How do sociologists define deviance? How does deviant behavior vary from one time period to another? Give one example of this from the past 25 years and discuss how it has changed.

What will be an ideal response?


Answers will vary but should include a definition of deviance as any action, belief, or human characteristic that is considered a violation of group norms by a large number of members of a society or social group. What is thought to be deviant varies from one time period to another, one geographic location to another, and one group to another. Over time, things may come to be more deviant or less deviant based on the ways in which society may change. Examples from the text that would have occurred in the past 25 years include tattoos, premarital sex, same-sex marriage, cohabitation before marriage, smoking cigarettes, and smoking marijuana.

Sociology

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Robert Merton claimed that the "strains of masculinity" are an important cause of crime

Indicate whether the statement is true or false

Sociology

Which of the following is TRUE?

a) Mothers who have at least one son are more likely to divorce. b) People with higher income are more likely to divorce because they have more alternatives. c) Spouses who share religious beliefs are more likely to divorce. d) The divorce status of your parents is not related to your likelihood of divorcing. e) The childfree are more likely to divorce than are parents.

Sociology

Critics of the privatization of the military argue that a. it may lure the best talent away from the traditional military if they make more money through private military employment

b. privatization is much less efficient than retaining all functions within the government funded military. c. privatization means that new recruits will not have any positions open to them within the military. d. it may reward conflict over consensus.

Sociology

Identification: Gender

What will be an ideal response?

Sociology