True / False
1. 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
2. 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
3. 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
4. Minority and white group members are equally likely to be poor.
a. True
b. False
5. 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
a. True
b. False
6. 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
7. People who live in neighborhoods that experience high levels of crime and civil disorder become suspicious and
mistrusting.
a. True
b. False
8. Collective efficacy refers to the social control exerted by cohesive communities that is based on mutual trust.
a. True
b. False
9. According to the author, the most important wielder of informal social control is religion.
a. True
b. False
10. Strain is limited in affluent areas because educational and vocational opportunities are available.
11. Merton’s view of anomie has been one of the most enduring and influential theories of criminality.
a. True
b. False
12. General strain theory is not purely a structural theory because it focuses on how life events influence behavior.
a. True
b. False
13. 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
14. Cultural deviance theory combines elements of relative deprivation and differential opportunity theories.
a. True
b. False
15. Examples of Walter Miller’s lower-class focal concerns include achievement, status, and delayed gratification.
a. True
b. False
a. True
b. False
16. Affirmative action programs have erased the economic gulf between whites and minorities.
a. True
b. False
17. Crime rates may rise in a healthy economy because prosperity makes monetary rewards more attractive,
encouraging people to gain financial success by any means necessary.
a. True
b. False
18. Relative deprivation is felt most acutely by white youths.
a. True
b. False
19. Of the five social adaptations according to Merton, conformity is most closely associated with criminal behavior.
a. True
b. False
20. The major premise of the relative deprivation theory is that crime occurs when the wealthy and the poor live close to
one another.
Multiple Choice
21. 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. 17,000,000
c. 46,000,000 d. 67,000,000
22. 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
23. Oscar Lewis argues that the crushing lifestyle of lower-class areas produces
generation to the next.
a. a culture of poverty b. physical deterioration
c. social deterioration d. family disorganization
that is passed on from one
24. 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
25. Cultural deviance theory combines elements of and social disorganization theories.
a. strain b. poverty
c. socialization d. transmission
26. 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 under-class.
27. 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.
28. 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.
29. 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. Steven Messner and Richard Rossenfeld
30. 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. crime rates increase as police services increase.
b. over time 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.
32. According to Shaw and McKay, a
high rates of population turnover.
a. subcultural b. transitional
c. concentric d. ecological
neighborhood is an area wracked by extreme poverty and suffering
33. 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.
34. 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
a. solidity effect b. concentration effect
c. cohort effect. d. instability effect.
35. 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.
36. 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.
37. 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.
38. Which of Merton’s social adaptations is most closely associated with criminal behavior?
a. conformity b. innovation
c. ritualism d. retreatism
39. 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
40. According to institutional anomie theorists, the
wealth.
a. American Dream b. American Hope
c. American Ideal d. American Myth
41. Judith and Peter Blau developed the concept of
is both a goal and process to accumulate goods and
, 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
42. Agnew suggests that criminality is the direct result of
associated with destructive social relationships.
a. siege mentality b. negative affective states
c. relative deprivation d. focal concerns
– the anger, frustration and adverse emotions
43. 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
44. 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
45. 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
46. 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
47. 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
48. 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.
49. Which researcher focused on cultural norms and focal concerns?
a. Miller b. Cohen
c. Cloward d. Ohlin
50. 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
51. According to the research, crime rates decrease when families receive supplemental income through
a. church fundraisers b. college scholarships
c. public assistance payments d. loans
52. What are the standards by which authority figures evaluate lower-class youngsters and often pre-judge them
negatively?
a. focal concerns b. middle-class measuring rods
c. negative affective states d. status frustrations
achieve universal success goals?
a. anomie b. differential opportunity
c. focal concern d. relative deprivation
54. The top 1 percent of households have percent of all wealth in the United States.
a. 13 b. 23
c. 43 d. 63
55. What percentage of all children in the United States live below the poverty line?
a. 11 b. 21
c. 41 d. 61
Tommy is 12 years old. He lives with his grandmother because his father is incarcerated and his mother passed
away from a drug overdose. Tommy is starting to defy his grandmother’s orders. He is skipping school and
hanging out with an older group of teenagers in his neighborhood.
56. Tommy’s grandmother is concerned that Tommy will join a gang because she is not able to provide Tommy
with the material possessions he is asking for. If this is the case, Tommy is experiencing
because cannot achieve the success as defined by the larger society.
a. cultural transmission b. focal concerns
c. middle class measuring rods d. status frustration
57. Tommy lives with his grandmother in poverty. Tommy is potentially having a difficult time in school because
he is being judged by , which are the standards by which his teachers are evaluating his performance
in school.
a. cultural transmission b. focal concerns
c. middle class measuring rods d. status frustration
58. When Tommy turned sixteen he dropped out of school. He attempted to find a job but could not be hired
because he did not have a high school diploma. According to the , Tommy’s legitimate
opportunities are limited and thus it only makes sense that he join a gang and pursue a criminal career.
a. concentric zone theory
b. differential opportunity theory
c. relative deprivation theory
d. social ecology theory
59. Tommy lives in a high crime area and is exposed to violence and drug use on a daily basis. In fact, crime is a
constant fixture in his community. According to Shaw and McKay’s concentric zone theory, which zone is
Tommy most likely living in?
a. Zone 2 b. Zone 4
c. Zone 6 d. Zone 9
60. Tommy was arrested one evening for breaking into his neighbor’s home attempting to steal their computer.
He is transported to the police department for questioning. When the detective asks Tommy why he broke
into his neighbor’s home Tommy replies, “everyone else has a computer and I wanted one, too.” According to
Merton’s modes of social adaptation, which applies to Tommy’s actions?
a. Conformity b. Innovation
c. Ritualism d. Retreatism
Andrew, Anthony, Joseph, and Scott have been friends since they were small children. They were raised in a
lower-middle class community. Each of them graduated from high school. After high school they attempted to
keep in contact with each other. After a few years they were all in different locations and eventually lost
contact with one another.
61. Anthony went up-state to attend college on a wrestling scholarship. He graduated college, married his college
sweetheart and now is a physical therapist making approximately $85,000 per year. He has never gotten in
trouble with the law and can provide comfortably for his wife and small child. According to Merton, which
social adaptation describes Anthony?
a. Conformity b. Innovation
c. Ritualism d. Rebellion
62. Joseph went into the military after high school. He was seriously injured while stationed in the Middle East.
He returned home to find out that his parents had passed away in a car accident. As a result of his injuries and
the loss of his parents, Joseph became addicted to prescribed pain killers and after that heroin. He no longer
cares about himself and has decided it is better if he just withdraws from society and continues to use drugs.
According to Merton, which social adaptation describes Joseph?
a. Conformity b. Innovation
c. Retreatism d. Ritualism
63. Andrew ended up moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting. After six months, Andrew became a bus–
boy in an exclusive restaurant in Los Angeles where he serves very wealthy and even famous patrons. He
starts to compare his life circumstances to these customers and begins forming negative self-feelings and
hostility. Andrew’s reaction is a response to:
a. unmet expectations
b. collective efficacy
c. deprived gratification
d. relative deprivation
64. Scott went to a community college and met Heather, and they now have two children. Heather is trying to
convince Scott of the need to move to her hometown and live with her parents. People in her hometown have
a better life including better education, health care, and housing opportunities, and Heather wants the the
children to have these advantages as well. This outlook is referred to as .
a. Concentration effect b. Collective efficacy
c. Focal concerns d. Relative deprivation
65. Out of the four friends, Anthony was the only one to graduate college and become successful. Anthony values
hard work, family, and charity. Scott, Andrew, and Joseph place more value in being tough and street smart.
According to Miller, these values of toughness and street smart are referred to as and specifically
fit to conditions in lower-class environments.
a. Concentration effect b. Collective efficacy
c. Focal concerns d. Relative deprivation
Completion
66. are segments of the population whose members have a relatively similar economic level.
67. The is the lowest social strata in any country, whose members lack the education and skills
needed to function successfully in modern society.
68. The theory is the view that disadvantaged economic class position is a primary cause of crime.
69. The branch of social structure theory that focuses on the breakdown in inner-city neighborhoods of institutions such
as the family is theory.
70. The anger, frustration, and resentment experienced by people who believe they cannot achieve their goals through
legitimate means is .
71. According to Merton and his social adaptations, reject both the goals and means of society.
72. The is the goal of accumulating material goods and wealth through individual
competition.
73. Feelings of include envy, mistrust, and aggression resulting from perceptions of economic
and social inequality.
74. Values, such as toughness and street smarts that have evolved specifically to fit conditions in lower-class
environments are referred to as .
75. The process by which values, beliefs, and traditions are handed down from one generation to the next is
.
76. 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.
77. 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.
78. Social disorganization theory links crime rates to neighborhood ecological characteristics. Identify and discuss these
characteristics.
79. 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.
80. Primary elements of the social ecology school include community disorder, community fear and siege mentality.
Explain how these elements are associated.
81. 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.
82. According to strain theorists, what is strain, what causes strain, and how does strain lead to crime?
83. 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.
84. 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.
85. 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.