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
True
Economic Structure
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.01
Bloom’s: Remembering
2. The “truly disheartened” is the term used by William Julius Wilson to describe socially isolated people who dwell in
urban inner-cities, who occupy the bottom rung of the social ladder, and who are the victims of discrimination.
a.
True
b.
False
False
Economic Structure
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.01
Bloom’s: Remembering
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
True
Economic Structure
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.01
Bloom’s: Remembering
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
False
Economic Structure
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.01
Bloom’s: Remembering
5. A promising trend in the last 10 years is the closing gap of unemployment rates among races; African Americans and
non-Hispanic Whites both have unemployment rates around 14 percent nationally.
a.
True
b.
False
False
Economic Structure
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.01
Bloom’s: Remembering
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
True
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.01
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
9. Some social structure theorists argue that destructive forces in poverty-stricken areas are responsible for high crime
rates.
a.
True
b.
False
10. Political ideologies, such as affirmative action, have erased the economic disparities between whites and minorities
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
False
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.02
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
True
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.03
13. People who live in neighborhoods that experience high levels of crime and civil disorder become suspicious and
mistrusting.
a.
True
b.
False
True
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.04
14. Collective efficacy refers to the social control exerted by cohesive communities that is based on mutual trust.
a.
True
b.
False
True
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.04
15. Fear is often based on experience: people living in areas with especially high crimes rates are the ones most likely to
experience fear.
a.
True
b.
False
True
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.04
16. According to the author, the most important wielder of informal social control is religion.
a.
True
b.
False
False
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.04
17. Social Ecology School refers to an interdisciplinary approach to studying interdependent social and environmental
problems that cause crime.
a.
True
b.
False
True
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.04
18. Strain is limited in affluent areas because educational and vocational opportunities are available.
a.
True
b.
False
True
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.05
19. Merton’s view of anomie has been one of the most enduring and influential theories of criminality.
a.
True
b.
False
True
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.05
20. General strain theory is not purely a structural theory because it focuses on how life events influence behavior.
a.
True
b.
False
True
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.05
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
True
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.05
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
False
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.05
23. Cultural deviance theory combines elements of relative deprivation and differential opportunity theories.
a.
True
b.
False
False
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.06
24. Examples of Walter Miller’s lower-class focal concerns include achievement, status, and delayed gratification.
a.
True
b.
False
False
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.06
25. Delinquent subculture theory was first articulated by Emile Durkheim in 1936 to explain displaced juveniles following
the Great Depression.
a.
True
b.
False
False
CRIM.SIEG.17.05.06
26. Middle-class measuring rods refer to the standards by which authority figures, such as teachers, evaluate lower-class
youngsters and often prejudge them negatively.
a.
True
b.
False
True
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.06
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
True
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.06
28. Reaction formation is used to explain irrational hostility by young delinquents who adopt norms directly opposed by
the middle class.
a.
True
b.
False
True
Cultural Deviance Theory
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.06
Bloom’s: Remembering
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
True
Social Structure Theory and Public Policy
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.06
Bloom’s: Remembering
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
True
Strain Theories
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.05
Bloom’s: Remembering
Multiple Choice
31. Social strata are created by the unequal distribution of wealth. While the upper class is exceptionally well-to–do,
______ people live in poverty in America.
a.
1,000,000
b.
15,000,000
c.
46,000,000
d.
64,500,000
c
Economic Structure
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.01
Bloom’s: Remembering
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
b
Economic Structure
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.01
Bloom’s: Remembering
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
a
Economic Structure
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.01
Bloom’s: Remembering
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
c
Economic Structure
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.01
Bloom’s: Remembering
35. Oscar Lewis argues that the crushing lifestyle of lower-class areas produces ________ that is passed on from one
generation to the next.
a.
a culture of poverty
b.
physical deterioration
c.
social deterioration
d.
family disorganization
a
Economic Structure
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.01
Bloom’s: Remembering
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
a
Economic Structure
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.01
Bloom’s: Remembering
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
b
Social Disorganization Theory
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.02
Bloom’s: Remembering
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
41. Why are personal relationships, including establishing communication and common goals, strained in socially
disorganized neighborhoods?
a.
Because the hostility of long-term residents makes it difficult for new people to move into the neighborhood
b.
Because residents are constantly moving in and out of the neighborhood
c.
Because police refuse to organize neighborhood groups
d.
Because gang formation disrupts families in the neighborhood
b
Social Disorganization Theory
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.02
Bloom’s: Remembering
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
c
Social Disorganization Theory
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.02
Bloom’s: Remembering
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
a
Social Disorganization Theory
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.03
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
c
Social Disorganization Theory
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.03
Bloom’s: Remembering
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
b
Social Disorganization Theory
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.03
Bloom’s: Remembering
47. Social ecology school criminologists associate crime rates and the need for police services to ______.
a.
community deterioration
b.
community fear
c.
community change
d.
poverty concentration
a
Social Disorganization Theory
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.04
Bloom’s: Remembering
48. As working and middle-class families flee inner-city poverty areas, the most disadvantaged population is consolidated
in urban ghettos. This phenomenon results in a poverty ______ effect.
a.
solidity
b.
concentration
c.
cohort
d.
instability
b
Social Disorganization Theory
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.04
Bloom’s: Remembering
49. An interdisciplinary approach to the study of interdependent social and environmental problems that cause crime.
a.
Social ecology school
b.
Social construct school
c.
Social stigma school
d.
Social conservative school
a
Social Disorganization Theory
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.04
Bloom’s: Remembering
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
b
Social Disorganization Theory
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.04
Bloom’s: Remembering
51. In regard to Anderson’s study in Philadelphia addressing neighborhood life of youth and gangs, those individuals who
were respected by residents and who at one time played an important role in socializing youth were referred to as ______.
a.
old heads
b.
dust devils
c.
parrots
d.
snitches
Social Disorganization Theory
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.04
Bloom’s: Remembering
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.
c
Social Disorganization Theory
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.04
Bloom’s: Remembering
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
d
Strain Theories
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.05
Bloom’s: Remembering
54. Which of Merton’s social adaptations is most closely associated with criminal behavior?
a.
Conformity
b.
Innovation
c.
Ritualism
d.
Retreatism
b
Strain Theories
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.05
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
c
Strain Theories
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.05
Blooms’: Remembering
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
a
Strain Theories
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.05
Bloom’s: Remembering
57. Judith and Peter Blau developed the concept of __________, the idea that anger and mistrust result from perceptions
of inequality that lead lower-class people to feel deprived and embittered in comparison with those more affluent.
a.
inequality concentration
b.
collective deprivation
c.
cultural inequality
d.
relative deprivation
d
Strain Theories
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.05
Bloom’s: Remembering
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
b
Strain Theories
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.05
Bloom’s: Remembering
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
a
Strain Theories
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.05
Bloom’s: Remembering
60. According to the major premise of this theory, crime occurs when the wealthy and the poor live close to one another.
a.
Anomie theory
b.
General strain theory
c.
Institutional anomie theory
d.
Relative deprivation theory
d
Strain Theories
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.05
Bloom’s: Remembering
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
a
Strain Theories
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.05
Bloom’s: Remembering
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
c
Strain Theories
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.05
Bloom’s: Remembering
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
a
Cultural Deviance Theory
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.06
Bloom’s: Remembering
64. Walter Miller identified the unique conduct norms that define the lower-class culture and that often clash with
conventional values. Which of the following is not one of those norms?
a.
Fate
b.
Toughness
c.
Autonomy
d.
Education
d
Cultural Deviance Theory
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.06
Bloom’s: Remembering
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
b
Cultural Deviance Theory
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.06
Bloom’s: Remembering
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
d
Cultural Deviance Theory
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.06
Bloom’s: Remembering
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
b
Cultural Deviance Theory
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.06
68. Trouble, toughness, smartness, and excitement are all examples of values that have evolved specifically to fit
conditions of the lower class known as ______.
a.
cultural trepidations
b.
focal concerns
c.
cultural transmissions
d.
social contracts
b
Cultural Deviance Theory
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.06
Bloom’s: Remembering
69. Keith, Paul, and Mike are three teenage boys from outside of Pittsburgh, PA who have struggled to fit in with the
other kids in athletics, as well as academically. They come from traditional blue collar families and, based on
socioeconomic status, would be considered low class.
Mike, Paul, and Keith decide to steal a bunch of oranges from a market and instead of eating them, throw them down the
drain and waste them so that the store owner can feel their pain. This is a very malicious act, and clearly is non-utilitarian.
The theory which is best supported here would be ______.
a.
delinquent subculture
b.
social bond
c.
cultural transmission
d.
social disorganization
a
Cultural Deviance Theory
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.06
Bloom’s: Applying
70. Keith, Mike, and Paul feel that they are good at many things but the standards at which they are judged successful or
unsuccessful are unfair. The especially feel this way in school from their teachers and coaches. They are most likely being
majored using ______.
a.
lower-class measuring rod
b.
middle-class measuring rod
c.
upper-class measuring rod
d.
social class measuring rod
a
Cultural Deviance Theory
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.06
Bloom’s: Applying
71. Keith, Mike, and Paul continuously find themselves making poor decisions that lead to law breaking behaviors and
suspensions from school. Since they are lower class, Cloward and Ohlin would argue that the boys have limited means to
achieving their goals. This in turn leads to their poor decision making. The theory which best describes this situation is
______.
a.
differential opportunity
b.
reaction formation
c.
differential formation
d.
anomie
a
Cultural Deviance Theory
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.06
Bloom’s: Applying
Completion
72. People grouped according to economic or social class who are characterized by the unequal distribution of wealth,
power, and prestige are referred to as a __________________.
stratified society
Economic Structure
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.01
Bloom’s: Remembering
73. According to ______________, the root cause of crime can be traced directly to the socioeconomic disadvantages that
have become embedded in American society.
social structure theory
Economic Structure
CRIM.SIEG.17.06.01
Bloom’s: Remembering
74. A set of values, beliefs, and traditions known as a/an ___________________ are unique to a particular social class or
group within a larger society.
75. _____________ theory holds that crime occurs when members of the lower class experience anger and frustration
over their inability to achieve success.
76. An area undergoing a shift in population and structure, usually from middle-class residential to lower-class mixed-use
is known as a _____.
77. Shaw and McKay’s research on __________________ theory found that crime was the highest in Zone I and Zone II,
typically the areas of transition within the city.
78. Social control exerted by cohesive communities and based on mutual trust is known as _____.
79. The _________________ school associates community deterioration and economic decline with crime rates.
80. The most important wielder of informal social control is the ______.
81. Sociologist Robert Merton applied the sociological concepts first identified by Durkheim to criminology in his theory
of ______________.
82. Under Merton’s Social Adaptations of crime, __________ occurs when individuals embrace conventional social goals
and also have the means to attain them.
83. Under Merton’s Social Adaptations of crime, ___________ occurs when individuals gain pleasure from practicing
traditional ceremonies, regardless of whether they have a real purpose or goal.
84. Messner and Rosenfeld’s concept of the _______________, is defined by the goal of accumulating material goods and
wealth through individual competition.
85. _____________________ refers to the process whereby values, beliefs, and traditions are handed down from one
generation to the next.
86. According to sociologist Walter Miller, clinging to lower-class _________________, such as toughness and fate,
promotes illegal or violent behavior.
87. Albert Cohen, in his classic 1955 book, articulated the theory of _________________, depicting the socialization of
lower-class youth in society.
88. As a result of status frustration, Cohen found that many youth join gangs and engage in behavior with three distinctive
characteristics; these include behaviors that are malicious, negativistic, and ___________________.
89. Because of differential opportunities presented to youth, disadvantaged young people are likely to join one of three
types of gangs; the gangs which develop in communities unable to provide either legitimate or illegitimate opportunities
are called ____________ gangs.
90. Because of differential opportunities presented to youth, disadvantaged young people are likely to join one of three
types of gangs; the gangs which develop because youth are double failures, both unable to gain legitimate means and
unwilling to do so through illegal means, are called _____________ gangs.
91. There are three separate yet overlapping branches within the social structure perspective—social disorganization
theory, strain theory, and cultural deviance theory. Briefly discuss the main focuses of each of these theories.
92. According to social structure theory, the key to understanding the root cause of crime can be found in the nation’s
socioeconomic makeup. Explain what is meant by this statement.
93. Social disorganization theory links crime rates to neighborhood ecological characteristics. Identify and discuss these
characteristics.
94. Social disorganization theorists, Shaw and McKay focus on transitional neighborhoods as “concentric zones” of
crime. Discuss this theory and how they applied their theory to the city of Chicago.
95. Primary elements of the social ecology school include community disorder, community fear, and siege mentality.
Explain how these elements are associated.
96. Discuss how collective efficacy and community cohesion are associated. Include in your discussion the three types of
collective efficacy and how collective efficacy is associated with levels of crime in a neighborhood.
97. According to strain theorists, what is strain, what causes strain, and how does strain lead to crime?
98. In his theory of anomie, sociologist Robert Merton applied the sociological concepts first identified by Emile
Durkheim to criminology. Discuss the foundations of Merton’s anomie theory and the social adaptations found within this
strain theory.
99. Robert Agnew suggests that criminality is the direct result of negative affective states. Identify Agnew’s negative
affective states and explain how they lead to criminality.
100. Walter Miller identified the unique conduct norms (focal concerns) that help define lower-class culture. Identify and
use Miller’s focal concerns to explain how cultural deviance theory combines the effects of social disorganization and
strain theories.