What Might a Conflict Theorist Conclude About Deviance If an Upper-Middle-Class

question 52

Multiple Choice

What might a conflict theorist conclude about deviance if an upper-middle-class white college student is sentenced to rehab for the same drug crime that a lower-class black man is sentenced to jail for committing?

• A) Different levels of punishment are functional, as they keep the most productive members of society out of jail.
• B) Criminals from the lower class should be more harshly punished, as they are more likely to re-offend.
• C) The two criminals probably had very different motives for committing their crimes, and this explains the difference in punishment.
• D) The rules are applied unequally, and those with power or influence are punished much less harshly than others.

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Definitions:

Learned Helplessness

a condition in which a person suffers from a sense of powerlessness, arising from a traumatic event or persistent failure to succeed, leading to decreased motivation and depression.

Martin Seligman

A psychologist known for his work on learned helplessness, positive psychology, and interventions that can prevent depression.

Unipolar Depression

A major depressive disorder characterized by a persistent feeling of sadness or a lack of interest in external stimuli, without the mood swings seen in bipolar disorder.

Severe

Used to describe something very intense, serious, or extreme in nature.