If an Upper-Middle-Class, White College Student Is Sentenced to Rehab

question 4

Multiple Choice

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, what might a conflict theorist conclude about deviance?

• A) Differential levels of punishment are functional, as they keep the most productive members of society out of jail.
• B) We need to punish criminals from the lower class more harshly, 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.
• E) The system makes occasional errors, but most of the time, everyone is treated equally.

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Definitions:

Representativeness Heuristic

A cognitive shortcut that involves making judgments about the probability of an event under uncertainty, based on how much it resembles the typical case.

Three-Number Sequence

A specific arrangement of three numbers that follows a particular rule or pattern, often used in cognitive and psychological testing.

Confirmation Bias

The tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and remember information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs or hypotheses.

Communication Episode

A specific instance of communication that includes a series of interactions and the context in which it takes place.