The term refers to illegal or unethical acts involving the use of power by government

Corruption can take many forms, and can include behaviours like:

  • public servants demanding or taking money or favours in exchange for services,
  • politicians misusing public money or granting public jobs or contracts to their sponsors, friends and families,
  • corporations bribing officials to get lucrative deals

Corruption can happen anywhere: in business, government, the courts, the media, and in civil society, as well as across all sectors from health and education to infrastructure and sports.

Corruption can involve anyone: politicians, government officials, public servants, business people or members of the public.

Corruption happens in the shadows, often with the help of professional enablers such as bankers, lawyers, accountants and real estate agents, opaque financial systems and anonymous shell companies that allow corruption schemes to flourish and the corrupt to launder and hide their illicit wealth.

Corruption adapts to different contexts and changing circumstances. It can evolve in response to changes in rules, legislation and even technology.

any behavior, belief, or condition that violates significant social norms in the society or group in which it occurs

behavior that violates criminal law and is punishable with fines, jail terms, and other sanctions.

violation of law and or the commision of a status offense by young people

systematic practices developed by social groups to encourage conformity to norms, rules, and laws and to discourage deviance

systematic study of crime and the criminal justice system, including the police, courts and prisons

proposition that people feel strain when they are exposed to cultural goals that they are unable to obtain because they do not have access to culturally approved means of achieving those goals

illegitimate opportunity structures

circumstances that provide an opportunity for people to acquire through illegitimate activities what they cannot achieve through legitimate channels

differential association theory

preposition that individuals have a greater tendency to deviate from societal norms when they frequently associate with persons who are more favorable toward deviance than conformity 

proposition that the probability of deviant behavior increases when a person's ties to society are weakened or broken

proposition that deviants are those people who have been successfully labeled as such by others

initial act of rule-breaking

deviance that occurs when a person who has been labeled as deviant seeks to normalize the behavior by relabeling it as nondeviant

actions involving force or the threat of force against others

burglary, mother vehicle theft, larceny-theft, and arson

crimes involving a willing exchange of illegal goods or services among adults

occupational crime (white collar)

illegal activities committed by people in the course of their employment or financial affairs

illegal acts committed by corporate employees on behalf of the corporation and with its support

business operation that supplies illegal goods and services for profit

illegal or unethical acts involving the usurpation of power by government officials, or illegal/unethical acts perpetrated against the government by outsiders seeking to make a political statement, undermine the government, or overthrow it

calculated unlawful use of physical force or threats of violence against persons or property in order to intimidate or coerce a government, organization, or individual for the purpose of gaining some political, religious, economic, or social objective

more than 55000 local, state, and federal agencies that enforce laws, adjudicate crimes, and treat and rehabiliate criminals

any action designed to deprive a person of things of value because of some offense the person is thought to have committed

is the process by which people act toward or respond to other people and is the foundation for all relationships and groups in society.

is the complex framework of societal institutions and the social practices that make up a society and that organize and establish limits on people’s behavior.

a society and that organize and establish limits on people’s behavior.

is a socially defined position in a group or society characterized by certain expectations, rights, and duties.

comprises all the statuses that a person occupies at a given time.

is a social position conferred at birth or received involuntarily later in life, based on attributes over which the individual has little or no control.

Status and Roles:

Race/Ethnicity

Age

Gender

Class

is a social position that a person assumes voluntarily as a result of personal choice, merit, or direct effort.

Status and Roles:

Occupation

Education

Income Level

is the most important status a person occupies.

are material signs that inform others of a person’s specific status.

is a set of behavioral expectations associated with a given status.

is a group’s or society’s definition of the way that a specific role ought to be played

is how a person actually plays the role.

occurs when incompatible role demands are placed on a person by two or more statuses held at the same time.

occurs when incompatible demands are built into a single status that a person occupies.

occurs when people disengage from social roles that have been central to their self-identity.

consists of two or more people who interact frequently and share a common identity and a feeling of interdependence.

is a small, less specialized group in which members engage in face-to-face, emotion-based interactions over an extended period of time.

Social Groups:

Family members

Close friends

Peers

is a larger, more specialized group in which members engage in more-impersonal, goal-oriented relationships for a limited period of time.

Social Groups:

Schools

Churches

Corporations

is a highly structured group formed for the purpose of completing certain tasks or achieving specific goals.

is a set of organized beliefs and rules that establish how a society will attempt to meet its basic social needs.

  • suggest that social institutions perform essential functions for society
  • emphasize that social structure is essential because it creates order and predictability in a society.
  1. Replacing members
  2. Teaching new members
  3. Producing, distributing, and consuming goods
  4. Preserving order
  5. Providing and maintaining a sense of purpose

agree that social institutions meet basic needs, but suggest that they do not meet everyone’s needs equally.

Hunting and gathering societies

use simple technology for hunting animals and gathering vegetation.

are based on technology that supports the domestication of large animals to provide food.

are based on technology that supports the cultivation of plants to provide food.

use technology of large-scale farming, including animal-drawn or energy-powered plows and equipment, to produce their food supply.

are based on technology that mechanizes production.

are ones in which technology supports a service- and information-based economy.

refers to how the various tasks of a society are divided up and performed.

derives from a society’s social structure, which is based on the society’s division of labor.

refers to the social cohesion of preindustrial societies, in which there is minimal division of labor and people feel united by shared values and common social bonds.

refers to the social cohesion found in industrial societies, in which people perform very specialized tasks and feel united by their mutual dependence

is a traditional society in which social relationships are based on personal bonds of friendship and kinship and on intergenerational stability.

Table 4.2

is a large, urban society in which social bonds are based on impersonal and specialized relationships, with little long-term commitment to the group or consensus on values.

Everyone interprets social interaction rituals differently.

social construction of reality

is the process by which our perception of reality is largely shaped by the subjective meaning that we give an experience.

is a false belief or prediction that produces behavior that makes the originally false belief come true.

is the study of the commonsense knowledge that people use to understand the situations in which they find themselves.

ethno for “people” or “folk” and methodology for a “system of methods.”

is the study of social interaction that compares everyday life to a theatrical presentation.

is a playbook that the actors use to guide their verbal replies and overall performance to achieve the desired goals of the conversation or fulfill the role they are playing.

Impression management (presentation of self)

refers to people’s efforts to present themselves to others in ways that are most favorable to their own interests or image.

refers to the strategies we use to rescue our performance when we experience a potential or actual loss of face.

is the transfer of information between persons without the use of words.

  • Visual cues (gestures, appearances)
  • Vocal features (inflection, volume, pitch)
  • Environmental factors (use of space, position)

_____ is the process by which people act toward or respond to other people.

A. Role taking

B. Social structure

C. Social interaction

D. Role expectations

Answer: C.

Social interaction is the process by which people act toward or respond to other people.

Being a college professor is a(n):

A. achieved status

B. ascribed statues

C. role

D. role set.

Answer: A.

Being a college professor is an achieved status.

  • is the state of being part insider and part outsider in the social structure.

sociologist Robert Park (1928) coined this term to

occurs when the expectations associated with a role are unclear

occurs when people consciously foster the impression of a lack of commitment or attachment to a particular role and merely go through the motions of role performance (Goffman, 1961b).

is the area where a player per-forms a specific role before an audience.

the area where a player is not required to perform a spe-cific role because it is out of view of a given audience.

is the symbolic means by which subordinates give a required permissive response to those in power; it confirms the existence of inequality and reaffirms each person’s relationship to the other.

is a collective of two or more people who interact frequently with one another, share a sense of belonging, and have a feeling of interdependence.

is a collection of people who happen to be in the same place at the same time but share little else in common.

number of people who may never have met one another but share a similar characteristic.category

are small, less specialized groups in which members engage in face-to-face, emotion-based interactions over an extended period of time.

Cooley’s secondary groups

are larger, more specialized groups in which the members engage in more-impersonal, goal-oriented relationships for a limited period of time.

is a group to which a person belongs and with which the person feels a sense of identity.

according to Sumner

is a group to which a person does not belong and toward which the person may feel a sense of competitiveness or hostility.

according to Sumner

are groups that strongly influence a person’s behavior and social attitudes, regardless of whether that individual is an actual member.

is a web of social relationship that links one person with other people and, through them, with other people they know

is a group that is collectively small enough for all members to be acquainted with one another and to interact simultaneously.

refers to the ability to influence what goes on in a group or social system.

is goal or task oriented.

provides emotional support for members.

make all major group decisions and assign tasks to members.

encourage group discussion and decision making through consensus building.

are only minimally involved in decision making and encourage group members to make their own decisions.

is the process of maintaining or changing behavior to comply with the norms established by a society, subculture, or other group.

is the process by which members of a cohesive group arrive at a decision that many individual members privately belief is unwise.

is one we voluntarily join to pursue a common interest or gain personal satisfaction or prestige from being a member

Red cross

is an association people are forced to join.

is one we voluntary join to be provided with a material reward.

is an organizational model characterized by a hierarchy of authority, a clear division of labor, explicit rules and procedures, and impersonality in personnel matters.

Rationality (methods of social organization)

is the process by which traditional methods of social organization, characterized by informality and spontaneity, are gradually replaced by efficiently administered formal rules and procedures.

according to Max Weber

of bureaucracy is an abstract model that describes the recurring characteristics of some phenomenon.

  • Division of labor
  • Hierarchy of authority
  • Rules and regulations
  • Qualification-based employment
  • Impersonality

  • Efficiency
  • Predictability
  • Emphasis on quantity over quality
  • Control through non-human technologies

informal side of a bureaucracy

is composed of those aspects of participants’ day-to-day activities and interactions that ignore, bypass, or do not correspond with the official rules and procedures of the bureaucracy.

  • Inefficiency and rigidity
  • Resistance to change
  • Perpetuation of race, class, and gender inequalitie

occurs when the rules become an end in themselves rather than a means to an end, and organizational survival becomes more important than achievement of goals.

describes those workers who are more concerned with following correct procedures then they are with getting the job done correctly.

is the tendency to become a bureaucracy ruled by the few.

members of the capitalist class benefit from the work of laborers

is a movement to establish an organizational environment that develops rather than impedes human resources.

  • Less rigid hierarchy
  • Encouraging participants to share their ideas
  • Reducing the number of people in dead-end jobs

Socially sustainable organizations

refers to organizations that take into account the social effects of organizational activities on workers and others persons in the community, the nation, and globally.

is based on the assumption that innovation is crucial and that people should have flexibility in where, when, and how they work.

is based on the assumption that innovation is crucial and that organizational leaders must be able to use the talents and energies of the people who work with them.

A collection of people who happen to be in the same place at the same time but share little else in common are a(n):

A. category.

B. culture.

C. ingroup.

D. aggregate.

Answer: D. Aggregate

A collection of people who happen to be in the same place at the same time but share little else in common are an aggregate.

Ingroup and outgroup distinctions may:

A. encourage only prejudice.

B. encourage both social cohesion and prejudice.

C. encourage only social cohesion.

D. encourage neither prejudice or social cohesion.

Answer: B.

Ingroup and outgroup distinctions may encourage both social cohesion and prejudice.

Reference groups are also a major source of:

A. role ambiguity.

B. role conflict.

C. role strain.

D. anticipatory socialization.

Answer: D.

Reference groups are also a major source of anticipatory socialization.

Which of the following is not one of the characteristics of Weber’s ideal type bureaucracy?

A. Impersonality

B. Friendly competition

C. Hierarchy of authority

D. Division of labor

Answer: B. Friendly competition

According to Weber, an ideal type of bureaucracy is an abstract model that describes the recurring characteristics of some phenomenon. Its characteristics include: a division of labor, a hierarchy of authority, rules and regulations, qualification-based employment, and impersonality.

In Solomon Asch's study regarding lines on cards, he found that:

A. the pressure toward group conformity was established when members were assured they were not going to hurt anyone.

B. the pressure toward group conformity was not established.

C. the pressure toward group conformity was established

D. through members contradicting their best judgments.

the pressure toward group conformity was established when numbers were low.

Answer: C. pressure toward group conformity was established

In Solomon Asch's study regarding lines on cards, he found that the pressure toward group conformity was established through members contradicting their best judgments.

The self-protective behavior of officials at the top in bureaucracies may render the organization inefficient.

A. True

B. False

Answer: A. True

It’s true that the self-protective behavior of officials at the top in bureaucracies may render the organization inefficient.

Laissez-faire leaders like to be involved in the decision making process of government that affects individuals’ lives.

A. True

B. False

Answer: B.

Laissez-faire leaders do not like to be involved in the decision making process of government that affects individuals’ lives.

is any behavior, belief, or condition that violates significant social norms in the society or group in which it occurs.

“The critical variable in the study of deviance, then, is the social audience rather than the individual actor, since it is the audience which eventually determines whether or not any episode of behavior or any class of episodes is labeled deviant.” –Kai. T. Erikson (1964)

is a behavior that violation criminal law and is punishable with fines, jail terms, and/or other negative sanctions.

refers to a violation of law or the commission of a status offense by young people.

refers to the systematic practices that social groups develop in order to encourage conformity to norms, rules, and laws and to discourage deviance.

is the systematic study of crime and the criminal justice system, including the police, courts, and prisons.

Functionalist Perspectives on Deviance

According to Durkheim, deviance is rooted in societal factors such as rapid social change and lack of social integration among people.

  • Deviance serves three functions:
  • Deviance clarifies rules
  • Deviances unite a group
  • Deviance promotes social change

according to Merton argues that people feel strain when they are exposed to cultural goals that they are unable to obtain because they do not have access to culturally approved means of achieving those goals.

illegitimate opportunity structures

According to Cloward and Ohlin are circumstances that provide an opportunity for people to acquire through illegitimate activities what they cannot achieve through legitimate channels.

Conflict Perspectives on Deviance

Those in power define what is deviant and what is not.

  • The criminal justice system focuses on certain groups (such as young, single urban males).

Deviance and crime are a function of the capitalist economic system.

  • The criminal justice system protects those in power.

Feminist theories of deviance

used to explain male behavior cannot be used to explain female behavior.

  • Liberal feminist approach
  • Radical feminist approach
  • Marxist (socialist) feminist approach

Differential association theory

coined by Edwin Sutherland

states that people have a greater tendency to deviate from societal norms when they frequently associate with individuals who are more favorable toward deviance than conformity.

deviant behavior is learned in interaction with others. A person becomes delinquent when exposure to law-breaking attitudes is more extensive than exposure to law-abiding attitudes.

rational choice theory of deviance

states that deviant behavior occurs when a person weighs the costs and benefits of nonconventional or criminal behavior and determines that the benefits will outweigh the risks involved in such actions.

holds that the probability of deviant behavior increases when a person’s ties to society are weakened or broken.

  • Attachment
  • Commitment
  • Involvement
  • Belief

states that deviance is a socially constructed process in which social control agencies designate certain people as deviants and they, in turn, come to accept the label placed upon them and begin to act accordingly.

refers to the initial act of rule breaking.

occurs when a person who has been labeled a deviant accepts that new identity and continues the deviant behavior.

occurs when a person who has been labeled a deviant seeks to normalize the behavior by relabeling it as nondeviant.

Postmodern Perspectives on Deviance

emphasize that the study of deviance reveals how the powerful exert control over the powerless by taking away their free will to think and act as they might choose.

consists of actions – murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault – involving force or the threat of force against others.

includes burglary, motor vehicle theft, larceny-theft, and arson.

crimes are those that involve a willing exchange of illegal goods or services among adults.

Occupational (white collar) crimes

are illegal activities committed by people in the course of their employment or financial affairs.

are illegal acts committed by corporate employees on behalf of the corporation and with its support.

consist of FBI-related scams, identity theft, advance fee fraud, nonauction/nondelivery of merchandise, and overpayment fraud.

is a business operation that supplies illegal goods and services for profit.

refers to illegal or unethical acts involving the usurpation of power by government officials or illegal/unethical acts perpetrated against the government by outsiders seeking to make a political statement, undermine the government, or overthrow it.

National Crime Victimization Survey

  • Surveys a nationally representative samples of households about victimization experiences
  • Asks about nonfatal crimes, reported and not reported to the police

is the calculated, unlawful use of physical force or threats of violence against persons or property in order to intimidate or coerce a government, organization, or individual for the purpose of gaining some political, religious, economic, or social objective.

refers to the local, state, and federal agencies that enforce laws, adjudicate crimes, and treat and rehabilitate criminals.

Discretionary Powers in Law Enforcement

police, prosecutors, judges or magistrates

is an action designed to deprive a person of things of value because of some offense the person is thought to have committed.

  • Retribution
  • General deterrence
  • Incapacitation
  • Rehabilitation

_____ is any belief, behavior, or condition that violates significant social norms in the society or group in which it occurs.

A. Deviance

B. Mores

C. Taboos

D. Crime

Answer: A. Deviance

Deviance is any belief, behavior, or condition that violates significant social norms in the society or group in which it occurs.

Punishment is seen as serving four functions. Which item below is not one of those functions?

A. Innovation

B. Deterrence

C. Retribution

D. Protections

Answer: A. Innovation

Punishment is seen as serving four functions. Innovation is not one of those functions.

_____ refers to the systematic practices that social groups develop in order to encourage conformity to norms, rules, and laws, and to discourage deviance.

A. Criminal justice

B. Deviance

C. Law enforcement

D. Social control

Answer: D. Social control

Social control refers to the systematic practices that social groups develop in order to encourage conformity to norms, rules, and laws, and to discourage deviance.

A felony is a serious crime such as rape, and homicide for which punishment means imprisonment for at least one year up to death.

A. True

B. False

Answer: A. True

A felony is a serious crime such as rape, and homicide for which punishment means imprisonment from at least one year up to death.

Control theorists suggest that deviance is more likely to occur when social bonds are strongest.

A. True

B. False

Answer: B. False

Control theorists suggest that deviance is less likely to occur when social bonds are strongest.

The "good worker" is often an example of what type of adaptation in strain theory?

A. Innovation

B. Ritualism

C. Retreatism

D. Conformity

Answer: B. Ritualism

The "good worker" is often an example of ritualism in Strain Theory.

is punishment that a person receives for infringing on the rights of others. Retribution imposes a penalty on the offender and is based on the premise that the punishment should fit the crime: The greater the degree of social harm, the more the offender should be punished. For example, an individual who murders should be punished more severely than one who shoplifts.

seeks to reduce criminal activity by instilling a fear of punishment in the general public.

which inflicts punishment on individual criminals to discourage them from committing future crimes.

is based on the assumption that offenders who are detained in prison or are executed will be unable to commit additional crimes. This approach is often expressed as “lock ’em up and throw away the key!”

ion, which means that offenders who repeat certain kinds of crimes are sentenced to long prison terms.

on seeks to return offenders to the community as law-abiding citizens by providing therapy or vocational or educational training. Based on this approach, offenders are treated, not punished, so that they will not continue their criminal activity. However, many correctional facilities are seriously understaffed and underfunded in the rehabilitation programs that exist. The job skills (such as agricultural work) that many offenders learn in prison do not transfer to the outside world, nor are offenders given any assistance in finding work that fits their skills once they are released.

which is designed to repair the damage done to the victim and the community by an offender’s criminal act.

restorative justice perspective

which states that the criminal justice system should promote a peaceful and just society; therefore, the system should focus on peacemaking rather than on punishing offenders.

the awareness that individuals have when they believe that they share important commonalities with certain other people.

Consciousness of kind is strengthened by membership in clubs ranging from members may never act on these beliefs of superiority and inferiority because the larger organization of which they are a part actively discourages ethnocentric beliefs and discriminatory actions. However, other organizations may covertly foster ethnocentrism and negative ingroup/outgroup distinctions by denying that these beliefs exist among group members or by failing to take action when misconduct occurs that is rooted in racism, sexism, and/or ageism.

such as more and better education and jobs, affordable housing, more equality and less discrimination, and socially productive activities—are needed to reduce street crime.

declared that women’s crime rates were going to increase significantly as a result of the women’s liberation movement. Female crime has been refuted by subsequent analysis

radical feminist approach

views the cause of women’s crime as originating in patriarchy (male domination over females). From this view, arrests and prosecution for crimes such as prostitution reflect our society’s sexual double standard whereby it is acceptable for a man to pay for sex but unacceptable for a woman to accept money for such service

liberal feminist approach

women’s deviance and crime are a rational response to the gender discrimination that women experience in families and the workplace. From this view, lower-income and minority women typically have fewer opportunities not only for education and good jobs but also for “high-end” criminal endeavors

Marxist (socialist) feminist approach

is based on the assumption that women are exploited by both capitalism and patriarchy

people learn the necessary techniques and the motives, drives, rationalizations, and attitudes of deviant behavior from people with whom they associate.

coined differential association theory

Pressure to conform is especially strong in small groups in which members want to fit in with the group

Stanley's Milgram’s Research

conducted a series of controversial experiments to find answers to these questions about people’s obedience to authority

is a form of compliance in which people follow direct orders from someone in a position of authority

Social psychologist Irving Janis (1972, 1989) the process by which members of a cohesive group arrive at a decision that many individual members privately believe is unwise.

What term refers to illegal or unethical acts involving the use of power by government officials?

An illegal act by an officeholder constitutes political corruption only if the act is directly related to their official duties, is done under color of law or involves trading in influence.

What type of crime involves illegal acts committed by employees of an organization on behalf of the organization and with its support?

corporate crime, also called organizational crime, type of white-collar crime committed by individuals within their legitimate occupations, for the benefit of their employing organization. Such individuals generally do not think of themselves as criminals, nor do they consider their activities criminal.

What crimes are not legally considered a felony?

While particular laws vary by state, misdemeanors generally include nonviolent crimes. In many cases, misdemeanors do not lead to long amounts of jail time. Misdemeanors can include vandalism, certain types of drug possession, simple assault, and disorderly conduct, among others.

What refers to the use of personal Judgement by police officers?

What is police discretion? The police discretion definition refers to the freedom of police officers to make decisions as they perform their official duties.