CHAPTER 8
Theories of Social Process and Social Development
Chapter 8 Multiple Choice
Choose the best answer for each of the following.
1. According to social process theories, criminal behavior is
a. an innate human characteristic.
b. a psychological factor.
c. a matter of individual choice.
d. learned in interaction with others.
2. Social __________ theories assume everyone has the potential to violate the law.
a. structure
b. process
c. development
d. conflict
3. Which of the following is not a social process theory?
a. Dramaturgical perspective
b. Labeling theory
c. Strain theory
d. Social learning theory
4. __________ theory focuses on the strength of the bond people share with individuals and
institutions around them.
a. Social learning
b. Labeling
c. Social control
d. Social structure
5. According to differential association theory, criminal behavior is
a. inherited.
b. learned.
c. a function of culture conflict.
d. psychologically motivated.
6. Given the basic principles of differential association theory, which of the following situations
is most likely to produce delinquency?
a. A juvenile watches a violent movie
b. A juvenile reads about a violent murder on the web
c. A juvenile’s parents, with whom he is close, are drug abusers
d. A juvenile’s parents, with whom he is not close, are drug abusers
7. The idea that the behaviors of others are observed and modeled is the basis of which of Akers’
primary learning mechanisms?
a. Imitation
b. Differential reinforcement
c. Instrumental conditioning
d. Differential identification
8. Rather than focusing on factors which cause criminal behavior, __________ theories examine
factors that keep people from committing crimes.
a. subcultural
b. social control
c. strain
d. differential opportunity
9. Walter Reckless considers __________ containment to be far more effective in preventing
crime. a. inner
b. external
c. personal
d. outer
10. Social bond theory postulates that
a. crime occurs when there is a disparity between societal goals and the legitimate means
available to reach those goals.
b. criminal behavior is learned in the same way any other type of behavior is learned.
c. crime occurs when a person’s links to society are weakened or broken.
d. crime occurs because the criminal justice system stigmatizes individuals, forcing them
into a deviant lifestyle.
11. A college student who is expecting to graduate at the end of the semester considers
shoplifting some textbooks from the bookstore, to save the cost of buying them. She decides
against it because the possibility of being expelled from the university a few months before
graduation outweighs the possible gains of saving some extra money. This is an example of the
_______ component of the social bond.
a. involvement
b. commitment
c. belief
d. attachment
12. According to Gottfredson and Hirschi’s general theory of crime, the key concept in
explaining all forms of criminal behavior is
a. social bonds.
b. intelligence.
c. self-control.
d. sensitivity.
13. Someone with a control ______ is controlled by others and is more likely to commit violent
crimes.
a. extreme
b. ratio
c. surplus
d. deficit
14. According to labeling theory, the major element in determining the criminality of an
individual is
a. the reactions of society.
b. a specific quality inherent in the individual.
c. a specific quality inherent in the behavior
d. None of the above
15. The _________ deviant category in Becker’s typology demonstrates the power of social
definition by the lack of consequences attached to the offense.
a. pure
b. secret
c. falsely accused
d. innocent
16. Listing the names of drunk drivers on a billboard facing a freeway is an example of
________ shaming.
a. reintegrative
b. diversionary
c. restorative
d. stigmatic
17. Which of the following is not an example of a total institution?
a. A convent
b. A university
c. A prison
d. A mental hospital
18. Social process theories suggest crime prevention programs should
a. provide conventional methods for success.
b. respond to serious, violent, and chronic offending.
c. work to build prosocial bonds.
d. establish a juvenile justice continuum of care.
19. Which of the following is a criticism of differential association theory?
a. It has little to say about secret deviants
b. It does little to explain the origin of crime and deviance
c. It does not offer suggestions for institutional change
d. It accounts only for the communication of criminal values, not their emergence
20. Social development theories tend to combine various points of view, so they are frequently
______ theories.
a. general
b. integrated
c. unicausal
d. multimodal
21. Which of the following is not a question that a life course researcher would ask?
a. How do individuals make rational choices to commit crimes?
b. How do life transitions influence behavior?
c. How do early childhood characteristics lead to adult behavioral processes and
outcomes?
d. How do offending and victimization interact over the life cycle?
22. Elder’s principle of __________ refers to the fact that the developmental impact of a
succession of life transitions is contingent on when in a person’s life they occur.
a. human agency
b. historical time and place
c. linked lives
d. timing in lives
23. Which of the following factors would probably not enhance your social capital?
a. Graduating from college
b. Getting married
c. Losing a job
d. Having a “clean” record
24. Which of the following is typical of a life course persistent offender?
a. Inconsistencies in antisocial behavior from one place to another
b. A successful transition to achieving legitimate autonomy
c. Consistent involvement in antisocial behavior across a wide spectrum of social
situations
d. School behavior within socially acceptable bounds
25. An offender goes through a court-ordered rehabilitation program and does not recidivate.
This is an example of
a. persistence.
b. resilience.
c. aggravation.
d. desistance.
26. Marvin Wolfgang’s analysis of a birth cohort found that _______ percent of cohort members
accounted for over 50 percent of all arrests.
a. 6
b. 10
c. 18
d. 32
27. According to the Causes and Correlates of Delinquency Program research, very young
subjects (as young as three years of age) are most likely to be found on the _________ pathway
to delinquency.
a. authority conflict
b. multiple disruption
c. covert
d. overt
28. Which of the following is not a major focus of social development theory-based policy?
a. Identifying and controlling a small segment of chronic violent juvenile offenders
b. Immediate intervention in early delinquent behavior
c. Establishing a broad spectrum of sanctions that ensure accountability and a continuum
of services
d. Providing early childhood training and education to ensure the development of
individual self-control
29. Social development theories have been criticized for _______ issues.
a. structural
b. definitional
c. academic
d. theoretical
Chapter 8 True-False
Choose whether each statement is true or false.
1. Social process theories assume that everyone has the potential to violate the law.
a. True
b. False
2. According to differential association theory, the process of learning criminal behavior is
substantively different from learning other forms of behavior.
a. True
b. False
3. According to Burgess and Akers, criminal behavior is learned according to the principles of
operant conditioning.
a. True
b. False
4. Differential identification theory states that a role model must be an actual person.
a. True
b. False
5. External containments are the most effective in preventing law violations.
a. True
b. False
6. Delinquent behavior may enhance self-esteem.
a. True
b. False
7. According to Hirschi, a psychopath has an overdeveloped attachment to society.
a. True
b. False
8. Wikström’s theory emphasizes the situation as the core unit of analysis.
a. True
b. False
9. According to labeling theory, no act is intrinsically deviant.
a. True
b. False
10. According to labeling theory, a negative self-image precede delinquency.
a. True
b. False
11. The concept of reintegrative shaming emphasizes stigmatization and amplification of
deviance.
a. True
b. False
12. Social process theories suggest crime prevention programs should emphasize prosocial
bonds. a. True
b. False
13. Labeling theory specifically attempts to explain the origin of crime and deviance.
a. True
b. False
14. According to the social development perspective, development begins well after birth.
a. True
b. False
15. Positive turning points can reform chronic offenders.
a. True
b. False
16. Adolescence-limited offenders tend to fail in school and become involved in delinquency at
an early age.
a. True
b. False
17. According to the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development, the life course patterns
found in the United States are distinctly different from those of English delinquents
a. True
b. False
18. Children who do not develop adequate verbal coping skills are more likely to commit
aggressive acts.
a. True
b. False
19. Early intervention in delinquent behavior is suggested by social development theories.
a. True
b. False
20. Social development theories have been criticized for definitional issues.
a. True
b. False
Chapter 8 Fill in the Blank
Fill in the correct answer for each of the following.
1. Social process theories are also known as __________ perspectives.
2. Burgess and Akers added the concept of __________ to Sutherland’s original idea of
differential association.
3. The meaningful roles and activities provided for individuals by society are important
__________ containments.
4. According to Edwin Lemert, if an offender is arrested for an act of primary deviance and
tagged with the status of a criminal, __________ may occur as a means of adjustment to the
negative status.
5. __________ refers to the efforts made by an interest group to have its ethnical views enacted
into law.
6. __________ shaming condemns the crime but not the criminal.
7. According to Erving Goffman, __________ individuals differ from normals in the way that
society responds to them.
8. Social process theories suggest that crime prevention programs should work to build
__________ bonds.
9. __________ theory has been criticized for a lack of firm empirical support.
10. Unlike social learning theory, social development does not see __________ as the primary
feature of the social context in which development occurs.
11. __________ are marked by specific life events that evolve over shorter time spans.
12.___________ offenders are led to offending mainly by structural disadvantages and tend to
mature out of crime.
13. Bullying as a first step to delinquency occurs on the _________ pathway.
14. The ____________ program, operated by Boys and Girls Clubs of America, focuses on
providing positive alternatives to gangs for vulnerable youth.
15. Social development theories have been criticized for ________ issues.
Chapter 8 Matching
1. Match the following social learning theories to their basic premise
1. Differential association theory
a. People pursue criminal behavior to the
extent that they identify themselves with real
or imaginary persons from whose perspective
their criminal behavior seems acceptable
2. Differential association-reinforcement
theory
b. Criminal behavior is learned
3. Differential identification theory
c. Crime is a function of social learning that
occurs within a social structure
4. Social structure-social learning model
d. Criminal behavior is learned through a
process of rewards and punishments
2. Match the following social control theories to their basic premise
1. Containment theory
a. Crime results when the link between an
individual and society is broken
2. Self-derogation theory
b. Low self-control accounts for crime
3. Social bond theory
c. Low self-esteem fosters delinquent
behavior
4. The general theory of crime
d. Crime is linked to an imbalance of control
5. Control balance theory
e. Crime results from the failure of internal
and external control mechanisms
3. Match the following social development theories to their basic premise
1. Age-graded theory
a. Social ties embedded in adult transitions
explain variations in crime not accounted for
by childhood deviance
2. Dual taxonomic theory
b. Age of desistance varies more than age of
onset
3. Delinquent development theory
c. Delinquency is caused by a weakening of
social bonds in the presence of a facilitating
environment
4. Evolutionary ecology
d. There are two paths to delinquency
5. Interactional theory
e. An approach that draw attention to the
ways people develop over the course of their
lives
Chapter 8 Essay
Answer the following questions.
1. How does differential association theory suggest criminality is learned?
2. How does differential identification theory explain criminal behavior? How does this theory
differ from Sutherland’s differential association theory?
3. How do social control theories differ from other theories of crime?
4. What contributions has labeling theory made to criminology?
5. What do social development perspectives provide to our understanding of criminality?
6. What is a criminal career? What are the main dimensions of a criminal career?
7. What are developmental pathways? Explain the three separate pathways identified by the
Causes and Correlated Study.
Chapter 8 Critical Thinking
Answer the following questions.
1. What does labeling theory tell us about the individual in relation to the justice system? Explain
with examples.
2. Discuss how social process theories and social development perspectives contribute to the
understanding of crime causation as a whole today. Provide explanations with possible policy
approaches.