Which theory focuses on the urban conditions such as high unemployment and school dropout rates?

Page 1

Social Structure Theories

1. People in the United States live in a stratified society in which social strata are created by the unequal distribution of

wealth, power, and prestige.

3. Because crime rates are higher in lower-class areas, many criminologists believe that the causes of crime are rooted in

socioeconomic factors.

4. In recent years, the number of homeless children in the United States has declined to an all-time low of 1 in every 50

children.

6. Children who grow up in low-income homes are less likely to achieve in school and less likely to complete school

than children who do not grow up in low-income households.

7. Social structure theories suggest that social and economic forces operating in deteriorated lower-class areas push

many area residents into criminal behavior patterns.

8. According to Strain theory, because lower-class people fail to achieve success through conventional means, they often

feel the need to find alternative means of achieving their life goals, which may include criminality.

9. Some social structure theorists argue that destructive forces in poverty-stricken areas are responsible for high crime

rates.

11. The social disorganization concepts articulated by Shaw and McKay enjoyed short-term prominence due to the

growing homogeneity of American society over time.

12. Shaw and McKay's statistical analysis confirmed that even though crime rates changed, the highest rates were

always in Zones I and Zone II.

13. People who live in neighborhoods that experience high levels of crime and civil disorder become suspicious and

mistrusting.

14. Collective efficacy refers to the social control exerted by cohesive communities that is based on mutual trust.

18. Strain is limited in affluent areas because educational and vocational opportunities are available.

19. Merton’s view of anomie has been one of the most enduring and influential theories of criminality.

20. General strain theory is not purely a structural theory because it focuses on how life events influence behavior.

21. Agnew's focus on negative affective states offers a more general explanation of criminality among all elements of

society rather than being restrictive to lower-class crime.

22. Negative affective states refer to the bottom 10 percent of U.S. states where crime is so high that the American

Dream has no chance of success for middle- and lower-class individuals.

23. Cultural deviance theory combines elements of relative deprivation and differential opportunity theories.

27. Differential opportunity theory is credited to Cloward and Ohlin and is a combination of strain and social

disorganization principals relating to gang sustaining criminal subcultures.

29. Some of the programs developed during the Chicago School era, such as Cloward and Ohlin's views of differential

opportunity, were a critical part of the Kennedy and Johnson administration's War on Poverty.

30. Messner and Rosenfeld's institutional anomie theory argues that the goal of success at all costs has invaded every

aspect of American life.

32. ________ are segments of the population whose members have a relatively similar portion of desirable belongings,

and who share attitudes, values, and norms.

a. Social groups b. Social classes

c. Social subcultures d. Social cultures

33. The lowest social stratum in any country, whose members lack the education and skills needed to function

successfully in modern society.

a. Underclass b. Bourgeois

c. Proletariat d. Lower class

34. People grouped according to economic or social class; characterized by the unequal distribution of wealth, power,

and prestige are referred to as a ______.

a. culture of poverty b. systemic society

c. stratified society d. oppressed state

36. The view that disadvantaged economic class position is a primary cause of crime is known as ______ theory.

a. social structure b. social class

c. social bond d. culture of poverty

37. Which theory focuses on the urban conditions, such as high unemployment and school dropout rates, to explain

crime?

a. Strain theory b. Social disorganization theory

c. Cultural deviance theory d. General strain theory

38. Cultural deviance theory combines elements of _____ and social disorganization theories.

a. strain b. poverty

c. socialization d. transmission

39. According to social structure theory, the root cause of crime can be directly traced to ______.

a. individual socialization

b. socioeconomic disadvantages that have become embedded in American society

c. lower-class mistrust of social control institutions

d. the lack of political power within the underclass

40. Strain theory holds that crime is a function of ______.

a. unequal distribution of wealth

b. loss of informal institutions of social control

c. conflict between people's goals and means

d. available methods of achievement

42. The presence of strain is said to lock people into an independent ___________ with unique values and beliefs.

a. subculture b. division

c. reality d. schism

43. Social disorganization theory was popularized by the work of two Chicago sociologists ______.

a. Robert Agnew and Albert Cohen b. Robert Merton and Emile Durkheim

c. Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay d. Paul Klenowski and Keith Bell

44. Shaw and McKay explained crime and delinquency within the context of ______.

a. the changing urban environment and ecological development of the city

b. subcultures with blocked means of achieving majority status

c. redistribution of goals and means

d. biological changes resulting from transient neighborhoods

45. According to the author, the most important of Shaw and McKay’s findings was that ______.

a. crime rates increase as police services increase

b. overtime crime rates shift outward from Zones I & II to the suburban zones

c. crime rates correspond to neighborhood structure

d. the number of abandoned buildings decreases as emigration increases

46. According to Shaw and McKay, a __________ neighborhood is an area wracked by extreme poverty and suffering

high rates of population turnover.

a. subcultural b. transitional

c. concentric d. ecological

50. Cohesive communities with high levels of social control and social integration and where people develop

interpersonal ties are also likely to develop ______.

a. high levels of incivility b. collective efficacy

c. mistrust of public social control d. siege mentality

52. What is the result of ineffective community social control efforts?

a. Mutual trust increases. b. Neighborhood cohesiveness strengthens.

c. Crime rates increase. d. Siege mentality decreases.

53. When members of the lower class are unable to achieve symbols of success via conventional means they feel anger,

frustration, and resentment. These feelings are collectively referred to as ______.

a. focal concerns b. aggression

c. siege mentality d. strain

54. Which of Merton's social adaptations is most closely associated with criminal behavior?

a. Conformity b. Innovation

c. Ritualism d. Retreatism

55. What two elements of culture interact to produce anomie and/or anomic conditions?

a. Informal social control and public social control

b. Middle-class measuring rods and educational underachievement

c. Culturally defined goals and socially approved means for obtaining them

d. Community cohesiveness and collective efficacy

56. According to institutional anomie theorists, the _________ is both a goal and process to accumulate goods and

wealth.

a. American Dream b. American Hope

c. American Ideal d. American Myth

58. Agnew suggests that criminality is the direct result of __________—the anger, frustration, and adverse emotions

associated with destructive social relationships.

a. siege mentality b. negative affective states

c. relative deprivation d. focal concerns

59. The major premise of this theory is that material goods pervade all aspects of American life.

a. Institutional anomie theory b. General strain theory

c. Relative deprivation theory d. Conflict theory

61. __________ reflects the view that multiple sources of strain interact with an individual’s emotional traits and

responses to criminality.

a. General strain theory b. Relative deprivation theory

c. Focal concern theory d. Anomie theory

62. General strain theory is not purely a structural theory because it focuses on how _____ influence behavior.

a. biological conditions b. rational choices

c. life events d. psychological conditions

63. Because social conditions prevent them from achieving success legitimately, lower-class youths experience a form

of culture conflict that Albert Cohen labels ______.

a. status frustration b. youth deprivation

c. juvenile constants d. teenage anomie

65. Cohen’s theory of delinquent subcultures focuses on social conditions that prevent lower-class youths from

achieving success legitimately. Cohen labels this form of culture conflict ______.

a. success frustration b. status frustration

c. social frustration d. lower-class delinquent frustration

66. Subcultural values are handed down from one generation to the next in a process called ______.

a. norms transmission b. social transmission

c. belief transmission d. cultural transmission

67. Cloward and Ohlin’s classic work Delinquency and Opportunity combined strain and social disorganization

principles to explain ______.

a. violent crime b. gang formation

c. vandalism d. drug dealing

Unformatted Attachment Preview

Social Structure Theories True / False 1. People in the United States live in a stratified society in which social strata are created by the unequal distribution of wealth, power, and prestige. a. True b. False 3. Because crime rates are higher in lower-class areas, many criminologists believe that the causes of crime are rooted in socioeconomic factors. a. True b. False 4. In recent years, the number of homeless children in the United States has declined to an all-time low of 1 in every 50 children. a. True b. False 6. Children who grow up in low-income homes are less likely to achieve in school and less likely to complete school than children who do not grow up in low-income households. a. True b. False 7. Social structure theories suggest that social and economic forces operating in deteriorated lower-class areas push many area residents into criminal behavior patterns. a. True b. False 8. According to Strain theory, because lower-class people fail to achieve success through conventional means, they often feel the need to find alternative means of achieving their life goals, which may include criminality. a. True b. False Page 1 9. Some social structure theorists argue that destructive forces in poverty-stricken areas are responsible for high crime rates. a. True b. False 11. The social disorganization concepts articulated by Shaw and McKay enjoyed short-term prominence due to the growing homogeneity of American society over time. a. True b. False 12. Shaw and McKay's statistical analysis confirmed that even though crime rates changed, the highest rates were always in Zones I and Zone II. a. True b. False 13. People who live in neighborhoods that experience high levels of crime and civil disorder become suspicious and mistrusting. a. True b. False 14. Collective efficacy refers to the social control exerted by cohesive communities that is based on mutual trust. a. True b. False 18. Strain is limited in affluent areas because educational and vocational opportunities are available. a. True b. False 19. Merton’s view of anomie has been one of the most enduring and influential theories of criminality. a. True b. False Page 2 20. General strain theory is not purely a structural theory because it focuses on how life events influence behavior. a. True b. False 21. Agnew's focus on negative affective states offers a more general explanation of criminality among all elements of society rather than being restrictive to lower-class crime. a. True b. False 22. Negative affective states refer to the bottom 10 percent of U.S. states where crime is so high that the American Dream has no chance of success for middle- and lower-class individuals. a. True b. False 23. Cultural deviance theory combines elements of relative deprivation and differential opportunity theories. a. True b. False 27. Differential opportunity theory is credited to Cloward and Ohlin and is a combination of strain and social disorganization principals relating to gang sustaining criminal subcultures. a. True b. False 29. Some of the programs developed during the Chicago School era, such as Cloward and Ohlin's views of differential opportunity, were a critical part of the Kennedy and Johnson administration's War on Poverty. a. True b. False 30. Messner and Rosenfeld's institutional anomie theory argues that the goal of success at all costs has invaded every aspect of American life. a. True b. False Page 3 Multiple Choice 32. ________ are segments of the population whose members have a relatively similar portion of desirable belongings, and who share attitudes, values, and norms. a. Social groups b. Social classes c. Social subcultures d. Social cultures 33. The lowest social stratum in any country, whose members lack the education and skills needed to function successfully in modern society. a. Underclass b. Bourgeois c. Proletariat d. Lower class 34. People grouped according to economic or social class; characterized by the unequal distribution of wealth, power, and prestige are referred to as a ______. a. culture of poverty b. systemic society c. stratified society d. oppressed state 36. The view that disadvantaged economic class position is a primary cause of crime is known as ______ theory. a. social structure b. social class c. social bond d. culture of poverty 37. Which theory focuses on the urban conditions, such as high unemployment and school dropout rates, to explain crime? a. Strain theory b. Social disorganization theory c. Cultural deviance theory d. General strain theory 38. Cultural deviance theory combines elements of _____ and social disorganization theories. a. strain b. poverty c. socialization d. transmission 39. According to social structure theory, the root cause of crime can be directly traced to ______. a. individual socialization b. socioeconomic disadvantages that have become embedded in American society c. lower-class mistrust of social control institutions d. the lack of political power within the underclass Page 4 40. Strain theory holds that crime is a function of ______. a. unequal distribution of wealth b. loss of informal institutions of social control c. conflict between people's goals and means d. available methods of achievement 42. The presence of strain is said to lock people into an independent ___________ with unique values and beliefs. a. subculture b. division c. reality d. schism 43. Social disorganization theory was popularized by the work of two Chicago sociologists ______. a. Robert Agnew and Albert Cohen b. Robert Merton and Emile Durkheim c. Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay d. Paul Klenowski and Keith Bell 44. Shaw and McKay explained crime and delinquency within the context of ______. a. the changing urban environment and ecological development of the city b. subcultures with blocked means of achieving majority status c. redistribution of goals and means d. biological changes resulting from transient neighborhoods 45. According to the author, the most important of Shaw and McKay’s findings was that ______. a. crime rates increase as police services increase b. overtime crime rates shift outward from Zones I & II to the suburban zones c. crime rates correspond to neighborhood structure d. the number of abandoned buildings decreases as emigration increases 46. According to Shaw and McKay, a __________ neighborhood is an area wracked by extreme poverty and suffering high rates of population turnover. a. subcultural b. transitional c. concentric d. ecological 50. Cohesive communities with high levels of social control and social integration and where people develop interpersonal ties are also likely to develop ______. a. high levels of incivility b. collective efficacy c. mistrust of public social control d. siege mentality Page 5 52. What is the result of ineffective community social control efforts? a. Mutual trust increases. b. Neighborhood cohesiveness strengthens. c. Crime rates increase. d. Siege mentality decreases. 53. When members of the lower class are unable to achieve symbols of success via conventional means they feel anger, frustration, and resentment. These feelings are collectively referred to as ______. a. focal concerns b. aggression c. siege mentality d. strain 54. Which of Merton's social adaptations is most closely associated with criminal behavior? a. Conformity b. Innovation c. Ritualism d. Retreatism 55. What two elements of culture interact to produce anomie and/or anomic conditions? a. Informal social control and public social control b. Middle-class measuring rods and educational underachievement c. Culturally defined goals and socially approved means for obtaining them d. Community cohesiveness and collective efficacy 56. According to institutional anomie theorists, the _________ is both a goal and process to accumulate goods and wealth. a. American Dream b. American Hope c. American Ideal d. American Myth 58. Agnew suggests that criminality is the direct result of __________—the anger, frustration, and adverse emotions associated with destructive social relationships. a. siege mentality b. negative affective states c. relative deprivation d. focal concerns 59. The major premise of this theory is that material goods pervade all aspects of American life. a. Institutional anomie theory b. General strain theory c. Relative deprivation theory d. Conflict theory Page 6 61. __________ reflects the view that multiple sources of strain interact with an individual’s emotional traits and responses to criminality. a. General strain theory b. Relative deprivation theory c. Focal concern theory d. Anomie theory 62. General strain theory is not purely a structural theory because it focuses on how _____ influence behavior. a. biological conditions b. rational choices c. life events d. psychological conditions 63. Because social conditions prevent them from achieving success legitimately, lower-class youths experience a form of culture conflict that Albert Cohen labels ______. a. status frustration b. youth deprivation c. juvenile constants d. teenage anomie 65. Cohen’s theory of delinquent subcultures focuses on social conditions that prevent lower-class youths from achieving success legitimately. Cohen labels this form of culture conflict ______. a. success frustration b. status frustration c. social frustration d. lower-class delinquent frustration 66. Subcultural values are handed down from one generation to the next in a process called ______. a. norms transmission b. social transmission c. belief transmission d. cultural transmission 67. Cloward and Ohlin’s classic work Delinquency and Opportunity combined strain and social disorganization principles to explain ______. a. violent crime b. gang formation c. vandalism d. drug dealing Page 7 ...

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