Law and Society: Exam #1 Actual Questions And Correct Verified Answers.

sociology - correct answer the study of society; o a social science involving the study of the social lives of people, groups, and societies; o the study of our behavior as social beings, covering everything from the analysis of short contacts between anonymous individuals on the street to the study of global social processes; o the scientific study of social aggregations, the entities through which humans move throughout their lives'; and, o an overarching unification of all studies of humankind, including history, psychology, and economics. sociology of law - correct answer The sociology of law is an intellectual project in which empirical data are used to describe and explain the behavior of legal actors. Empirical - using the senses - research - not just philosophical or moral or speculative (i.e. like natural scientists - test hypotheses - be able to reproduce findings) Marx - Alienation - correct answer Alienation: What Happens to Human Personality in a Capitalist Society Human nature: Neither fixed nor transcendent Molds/adapts to social environment Social environment is created by our everyday activities and choices Alienation ensues when humans lose control of their creative faculties Alienation results from historically produced tensions between potential and realization Irony of Capitalism = creates unlimited potential for human development and at the same time hinders that development by creating warped social relationships (division of labor) Four Dimensions of Alienation from Anthony Giddens: 1 - Worker lacks control over products of labor 2 - Worker lacks control over process itself 3 - All human relationships are reduced to instrumental market relationships 4 - Humans are estranged from & enslaved by their own social institutions Law Superstructure - correct answer Legal & Political Superstructure—ideological production & content Contains religion, morals, culture, and ideologies Implications for / effect on Law: Law is part of the Superstructure "The ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling ideas... The class which has the means of material production at its disposal, has control at the same time over the means of mental production, so that thereby, generally speaking, the ideas of those who lack the mans of mental production are subject to it." Durkheim's methodology - correct answer Durkheim's Methodology Positivism — using objective evidence to develop general causal explanations for human behavior Focused on proving legitimacy of social science, methodology similar to hard sciences Social Facts Necessary to empirically study otherwise idealistic and subjective nature of morality Durkheim's social pathology - correct answer Social Pathology — crime dramatized through punishment is an "integrative element of a healthy society" Durkheim's solidarity - correct answer Types of Social Solidarity Mechanical - normally operates in "traditional" and small-scale societies.[2] In simpler societies (e.g., tribal), solidarity is usually based on kinship ties of familial networks. Organic - social integration that arises out of the need of individuals for one another's services. In a society characterized by organic solidarity, there is relatively greater division of labour, with individuals functioning much like the interdependent but differentiated organs of a living body. Society relies less on imposing uniform rules on everyone and more on regulating the relations between different groups and persons, often through the greater use of contracts and laws.o Law = visible symbol of social solidarity Durkheim - Why is crime a social pathology? - correct answer Punishment neither useful for deterrence or rehabilitation If it were, each punishment would only be linked to criminal motivation, not social perceptions of severity of the crime itself and incorrigible criminals would be punished harshly for even minor transgressions Durkheim's Positive and Negative Resolution - correct answer Two Types: Positive — draws people into enduring relationships (e.g. contract law) Negative — seeks to make individuals whole and erase human harm (e.g. personal injury / tort law) Black: Law behaves/law carries directly with social rank - correct answer Law varies directly with social rank Variations: Lower ranks have less law than higher ranks Lower ranks utilize less law than higher ranks Lower ranks are less successful in utilizing law then higher ranks What did black NOT use to predict behavior? - correct answer psychology Rational economic system - correct answer Rationalization: means-ends calculations Property of the social order, not individuals Capitalism is rational economic system - forces long term thinking 2 aspects of domination - correct answer Power = "the probability that one actor within a social relationship will be in a position to carry out his own will despite resistance, regardless of the basis on which this probability rests" Two Important facets of this definition: Relational—social dynamic, not absolute Probabilistic—"power is control, but control is never absolute" Authority = "a situation in which a leader's command is taken by the follower and acted on as if the follower valued the action for its own sake" Disambiguation from Mutual Benefit / Common Interest Following orders from authority not dependent on personal motivations of follower—not just that follower "wants to obey" Orders obeyed from authority as acknowledgement of "general legitimacy of the workplace hierarchy" authority - correct answer "a situation in which a leader's command is taken by the follower and acted on as if the follower valued the action for its own sake" Power-Authority Limits - correct answer Two Principal Characteristics of Authority Relationships Built in Limits—Legitimate Grounds for Refusal E.g. Milgram Experiments, Whistleblower Statutes, QuiTam Actions Most stable form of power—"ought to" vs. "have to" Legitimized & internalized values as control mechanisms Costs of system maintenance lower Charismatic authority - correct answer