Deck 9: Developmental Theories

Question 1

_________________ are a small group of offenders who begin their career at an early age and then continue to offend well into adulthood.They are more likely to manifest abnormal personal traits and display elements of problem behavior syndrome.

Answer 1

Life - course persisters

Question 2

__________________ views criminality as a dynamic process,influenced by a multitude of individual characteristics,traits,and social experiences.

A)the social development model
B)life course theory
C)interactional theory
D)human nature theory

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Most young offenders follow one of two paths."Typical teenagers" who get into minor scrapes and who engage in what might be considered rebellious teenage behavior with their friends are considered to be _______________________ offenders.

Answer 3

adolescent-limited

Question 4

The ______________ pathway to crime begins at an early age with stubborn behavior.

Question 5

Gottfredson and Hirschi trace the root cause of poor self-control to inadequate______________________________.

Question 6

The foundation of developmental theory can be traced to ____,who researched the life cycle of delinquent careers in the 1930s.

A)Marvin Wolfgang
B)Sheldon and Eleanor Glueck
C)Rolf Loeber
D)Sampson and Laub

Question 7

In contrast to negative life experiences as posited in age-graded theory,positive life experiences such as gaining employment and getting married limit criminal behavior opportunities.These positive experiences are termed ________________ in crime.

Question 8

Some theorists believe that criminality may be a part of a group of antisocial behaviors that cluster together and typically involve family dysfunction,sexual and physical abuse,substance abuse,educational underachievement,sensation seeking,and unemployment.This is known as:

A)problem behavior syndrome
B)general theory of crime
C)social development model
D)human nature theory

Question 9

The branch of criminology that examines change in a criminal career over the life course is known as:

A)social development model
B)developmental criminology
C)general theory of crime
D)social control theory

Question 10

According to Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory of crime,the propensity to commit crime is tied directly to a person's level of _______________.

Question 11

The ______ pathway escalates to aggressive acts beginning with aggression,such as annoying others,leading to physical fighting,and then to violence.

Question 12

According to ______________________,crime is among a group of social problems faced by at-risk youth.

Question 13

__________________ views criminality as a dynamic process,influenced by a multitude of individual characteristics,traits,and social experiences.\

Question 14

According to the principles of age-graded theory,repeated negative life experiences create a condition called _______________________.

Question 15

________________________,in his Philadelphia cohort research,identified a small group of chronic offenders who engaged in frequent and repeated criminal activity across their life spans.

Question 16

Critics of the general theory of crime claim that it is_________________ or involves circular reasoning.

Question 17

The foundation of ______________________ can be traced to the pioneering work of Sheldon Glueck and Eleanor Glueck,who,in the 1930s,popularized research on the life cycle of delinquent careers.

Question 18

A ___________________ is a stable feature,characteristic,property,or condition present at birth or soon after that makes some people crime-prone over the life course.

Question 19

According to problem behavior syndrome,crime is a type of ________ problem rather than the product of other social problems.

A)personality
B)psychological
C)emotional
D)social

Question 20

Building ______________ - positive relations with individuals and institutions that are life sustaining - support conventional behavior and inhibit deviant behavior.

Question 21

The pathway of crime that begins with bullying and annoying others and then escalates to physical fighting and violence is known as:

A)the power pathway
B)the authority conflict pathway
C)the overt pathway
D)the covert pathway

Question 22

Which of the following is not more typical of early-onset girls than early-onset boys?

A)suicide
B)depression
C)substance abuse
D)relationship problems

Question 23

The life events most likely to enable adult offenders to desist from crime are:

A)religion and marriage
B)marriage and career
C)education and religion
D)marriage and education

Question 24

What is known about the age of onset and the continuity of crime?

A)Early-onset criminals are more involved in aggressive acts ranging from cruelty to animals to peer-directed violence.
B)Late-onset criminals are more likely to be involved in nonviolent crimes such as theft.
C)Children who become the most serious delinquents begin their deviant careers at a very early (preschool)age.
D)Late-onset criminals are more likely to be involved in physically aggressive acts.

Question 25

Life events that alter the development of a criminal career are known as:

A)developmental shifts
B)transition events
C)key spots
D)turning points

Question 26

A small group of offenders who begin their career at an early age and then continue to offend well into adulthood are known as:

A)adolescent-limiteds
B)life-course persisters
C)adolescent-diminishers
D)social-persisters

Question 27

The __________________ stay out of trouble in adolescence,until late in their teenage years,and then become violent chronic persisters.

A)adolescent-limited
B)life course persistent
C)late bloomer
D)adolescent bloomers

Question 28

Life course theories are considered _________________ because they incorporate social,personal,and developmental factors into complex explanations of human behavior.

A)social psychological theories
B)integrated theories
C)interdisciplinary theories d sociobiological theories

Question 29

Which theorists developed age-graded theory,life course theory that encompasses transitions and turning points.

A)Gottfredson and Hirschi
B)Glueck and Glueck
C)Sampson and Laub
D)Wilson and Hernstein

Question 30

Most life course theories assume that the seeds of a criminal career are planted early in life and that early onset of deviance strongly predicts ________.

A)the cycle of violence
B)later poor parenting ability
C)one's age of desistance
D)later and more serious criminality

Question 31

The pathway of crime that begins at an early age with stubborn behavior leading to deviance and then to authority avoidance is known as:

A)the power pathway
B)the authority conflict pathway
C)the overt pathway
D)the covert pathway

Question 32

Which of the following is not supported by research on age-graded theory?

A)As levels of cumulative disadvantage increase,crime-resisting elements of social life are impaired.
B)Criminal career trajectories are set from an early age and cannot be reversed.
C)Gaining social capital later in life helps erase some of the damage caused by its absence in youth.
D)People change over the life course and factors that predict delinquency may have less of an impact on adult crime.

Question 33

In follow-up research,Laub and Sampson found a number of different interventions to reduce criminal activity.Which of the following is not one of them?

A)getting a job
B)remaining in one's environment
C)joining the military
D)marriage

Question 34

The pathway to crime that begins with minor,underhanded behavior that leads to property damage is known as:

A)the power pathway
B)the authority conflict pathway
C)the overt pathway
D)the covert pathway

Question 35

A condition caused by repeat negative experiences,which may undermine life changes and increase the risk of offending is known as:

A)turning point
B)cumulative disadvantage
C)persistence
D)social capital

Question 36

Most offenders' antisocial behavior peaks during adolescence and then diminishes as they mature to around the age of 18.These offenders are known as:

A)adolescent-limited
B)life-course persisters
C)adolescent-diminishers
D)social-persisters

Question 37

Positive relations with individuals and institutions that are life sustaining are known as:

A)social connections
B)prosocial bonds
C)social capital
D)turning points

Question 38

According to Sampson and Laub,what is false regarding the marriage factor and crime?

A)People who maintain successful marriages are more likely to mature out of crime.
B)Marriage destabilizes people.
C)The marriage benefit may be intergenerational.
D)Marriage reduces exposure to deviant peers,which in turn reduces the opportunity to become involved in crime.

Question 39

Research indicates that _____ offend more frequently and engage in a greater variety of antisocial acts than other offenders;they also manifest significantly more mental health problems.

A)adolescent-limiteds
B)life-course persisters
C)adolescent-diminshers
D)social-persisters

Question 40

What does research show to be a key factor in terms of early onset of criminality?

A)close peer relationships
B)racism
C)poor parental discipline
D)educational attainment

Question 41

Gottfredson and Hirschi argue that self-control theory best explains what crime?

A)violent crime
B)property crime
C)all crime
D)juvenile crime

Question 42

The view that both biological and psychological traits influence the crime-non-crime choice is known as:

A)human nature theory
B)age-graded theory
C)interactional theory
D)control-balance theory

Question 43

Developmental theories attempt to provide a more global vision of a criminal career,encompassing its onset,persistence,and desistence.

Question 44

According to control-balance theory,this occurs when the amount of control one is subject to by others is in balance with the amount of control one can exercise over others.

A)conformity
B)crime
C)exploitation
D)defiance

Question 45

Wilson and Herrnstein's model assumes that both __________________________traits influence the crime-noncrime choice.

A)biological and psychological
B)biological and sociological
C)sociological and psychological
D)neurological and psychological

Question 46

_________________________________ suggested that personal traits-such as genetic makeup,intelligence,and body build-may outweigh the importance of social variables as predictors of criminal activity.

A)Gottfredson and Hirschi
B)Glueck and Glueck
C)Sampson and Laub
D)Wilson and Hernstein

Question 47

Research indicates that poor parental discipline and monitoring seem to be keys to the early onset of criminality and that these influences may follow kids into their adulthood.

Question 48

According to the general theory of crime,people who lack self-control tend not to be:

A)self-centered
B)studious
C)adventuresome
D)risk-takers

Question 49

Programs and policies based on developmental theory typically feature __________ treatment efforts.

A)economic-related
B)singular-focused
C)faith-based
D)multi-systemic

Question 50

Gottfredson and Hirschi trace the root cause of poor self-control to inadequate:

A)nutrition and health care
B)intelligence
C)child rearing practices
D)education

Question 51

Life course theories are integrated theories and assume that the seeds of a criminal career are planted early in life and that early onset of deviance strongly predicts later and more serious criminality.

Question 52

Adolescent-limited offenders may be considered "typical teens" who get into minor scrapes and engage in what might be considered rebellious teenage behavior with friends.

Question 53

Gottfredson and Hirschi identify people who lack self-control as tending to be:

A)sensitive
B)aggressive
C)irrationnel
D)impulsive

Question 54

By integrating the concepts of ________________________,Gottfredson and Hirschi help explain why some people who lack self-control can escape criminality,and,conversely,why some people who have self-control might not escape.

A)socialization and criminality
B)psychology and criminality
C)delinquency and impulsivity
D)trajectories and transitions

Question 55

According to latent trait theories,why are people who are antisocial during adolescence the most likely to persist in crime?

A)because latent traits are stable
B)because adolescents tend to associate with deviant peers
C)because educational achievement is more difficult during an adolescent's middle and high-school years
D)because cognitive ability is fully formed by adolescence

Question 56

Which of the following is not a criticism of the general theory of crime?

A)The theory is tautological or involves circular reasoning.
B)It fails to address individual and ecological patterns in the crime rate.
C)It predicts there are no gender differences between self control and crime.
D)It assumes an individual's criminal propensity does not change.

Question 57

What theory,developed by Gottfredson and Hirschi considers the criminal offender and the criminal act as separate concepts?

A)human nature theory
B)age-graded theory
C)interactional theory
D)general theory of crime

Question 58

A stable feature,characteristic,property,or condition present at birth or established early in life that makes some people crime-prone over the life course is known as a(n):

A)life-factor
B)hidden characteristic
C)underlying feature
D)latent trait

Question 59

The Gluecks' research was highly praised for nearly 30 years as the study of crime and delinquency shifted almost exclusively to social factors.

Question 60

High levels of coercion produce criminality.Coercion that involves pressures beyond an individual's control,such as economic and social pressure caused by unemployment or poverty,is termed:

A)covert coercion
B)latent coercion
C)interpersonal coercion
D)impersonal coercion

Question 61

Discuss the policy-based initiatives that have been developed using the premises of developmental theory.What elements or aspects of development theory do these initiatives address?

Question 62

Gottfredson and Hirschi suggest that low self-control is a function of an impulsive personality.

Question 63

Research indicates that criminal career trajectories can be reversed if life conditions improve and kids gain social capital.

Question 64

Latent trait theories hold that some underlying condition present at birth or soon after controls behavior.

Question 65

Human nature theory indicates that all human behavior,including criminality,is determined by its perceived consequences.Psychological and biological traits influence one's crime and noncrime choices.

Question 66

The covert pathway involves aggressive acts that escalate from annoying others and bullying,to physical fighting,and later to violence.

Question 67

Policy-based initiatives based on premises of developmental theory typically feature multi-systemic treatment efforts.

Question 68

Briefly compare and contrast life course and latent trait theories.

Question 69

Marriage and employment serve as informal social control mechanisms that limit criminal behavior opportunities.

Question 70

Provide a brief discussion of Wilson and Herrnstein's view on crime and human nature.What did they say contributed to criminal activity?

Question 71

Explain the at least five differences between "adolescent-limited" and "life-course persistent" offenders.What are the differences between the offense patterns for two pathway groups?

Question 72

Discuss the factors that comprise problem behavior syndrome (PBS)and the association between PBS and crime.

Question 73

A number of criticisms of the general theory of crime remain unanswered.Identify and discuss at least five implications of these unanswered criticisms.

Question 74

Life experiences resulting from encounters with formal social control mechanisms,such as police and other authority figures,limit criminal behavior opportunities.Sampson and Laub's age-graded theory refers to such experiences as "turning points in crime."

Question 75

One of the strengths of the general theory of crime is that is it tautological in nature.

Question 76

What are "turning points in crime" and how do they contribute to the desistance of criminal behavior or aging-out?

Question 77

According to Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory of crime,explain how impulsivity,poor-self control,and crime are associated.

Question 78

Aging-out is explained by latent trait theory in that one's propensity to commit crime remains stable over the life course,the opportunity to commit crime fluctuates over time,and people only appear to age-out as they mature.

Question 79

What are the three pathways to crime identified by Loeber? Explain each of these pathways.

Question 80

Discuss latent trait theory.What are latent traits discuss at least 3 ways the theory results in criminal behavior?