Deck 15: Integrating Criminological Theories

Question 1

According to Akers and Sellers, when Elliott and associates measure peer attachment by deviant or conforming peer bonding, they are basically changing attachment into the same thing as differential peer association.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

In the Elliott and associates research testing a model of delinquency integrating strain, bonding, and social learning, it was found that variables taken from bonding theory were the best predictors of delinquency.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Akers and Sellers argue that if two theories make conflicting predictions about criminal or delinquent behavior, they cannot be fully integrated.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Akers and Sellers argue that the concept of attachment in social bonding theory overlaps with both the concepts of differential association and imitation in social learning theory.

Question 5

Social bonding and social learning theories make opposite predictions regarding the effects of attachment to delinquent peers.

Question 6

The goal of theory integration is to identify commonalities across theories and synthesize them in a way that is superior to any of the theories included in the integration.

Question 7

Kaplan's self-derogation theory proposes that adolescents will gravitate to deviant groups that enhance self-esteem.

Question 8

In spite of support for the idea of theoretical integration, attempts to propose such integrations in criminology have met with considerable indifference and skepticism.

Question 9

Research by Sampson and Laub, Warr, and others shows that the lowered rate of offending following the adolescent and young adult years is the result of increases in social bonds and reductions in association with deviant peers.

Question 10

In her research on peer effects on delinquency, Haynie measured friendship networks among adolescents by asking teachers to identify the friendship networks observed among high school students.

Question 11

Efforts to integrate social learning and social bonding theory by recognizing the extent to which the two theories are referring to the same or similar variables are an example primarily of:

A) conceptual integration
B) empirical integration
C) macro/micro integration
D) across-levels integration
E) propositional integration

Question 12

Which of the following concepts from social bonding theory overlap with and may be subsumed under the social learning concept of definitions?

A) belief
B) commitment
C) attachment
D) involvement
E) all of the above

Question 13

According to Akers and Sellers, if one compares the empirical findings among tests of various theories of crime causation, which theory appears to have the strongest support?

A) labeling theory
B) social control theory
C) deterrence theory
D) social learning theory
E) conflict theory

Question 14

Akers and Hirschi both have criticized some efforts at theoretical integration on the ground that some integrations:

A) ignore incompatibilities across theories
B) provide no greater explanatory power than the original theories
C) divert attention from the important task of developing wholly original perspectives
D) fail to integrate across disciplines
E) incorrectly focus on points of similarity rather than points of divergence

Question 15

Most existing proposals for theoretical integration attempt to synthesize:

A) conflict and social control perspectives
B) social control and deterrence perspectives
C) strain and social learning theories
D) social control and social learning theories
E) biological and psychological theories

Question 16

Akers proposes an integration of social control and social learning models that is built around:

A) conceptual commonalities
B) propositional commonalities
C) conceptual opposites
D) propositional sequencing
E) a and b

Question 17

The most well-known theoretical integration-developed by Elliott and his associates-proposes that:

A) labeling leads to weakening of social controls, which promotes association with delinquent peers
B) cultural conflict leads to strain (frustration regarding one's disadvantaged position in the social structure), which produces a breakdown of social controls
C) social disorganization produces deviance that results in labeling, which produces further deviance
D) low responsiveness of the autonomic nervous system produces difficulties in learning/conditionability, which leads to low levels of attachment to others (weak social bonds)
E) strain in the family and school weakens social bonds to conventional others, which in turn promotes strong attachments to delinquent peers

Question 18

In empirical tests of the integrated theory proposed by Elliott and his associates, the strongest predictor of delinquency was:

A) lack of attachment to others
B) strain in the family
C) difficulties in learning
D) self-derogation that resulted from labeling
E) bonding to delinquent peers

Question 19

Krohn's network analysis focuses on what feature(s) of the social networks to which individuals are linked?

A) relational distance
B) conventionality
C) multiplexity
D) density
E) c and d

Question 20

It follows from Krohn's network analysis that lower rates of delinquency would be found among:

A) children reared in families that encourage them to be independent and self reliant
B) children who attend schools that require them to wear uniforms
C) residents of small communities where everyone knows each other
D) children who attend schools that place great emphasis on discipline as well as learning
E) residents of communities with high ratios of churches per capita

Question 21

In their evaluation of the individual theories of crime, Akers and Sellers conclude that which of the sociological theories have the weakest support?

A) social control and deterrence
B) social disorganization and labeling
C) strain and labeling
D) social learning and deterrence
E) social learning and social control

Question 22

In Haynie's research on friendship networks among adolescents, it was found that the strongest effect on delinquency came from:

A) the absolute level of delinquency among friends
B) the proportion of delinquent friends
C) the total number of delinquent friends
D) the total number of both delinquent and nondelinquent friends
E) the proportion of male and female friends

Question 23

Tittle proposes an integrated theoretical model that attributes crime to:

A) learning structures
B) low self-control
C) unbalanced control ratios
D) community and family disorganization
E) relational deficits

Question 24

Theories recently developed to understand better the variations, stability, and changes in criminal and deviant behavior at different ages are known as:

A) changing balance of control theories
B) age-cycle and life-stage theories
C) developmental and life-course theories
D) turning points and self-control theories
E) age-related network theory

Question 25

In Table 14.1 in your'e text book comparing criminological theories of criminal and delinquent behavior, which of the following structural theories were presented as having policy implications for neighborhood and community projects?

A) feminist and conflict theories
B) Marxist and radical theories
C) social disorganization and anomie theories
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 26

In Tittle's reformulated control-balance theory, the control-balance desirability of a criminal or deviant act refers to:

A) the extent to which a person experiences control surpluses more than the extent to which a person experiences control deficits
B) the likelihood that the act will change a control imbalance in the long term
C) the likelihood that the act will necessitate confronting a victim in person
D) how appealing the act appears to the individual
E) both b and c

Question 27

Select one of the examples of theoretical integration presented in Chapter 12 of the text and (1) evaluate its strengths and weaknesses as an explanation of crime and delinquency and (2) propose what you think are the central policy implications of the theory.

Question 28

Compare "theory competition" and "theory integration" as strategies for theory development. Which of the two holds greater promise for producing empirically valid theories of crime and delinquency? Justify your choice.

Question 29

Compare conceptual and propositional integration as approaches to theory integration, giving an illustration of each. In what ways are the two approaches compatible?

Question 30

Discuss and evaluate the integrative model of strain, bonding, and learning theory proposed by Delbert Elliott and his associates.

Question 31

Discuss the aims and pitfalls of theoretical integration. What caveats need to be kept in mind in attempts to integrate existing theories of crime causation?

Question 32

Choose one of the integrated theories discussed in Chapter 12, and discuss its central features. To what extent does the integration you have chosen produce new testable propositions or broaden the scope of the theories from which it was constructed?

Question 33

Using two or more theories discussed in previous chapters, develop an integrated theory of your own that you believe has merit. Be sure to indicate the commonalities in the theories that you propose to integrate, and indicate why you believe the integration you propose is superior to the individual theories from which it is constructed.

Question 34

Some people may say that Cullen's view that "social support" prevents crime and Colvin's view that "coercion" causes crime are opposing theories trying to answer different questions and therefore that it makes little sense to try to integrate them. Others argue that the two are really simply different ways of pointing to the preventive and risk factors of crime and that therefore it makes sense to integrate them for a more complete explanation than either gives separately. What position would you take? What position do Cullen and Colvin take? Why?

Question 35

The authors state: "In our view, it is hard to identify any new explanatory variable introduced by the life-course perspective." What does this statement mean? Do you agree or disagree with it? Use examples from life-course studies.

Question 36

In completing the assignment posed below, consider the following case history:
Tony is a 13-year-old boy referred to the juvenile court for breaking a classmate's arm with a stick during an argument. The argument erupted after the classmate called Tony's father a "no-good drunk." Although this is Tony's first offense, he has a history of difficulties managing anger. School records show that he has been referred to the principal's office for fighting on four occasions in the past 2 years. Tony's mother says that, for as long as she can remember, her son has been difficult to control. She complains that he refuses to do homework, wears his hair and clothes in "outrageous" ways, and stays out with his friends until all hours of the night. She has tried grounding him and taking away privileges, but these efforts to change Tony have been unsuccessful.
Tony is the only child of May and Tom Smith. The family is not close. Tom works occasionally as a clerk in a convenience store, but he is unemployed much of the time. He drinks a lot, and he has lost two jobs because of his drinking. The family is poor and lives in a rundown section of Milwaukee.
Tom has told Tony many times to get a good education so he won't end up in a low-paying job like he has. Tony doesn't seem to listen. He gets poor grades in school and hates attending. He complains that his teachers think he's a bad kid and won't give him a chance.
Both May and Tom are fed up with Tony, who seems to be a burden to both of them. May told a social worker: "We've tried and tried to make Tony a good boy. We've had it. I hope the court locks him up for a long time. Tom and I are washing our hands of Tony after this."
When Tony was asked why he hit his classmate, he remarked: "He had it coming. Where I come from you don't let anybody push you around. My friends would have thought I was a real sissy if I didn't make him pay for what he said. He's just lucky I didn't hurt him worse than I did. My friends mostly carry knives, and some got guns so they would just cut him or shoot him. I let him off easy."
This case history can be analyzed from a number of theoretical perspectives. Choose two that we have studied and show how they might be usefully combined to understand Tony's behavior.

Question 37

What are three ways by which theories can be evaluated and developed? Are any of these methods superior to the other two?

Question 38

Why do many criminologists have issues with theoretical integration? Do you think integration will become more accepted over time?

Question 39

Discuss one example of propositional integration. Explain who developed it, how it is an integrated theory, and how accepted it is in criminology.

Question 40

What integrated theory do you think best explains criminal behavior? Explain the theory's origins and whether the integrated theory explains crime better than the stand-alone theories it utilizes.