Deck 4: Social Structure, Process, Culture, and Delinquency

Question 1

According to Cohen, the development of the delinquent subculture is a consequence of socialization practices found in the ghetto or inner-city environment.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The view of general strain theory is that multiple sources of strain interact with an individual's emotional traits and responses to produce criminality.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Disjunction between expectations and achievements occurs when youths aspire to wealth and fame but lack the financial and educational resources to achieve their goals.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Social disorganization theory links delinquency to middle-class measuring rods.

Question 5

The work of Cohen aids in explaining the factors that promote and sustain a delinquent subculture in that social forces, not individual traits, promote and sustain a delinquent career.

Question 6

Merton argues that retreatists reject both the goals and the means of society.

Question 7

Differential association theory maintains that delinquency is motivated by political or legal processes.

Question 8

Social disorganization theory holds that delinquency is tied to the personal characteristics or culture of the residents as opposed to the neighborhood characteristics.

Question 9

Research has found that crimes appear to be intergenerational, suggesting that parental deviance influences delinquent behavior.

Question 10

An inner-city playground is covered in graffiti, the playground equipment is broken, and there are known drug dealers who traverse the playground; these factors suggest that community conditions contribute to the high delinquency rate found in the area.

Question 11

According to early versions of control theory, poor self-esteem produces maladaptive social relations, which in turn opens the door for a youth to engage in delinquent behavior; in other words, poor self-esteem is the trigger.

Question 12

Social theories have guided policy making since the 1960s; for instance, learning theories have influenced the way criminal offenders are dealt with and treated.

Question 13

Street efficacy refers to the ability of communities to regulate the behavior of their residents through the influence of community institutions, such as the family and school.

Question 14

Regarding school effects on delinquency, research indicates that school climate does not negatively impact youth as much as academic failure. ​

Question 15

The theory of the working poor is the view that lower-class people form a separate culture with their own values and norms somewhat similar to conventional society.

Question 16

Criminal behavior is considered more a rebellion against conventional society than as an expression of conformity to lower-class subcultural values and traditions according to social disorganization theory.

Question 17

To offset moral constraints, youth develop a distinct set of rationalizations for engaging in delinquent acts.

Question 18

According to strain theory there are two cultural forces running through the neighborhood that shape the delinquent's actions- decent values and street values.

Question 19

Communities That Care would be an example of social ecology theory in action.

Question 20

Social process theory takes the view that where one lives is more important than how one lives.

Question 21

What, according to Durkheim, undermines society's social control function?

A)Strain
B)Frustration
C)Retreatism
D)Anomie

Question 22

What is the view that lower-class people form a separate culture with their own values and norms, which are sometimes in conflict with conventional society?

A)Working poor
B)Culture of poverty
C)Underclass
D)Stratified society

Question 23

What area or zone, according to social disorganization theory, has the heaviest concentration of delinquency rates?

A)Zone 1
B)Zone 2
C)Zone 3
D)Zone 4

Question 24

Your friend is interested in researching delinquency and gangs. Your professor suggested investigating the theory that combines the principles of strain and social disorganization theories into a portrayal of a gang-sustaining delinquent culture.  Following the professor's advice, which of the following should your friend investigate?

A)Differential opportunity
B)Strain
C)Differential association
D)Social ecology

Question 25

Residents of a community become extremely suspicious of authority, and this suspicion develops into a view in which the outside world is the enemy out to destroy the neighborhood.  What is this view called?

A)Community incivilities
B)Focal concerns
C)Siege mentality
D)Reaction formation

Question 26

In their early teens, Jack, Cole, and Hardy live in areas where both conventional and delinquent activities are limited and adult role models are in absentia.  Applying differential opportunity theory, Jack, Cole, and Hardy are likely to join one of three types of gangs to in order to achieve what they consider success. Hardy lives in a stable lower-class area that promotes an environment for successful delinquent enterprise.  Hardy was recruited into a gang that would provide him training for a successful delinquent career.  What type of gang did Hardy join?

A)Criminal gang
B)Conflict gang
C)Rebellion gang
D)Retreatist gang

Question 27

Jack and his family moved to a new town when Jack was 14 years old.  Prior to moving, Jack and his family had lived in the same town since Jack was born and Jack never engaged in any type of delinquent acts.  When school started, Jack had only been in town for a few weeks and had not made friends.  Not really knowing anyone, Jack began hanging out with a group of kids who were into having a "good time."  These kids, Jack noticed, always seemed to have money.  They drank alcohol, sold their own or their siblings' ADHD medication, and stole from the local superstore.  Jack also noticed that they never, as far as he could tell, got caught.  If they did, they never suffered any negative consequences.  After a while Jack, too, began to engage in the same activities as his new friends.  Which of the following theories best explains Jack's behavior?

A)Social process
B)Social control
C)Social learning
D)Social ecology

Question 28

In their early teens, Jack, Cole, and Hardy live in areas where both conventional and delinquent activities are limited and adult role models are in absentia.  Applying differential opportunity theory, Jack, Cole, and Hardy are likely to join one of three types of gangs to in order to achieve what they consider success. Jack, for example,  lives on the fringe of society and is constantly looking for ways to get high-he has consumed alcohol, smoked pot, and enjoys what some would consider unusual sexual experiences.  He has been involved in a few fights, but is not very good at fighting.  Since Jack spends a lot of time high, it is difficult to know if his failed attempts at fighting were due to fear, clumsiness, or sheer weakness.  What type of gang will Jack join? ​

A)Conflict gang
B)Criminal gang
C)Rebellion gang
D)Retreatist gang

Question 29

According to the text, the social process approach has two independent branches; each branch has its own assumption.  These assumptions are (1) that youth are born good and learn to be bad, and (2) that youth are born bad and must be controlled to be good.  What are the theories that best fit the assumptions?

A)(1) Social learning, (2) social structure
B)(1) Social structure, (2) social ecology
C)(1) Social ecology, (2) social control
D)(1) Social learning, (2) social control

Question 30

What adaptation, according to Merton, is most closely associated with delinquency?

A)Conformity
B)Rebellion
C)Retreatism
D)Innovation

Question 31

If you were to look for a theory of delinquency that links a youth's engagement in delinquent acts to the struggle of being locked out of the economic mainstream, thereby creating anger and frustration and ultimately leading to delinquency, which of the following theories would best fit this description?

A) Social process ​
B)Strain
C)Social structure
D)Social disorganization

Question 32

What is the concept through which youth are able to use their wits to feel safe by avoiding violent confrontation?

A)Siege mentality
B)Reaction formation
C)Street efficacy
D)Retreatism

Question 33

In their early teens, Jack, Cole, and Hardy live in areas where both conventional and delinquent activities are limited and adult role models are in absentia.  Applying differential opportunity theory, Jack, Cole, and Hardy are likely to join one of three types of gangs to in order to achieve what they consider success. Cole lives in a highly disorganized area.  Cole gets into fights to protect his gang's integrity and honor,  acquiring a reputation.  This rep provides Cole with a means for gaining admiration from his peers.  What type of gang did Cole join?

A)Criminal gang
B)Conflict gang
C)Rebellion gang
D)Retreatist gang

Question 34

What is the ability of communities to regulate the behavior of their residents through the influence of community institutions (i.e., family and school) called?

A)Societal collectiveness
B)Collective efficacy
C)Group cohesiveness
D)Community control

Question 35

Messner and Rosenfeld presented the view of antisocial behavior as a function of cultural and institutional influences in U.S. society; this view is a macro-level version of what theory?

A)Anomie theory
B)Status theory
C)Labeling theory
D)Strain theory

Question 36

Cultural deviance combines the elements of what two theories?

A)Differential association and labeling
B)Strain and social disorganization
C)Structural process and strain
D)Social disorganization and labeling

Question 37

Subcultural values are handed down from one generation to the next through what process?

A)Enculturation
B)Socialization
C)Street efficacy
D)Cultural transmission

Question 38

If you were to look for a theory that views delinquency as a result of a youth's dysfunctional or destructive relationship with the critical elements of socialization in his or her life-family, peers, schools, community-where the dysfunctionality causes the youth to see delinquency as a feasible alternative, which of the following theories should you choose? ​

A)Social process
B)Deterrence
C)Social structure
D)Evolutionary

Question 39

Code of the streets is a view of the interrelationship of culture and behavior.  What issue, according to text, is at the heart of the code?

A)Respect
B)Street values
C)Cultural autonomy
D)Ghetto poor

Question 40

What is a form of culture conflict experienced by lower-class youths because social conditions prevent them from achieving success as defined by the larger society? ​

A)Subterranean values
B)Negative affective states
C)Focal concerns
D)Status frustration

Question 41

Focusing on conditions within the urban environment that affect delinquency rates is known as what theory?

Question 42

According to Cohen, what are the standards by which teachers evaluate students' behavior?

Question 43

Who applied Durkheim's ideas to the onset of crime and delinquency in contemporary society?

Question 44

What is the process by which people learn to adopt the behavior patterns of the community and develop the skills necessary to participate and function within their culture and environment?

A)Enculturation
B)Cultural transmission
C)Collective efficacy
D)Socialization

Question 45

Alice is 16 and lives with her mother and four younger siblings in an impoverished neighborhood. Alice does well in school and will be the first of her family to graduate from high school.  She knows she could have a better life by getting a college degree, but she does not have the means to go to college and no one ever talks to Alice about furthering her education.  Like many teenage girls her age, Alice wants trendy clothes, fashionable shoes, and expensive handbags.  Alice works part-time at the local grocery store, but her earnings go to her mother to help with family finances.  Alice is approached and asked to carry drugs to the dealers around town.  She agrees; after all, she is not the one selling the drugs so she really is not hurting anyone.  The money Alice makes allows her to quit her job at the grocery store, help her mother, and buy clothes, shoes, and handbags.  She now thinks that is not necessary to finish school.  According to neutralization theory, which of the following techniques best fits Alice? ​

A)Denial of responsibility
B)Denial of injury
C)Denial of the victim
D)Appeal to higher loyalties

Question 46

Jill is a senior in high school.  All through her academic career she has made good grades and has never engaged in delinquent acts.  Two months prior to graduation, Jill's mother was in an automobile accident; a man under the influence of alcohol ran a red light and crashed into Jill's mother's car, killing her on impact.  Jill was close to her mother and her death strongly impacted Jill's behavior.  She began staying out late, her grades started slipping, and she began drinking alcohol.  What negative affective state, according to Agnew, is Jill experiencing? ​

A)Failure to achieve positively valued goals
B)Disjunction between expectations and achievement
C)Removal of positively valued stimuli
D)Presentation of negative stimuli

Question 47

Most likely responsible for the exceedingly high rate of delinquency, what distinctive feature in American society has been allowed to develop to an extraordinary degree, according to Messner and Rosenfeld?

A)Negative affective state
B)Anomic conditions
C)Subterranean values
D)Lack of social bond

Question 48

What, according to Reckless, insulates a youth from criminogenic influences in the environment?

Question 49

What is the name of the process whereby youth move between behavior that is sometimes unconventional or deviant and at other times restrained and thoughtful?

A)Rebellious
B)Drift
C)Neutralized
D)Subterranean

Question 50

Many of the buildings are boarded up and left to decay, the majority of the residences in the area are apartment buildings with a transient population, no one seems to care about their neighborhood, and according to statistics, the area is densely populated. What zone does this describe?

Question 51

According to the text, lacking a particular bond may foreshadow a condition in which risk becomes a reasonable behavior alternative.  A deficit in which of the following bonds describes this outcome?

A)Attachment
B)Commitment
C)Involvement
D)Belief

Question 52

According to Walter Miller, clinging to what promotes illegal or violent behavior?

Question 53

What refers to the process by which an established culture teaches an individual its norms and values, thus enabling the individual to become an accepted member of society?

Question 54

Alice is 16 and lives with her mother and four younger siblings in an impoverished neighborhood. Alice does well in school and will be the first of her family to graduate from high school.  She knows she could have a better life by getting a college degree, but she does not have the means to go to college and no one ever talks to Alice about furthering her education.  Like many teenage girls her age, Alice wants trendy clothes, fashionable shoes, and expensive handbags.  Alice works part-time at the local grocery store, but her earnings go to her mother to help with family finances.  Alice is approached and asked to carry drugs to the dealers around town.  She agrees; after all, she is not the one selling the drugs so she really is not hurting anyone.  The money Alice makes allows her to quit her job at the grocery store, help her mother, and buy clothes, shoes, and handbags.  She now thinks that is not necessary to finish school.  According to Merton's social adaptation theory, which mode of adaptation best describes Alice? ​

A)Conformity
B)Innovation
C)Ritualism
D)Retreatist

Question 55

Mechanisms such as direct criticism, ridicule, ostracism, desertion, or physical punishment are considered what form of social control?

A)Public social control
B)Institutional social control
C)Formal social control
D)Informal social control

Question 56

What is the view that lower-class individuals form a separate culture within their own values and norms and that these values and norms are at times in conflict with conventional society? ​

Question 57

According to GST, child abuse and neglect, school failure, family and/or peer conflicts, racism, and discrimination are experiences associated with what source of strain?

Question 58

What theory links the onset of delinquency to the weakening of the ties that bind people to society?

A)Social control
B)Social structure
C)Social bond
D)Social ecology

Question 59

What theory promotes the thought that learning occurs within intimate personal groups?

Question 60

What theory maintains that all people have the potential to violate the law, as modern society presents many opportunities for illegal activities that promise immediate reward and gratification?

A)Social bond
B)Social learning
C)Social structure
D)Social control

Question 61

What are morally tinged influences that have become entrenched in the culture but are publicly condemned?

Question 62

Identify and describe the four elements of socialization that have been linked to delinquency.  If you were asked to rank order the importance of the elements, how would this look?  Provide a rationale for your view.

Question 63

What do community-level institutions provide that has been ascertained as a key determinate of neighborhood delinquency rates?

Question 64

What, according to Hirschi, are youths who reject social relationships more likely to lack?

Question 65

According to Shaw and McKay, what does a healthy, organized community have the ability to do to achieve common goals?

Question 66

Identify and describe the three forms of collective efficacy; be sure to include examples for each. Which of the three forms do you believe to be the most influential?  Provide a rationale for your view.

Question 67

Unlike others who are involved in similar criminal activities, gangs openly engage in the sale of drugs as well as other types of criminal activities.  What does this promote?

Question 68

It is reported that because of differential opportunity, youth are likely to join one of three types of gangs. Identify and describe the three types of gangs. Do you agree or disagree with the premise that differential opportunity causes youth to join gangs?  Explain your position.

Question 69

Identify and describe the three variations of structural theory.  Explain which of the three variations you believe best explains the poverty-delinquency relationship.

Question 70

Describe neutralization theory and the techniques of neutralization patterns (i.e., who developed the theory, basic premise of the theory, key terms associated with this theory).  What is your view of this theory and the techniques associated with it?  Explain your position.

Question 71

Name the three independent yet overlapping theories that reside within the social structure perspective.

Question 72

Identify and describe Merton's five modes of social adaptation.  Which mode is stated as being most closely associated with delinquency?  Do you agree or disagree with this association?  What is the rationale for your view?

Question 73

Who developed "code of the streets"?  Describe the two cultural forces addressed in this theory.  It is stated that living in an impoverished, crime rich community places youth at risk for engaging in delinquent behavior; it is also stated that the two orientations socially organize the community.  Do you agree or disagree with these statements?  Provide a rationale for you view.

Question 74

What does recent research indicate may have been ignored by neutralization theory?

Question 75

What psychological reaction occurs when a person does or says something that is the opposite of what he or she really wants to or what is socially expected and appropriate. ​

Question 76

According to strain theory, how is the ability to achieve personal goals such as owning a nice home and car or wearing stylish clothes stratified?

Question 77

Discuss how control theories have influenced criminal justice and other public policies according to the text. Be sure to include examples of programs developed as a result of control theory.  Overall, how valuable do you believe these influences are to youth and to society in general? Provide a rationale for your view.

Question 78

What is said to exert pressure toward delinquency by encouraging an anomic cultural environment, one in which people are encouraged to adopt an "anything goes" mentality in the pursuit of personal goals?

Question 79

Identify and define the critical social factors believed to cause or affect delinquent behaviors.  Of these, which do you find to be the most significant and the least significant?  Provide a rationale for your view.

Question 80

Describe each of the four elements of Hirschi's social bond theory.  What does Hirschi suggest about the interrelationship of the social bond elements?  Explain why you agree or disagree with the premise of this interrelationship. Critique the theory, assessing its strengths and weaknesses.