CHAPTER 7
Social Structure Theories
Chapter 7 Multiple Choice
Choose the best answer for each of the following.
1. Which of the following is not one of the major principles of sociological theories of crime
causation?
a. Social groups, institutions, and rules, as well as the arrangements of society, all provide
the proper focus for criminological study
b. The structure of society and its relative degree of organization or disorganization are
important factors contributing to the prevalence of criminal behavior
c. Group dynamics, group organization, and subgroup relationships form the causal nexus
out of which crime develops
d. It is possible to predict the specific behavior of an individual member of a given group
2. Social __________ refers to institutional arrangements within society’s institutions
a. structure
b. life
c. process
d. pathology
3. Social structure theories see __________ as a fundamental cause of crime.
a. social disenfranchisement
b. a lack of self-control
c. the strength of the social bond
d. the nature of existing power relationships between social groups
4. The concentric zone research conducted by Park and Burgess identified Zone __________ as
being in transition.
a. I
b. II
c. III
d. IV
5. According to the research on crime patterns in concentric zones, as the composition of the
population in the zone of transition changes (e.g., because of various waves of immigration), the
crime rate will
a. increase.
b. decrease.
c. stay about the same.
d. We do not know what will happen
6. Which of the following was not a result of the broken windows thesis?
a. An increase in order maintenance policing
b. A crackdown on quality-of-life offenses
c. A focus on serious crime
d. A focus on targeting crimes such as jaywalking, public urination, graffiti, and public
drinking
7. Merton’s strain theory stresses
a. the idea that although criminal behavior is not inherited, tendencies toward criminal
behavior are inherited.
b. the importance of a person’s early family environment in determining attitudes towards
crime. c. the sexual maladjustments of people as a main source of crime.
d. the idea that American society emphasizes common success goals without providing
equal access to the means of obtaining them.
8. According to Merton, an innovator
a. accepts both the legitimate goals and the socially approved means of acquiring those
goals. b. accepts the legitimate goals but rejects the socially approved means of acquiring those
goals. c. rejects legitimate goals and but accepts socially approved means.
d. rejects both the legitimate goals and the socially approved means of acquiring those
goals.
9. Which of the following is characteristic of an individual experiencing personal deprivation?
a. Feelings of social isolation
b. Participation in social movements
c. Attempts to change the social system
d. None of the above
10. According to general strain theory, which of the following is not a strain likely to cause
crime? a. A strain that is associated with high levels of self-control
b. A strain that creates some pressure or incentive to engage in criminal coping
c. A strain that is perceived as high in magnitude
d. A strain that is seen as unjust
11. Walter Miller identified six key values or __________ which are considered important by
members of a delinquent subculture
a. cultural norms
b. culture conduct
c. focal concerns
d. conduct norms
12. A shoplifter who claims she is not really a criminal because “no one really got hurt” and “the
shop can afford it” is employing the __________ technique of neutralization.
a. denying injury
b. denying responsibility
c. denying the victim
d. condemning the condemners
13. The development of favorable attitudes towards the use of violence involves
a. biological factors.
b. learned behavior.
c. psychological traits.
d. frustration or strain.
14. It appears that certain forms of violence are more acceptable in the __________ portion of
the United States.
a. Northeastern
b. Western
c. Southern
d. Midwestern
15. According to James Clark, the black subculture of violence was created by generations of
__________ violence.
a. black-on-black
b. black-on-white
c. white-on-white
d. white-on-black
16. According to differential opportunity theory, drug use predominates in the __________
delinquent subculture
a. criminal
b. conflict
c. retreatist
d. deviant
17. A juvenile who desires wealth but not entry into the middle class is the most crime-prone and
is an example of Cloward and Ohlin’s Type _______ youth.
a. I
b. II
c. III
d. IV
18. ________ is the process in which a person openly rejects that which he or she wants or
aspires to but cannot obtain or achieve.
a. Reaction formation
b. Relative deprivation
c. Anomie
d. Technique of neutralization
19. The average age for joining a gang today is approximately ______ years of age.
a. 11
b. 13
c. 15
d. 17
20. Which of the following statements about gangs is not true?
a. The majority of gang members report that their gangs sell crack cocaine
b. Over half of all gang members have tried to quit
c. Most gangs have members from a variety of ethnic groups
d. Most gangs allow female members to assume leadership roles
21. Which of the following was not one of the objectives of the Chicago Area Project?
a. Involve project members in the lives of troubled youth
b. Provide recreational activities for youth
c. Improve the physical appearance of poor neighborhoods
d. Increase job and educational opportunities for delinquents
22. _______ was directly based on the work of Cloward and Ohlin’s differential opportunity
theory. a. Mobilization for Youth
b. The Chicago Area Project
c. The Welfare Reform Reconciliation Act
d. Welfare-to-Work
23. Which of the following was not part of Mobilization for Youth?
a. Boycotts against schools
b. Rent strikes against slum landlords
c. Voter registration
d. Welfare-to-work programs
24. Which of the following is a critique of ecological theories?
a. They use the incidence of delinquency as both an example of and something caused by
social disorganization
b. They lack explanatory power
c. They are racist
d. They are less applicable to American society today than they were in the 1930s
25. Some researchers suggest that __________ theories fail to distinguish between the condition
of social disorganization and the crimes that this condition is said to cause.
a. strain
b. culture conflict
c. ecological
d. subcultural
26. One criticism of strain theory is that
a. it overfocuses on the idea that spatial location determines crime and delinquency.
b. it is racist
c. it lacks explanatory power.
d. participation in delinquency appears to shield delinquents from sources of despair.
27. Which type of theory has been criticized for being racist?
a. Social disorganization theory
b. Strain theory
c. The subcultural approach
d. The ecological approach
Chapter 7 True-False
Choose whether each statement is true or false.
1. Sociological theories attempt to predict the specific behavior of a given individual.
a. True
b. False
2. Social structural theories see economic disenfranchisement as a fundamental cause of crime.
a. True
b. False
3. Park and Burgess found that as their economic positions improved, inner-city residents tended
to move to outer zones.
a. True
b. False
4. Broken windows theory encourages police to focus on combatting serious crime.
a. True
b. False
5. According to Merton, poverty and the resulting limitation of opportunity are sufficient to
induce a conspicuously high rate of crime.
a. True
b. False
6. A wealthy and socially privileged individual may still experience relative deprivation.
a. True
b. False
7. Research suggests that feelings of general strain are negatively related to later delinquency.
a. True
b. False
8. Countercultures generally conform to the parameters of the surrounding culture.
a. True
b. False
9. The statement “I can take care of myself” best represents the focal concern of autonomy.
a. True
b. False
10. Matza described drift as hard determinism.
a. True
b. False
11. Participants in a violent subculture use techniques of neutralization to deal with feelings of
guilt about their aggression.
a. True
b. False
12. James Clarke suggests that the high rate of black underclass homicide in the U.S. may result
from a black subculture of violence.
a. True
b. False
13. Nonutilitarian delinquency, which involves destroying things of value, is the result of turning
lower-class subculture values upside down.
a. True
b. False
14. Gang crime during the 1920s involved primarily vandalism and petty theft.
a. True
b. False
15. There are a large number of female-dominated gangs today.
a. True
b. False
16. Co-offending reduces the likelihood that offenders will commit violent crimes.
a. True
b. False
17. The Chicago Area Project focused on reducing delinquency in transitional neighborhoods.
a. True
b. False
18. The Rand Corporation’s review of the Chicago Area Project found it was effective in
reducing rates of juvenile delinquency.
a. True
b. False
19. Subcultural theories have been criticized for being racist.
a. True
b. False
20. Social structure theories are able to predict which individuals will turn to crime.
a. True
b. False
Chapter 7 Fill in the Blank
Fill in the correct answer for each of the following.
1. Sociological theories use a(n) __________ perspective, stressing types of behavior likely to be
exhibited by group members.
2. Social _______ theories explain crime by reference to the economic and social arrangements
of society.
3. According to the concept of __________, traditions of delinquency are transmitted through
successive generations in the same zone.
4. __________ is a surrogate term for the range of mechanisms that combine to bring an
environment under the control of its residents.
5. Messner and Rosenfeld’s relative deprivation theory blames the __________ for most criminal
activity.
6. __________ theory suggests that the root cause of criminality can be found in a clash of
values between variously socialized groups over what is acceptable or proper behavior.
7. A subculture is communicated to participants through a process of __________.
8. A young male teen with an absent father may be likely to emphasize Miller’s focal concern of
__________.
9. Claiming that “I only beat up drunks” is an example of the neutralization technique of
__________.
10. According to Cloward and Ohlin, __________ describes preexisting subcultural paths to
success that are not approved of by the wider culture.
11. Individuals who openly reject what they want but cannot obtain are engaging in __________.
12. According to Elijah Anderson, contemporary street code emphasizes the issue of
__________.
13. The Chicago Area Project focused on reducing social ______________ in slum
neighborhoods.
14. One criticism of __________ theories is that the overemphasize the notion that spatial
location determines crime and delinquency.
15. One criticism of __________ theories is that they are tautological.
Chapter 7 Matching
1. Match the following explanations for crime to the proper category of sociological theories
1. Poverty
a. Social structure theories
2. distribution of wealth within society
b. Social process and social development
theories
3. Ownership of the means of production
c. Social conflict theories
4. Lack of self-control
5. Social disorganization
6. Social class
7. Social bonds
8. Inappropriate socialization
9. differential opportunities
10. Deviant subcultures
11. Social learning
2. Match the following social structure theories to their major concepts
1. Ecological theories
a. Social disorganization
2. Broken windows
b. Strain theory
3. Anomie
c. Culture conflict
4. Cultural transmission
5. Subculture
6. Techniques of neutralization
7. Concentric zones
8. Reaction formation
9. Relative deprivation
10. Defensible space
3. Match the Zone to its description
1. I
a. Zone in transition from residential to
business uses
2. II
b. Commuter zone, suburbs
3. III
c. The Loop
4. IV
d. Single-family homes
5.V
e. Working-class tenements
Chapter 7 Essay
Answer the following questions.
1. Explain the three major sociological approaches to crime causation and the major principles or
assumptions of sociological theories.
2. What are some of the ways social structure theories help explain crime? What informal and
formal arrangements do these theories look at?
3. Discuss some of the policy implications of social structure theories.
Chapter 7 Critical Thinking
Answer the following questions.
1. What are the three sociological explanations for crime? How might we see this present in
society today? Please provide examples.
2. Consider the city in which your university is located. Which areas in the city tend to have
higher levels of crime and which have lower levels? How can these variations be explained by
the theories discussed in this chapter?