What is a society?  What are some problems with the concept of society?

 

Deviance

1. What is deviance?

2. Discuss demonic possession as an explanation for deviance.

  • Why is demonic possession discussed as a theory of deviance?
  • How does one control deviance when possessed by demons?

3. What is the source of deviance according to the positivist school?

  • Discuss Cesare Lombroso's study of crime.

4. Discuss deviance from a functionalist perspective.

  • What is a degradation ceremony?
  • What is control theory?

  • Anomie Or Strain Theory: Robert Merton's Typology of Deviance

5. What is the relationship between deviance and the level of organization in one's neighborhood?  How do we determine what is organized?

6. Explain deviance from the point of view of differential association theory.

  • In differential association, what is the difference between priority and intensity?
  • What is an illegitimate opportunity structure?

7. What is deviance from a labeling theory perspective?

  • Use the concepts primary and secondary deviance in your answer.
  • Discuss the Saints and the Roughnecks.

8. Discuss deviance from the point of view of a conflict theorist.

 

Crime

1. What is the UCR and what are some problems with it?

2. What are some problems with the term "victimless crime'?

3. According to the FBI, who are the criminals? Give four characteristics.

4. Under the topic 'selecting the criminal,' discuss selecting in the political process.

5. Under the topic 'selecting the criminal,' discuss selecting by the victim. What two criteria decide whether a victim will report a crime to the police?

6. Under the topic 'selecting the criminal,' discuss selecting by judges.

7. Under the topic 'selecting the criminal,' discuss selecting by the attorneys.

8. How can crime rates decline while numbers of crimes increase?

9.  From Data Project #1:

  • What three states have the highest crime rates?
  • What three states have the lowest crime rates?
  • Students were asked to explore the 100 cities with the highest crime rates. What region of the country has the greatest concentration of these cities?

12. What are three structural components of crime?

13. Corrections:

  • What is recidivism?
  • Is there a relationship between murder rates and the use of the death penalty?
  • Retribution?
  • What is deterrence theory. What are it's three components of deterrence theory?
  • Incapacitation
  • Rehabilitation

 

White Collar Crime

1. What is the difference between organizational crime and occupational crime?

2. What are two goals of white collar crime?

3. Provide at least three examples of murder by neglect.

4. Compare penalties for white collar crime and street crime.

5. Why don't white-collar criminals go to jail? List three reasons.