Deck 13: Getting Into and Out of Crime: Life-Course Theories

Question 1

Which of the following is true of traditional criminological theories in comparison to developmental theories?

A) Developmental theories tend to focus on adolescence, whereas traditional theories focus on earlier childhood.
B) Developmental theories are static, whereas traditional theories are dynamic.
C) Developmental theories assume contexts have enduring, stable effects on people, whereas traditional theories emphasize the changing nature of social contexts.
D) Developmental theories rely on longitudinal analyses, whereas traditional theories were largely examined with cross-sectional data.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following would Moffitt argue is the most important cause of a person becoming a life-course-persistent offender?

A) The maturity gap, which causes youngsters to commit crimes to show that they are "grown up."
B) Social mimicry-imitating youngsters who are troublemakers.
C) Neuropsychological deficits that evoke poor early parenting and cause youth to have difficulty in other social settings (e.g., school).
D) The desire for autonomy, which delinquency can help fulfill.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following is true of Glueck and Glueck's research?

A) Sociologists rejected the Gluecks' work, suggesting that it portrayed offenders as biologically deficient.
B) The Gluecks argued in favor of beginning the study of crime during the teenage years.
C) The Gluecks argued in favor of a single-factor approach to understanding crime.
D) The Gluecks argued that most people subject to poor social conditions end up engaging in crime.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which of the following is the term used by developmental theories to describe variation among people in their orientation toward criminal conduct?

A) Cross-sectional.
B) Mesomorphic.
C) Intelligence.
D) Heterogeneity.

Question 5

Which of the following categories is most appropriate for Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory?

A) Biological theories.
B) Theories of continuity.
C) Theories of continuity or change.
D) Theories of continuity and change.

Question 6

In Giordano et al.'s theory, when a person forms a new identity and sees it as inappropriate for him/her to engage in deviant behavior, he or she has formed a

A) Replacement self.
B) Cognitive identity.
C) Alternate self.
D) Renewed self.

Question 7

While Sampson and Laub call a good marriage and a job turning points, Giordano et al. refer to them as

A) Turning hooks.
B) Hooks for control.
C) Hooks for change.
D) Turning pathways.

Question 8

Which of the following categories is most appropriate for Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory?

A) Biological theories.
B) Theories of continuity.
C) Theories of continuity or change.
D) Theories of continuity and change.

Question 9

According to Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory, which of the following is true?

A) Controls against crime are external to the individual.
B) Controls against crime may change across the life course.
C) The quality of social bonds determines the level of crime.
D) Controls against crime are internal and stable.

Question 10

Which of the following is true about Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory of crime?

A) Self-control is a result of the biological predispositions we are born with.
B) Self-control explains why people who have conduct problems in childhood also later engage in delinquency and then in adult crime.
C) Self-control is not a stable trait, but a factor that comes and goes throughout one's life, thus explaining why people commit crimes at one time but not another.
D) Self-control is formed or not formed in the teenage years, which is why most delinquency occurs during adolescence.

Question 11

In her theory of delinquency in the life course, Terri Moffitt argues that

A) Most youths have conduct problems in childhood but then straighten out and abstain from crime as they mature into adolescence.
B) Once a person is a criminal, the person will always be a criminal.
C) Biological factors are the only cause of crime.
D) Most youth commit delinquent acts during their adolescent years and then stop or desist from offending.

Question 12

Which of the following categories is most appropriate for Moffitt's theory of delinquency in the life course?

A) Biological theories.
B) Theories of continuity.
C) Theories of continuity or change.
D) Theories of continuity and change.

Question 13

According to Moffitt, which is true of the adolescent period?

A) Life-course-persistent offenders (LCPs) only are committing crime.
B) Adolescence-limited offenders (ALs) only are committing crime.
C) Both LCPs and ALs are committing crime.
D) Neither LCPs or ALs are committing crime.

Question 14

According to Moffitt, LCPs

A) Are more prevalent in the population than are ALs.
B) Exhibit change in antisocial behavior throughout the life course.
C) Result largely from brain damage during adolescence, with persisting effects through adulthood.
D) Result largely from neuropsychological deficits early in childhood (even prenatal).

Question 15

According to Moffitt, ALs

A) Are more prevalent and more likely to desist than are LCPs.
B) Experience cumulative continuity.
C) Result largely from neuropsychological deficits early in childhood (even prenatal).
D) Are not subject to successful intervention.

Question 16

In their life-course theory, Sampson and Laub argue that

A) Being in a quality marriage or having a stable job can be a transition out of a life in crime.
B) The Gluecks were incompetent scientists whose data were inherently flawed.
C) It is a myth that structural factors-like poverty-play any role in causing crime.
D) The sources of crime lie in childhood, which is why virtually no one who is on a criminal trajectory ever escapes a life of crime.

Question 17

Which of the following categories is most appropriate for Sampson and Laub's life-course theory?

A) Biological theories.
B) Theories of continuity.
C) Theories of continuity or change.
D) Theories of continuity and change.

Question 18

Sampson and Laub's research following up on the Gluecks' cohort showed that

A) Most all delinquents in the original sample, by age seventy, had continued in a life of crime.
B) Most all delinquents, by age seventy, had desisted.
C) By age seventy, half the men were still committing crime, while the other half had desisted.
D) None of the delinquents in the original sample, by age seventy, were available to be interviewed.

Question 19

This occurs when offenders make a rational decision and use human agency to stop offending and begin to view criminal behavior, according to Paternoster and Bushway.

A) Working self.
B) Redemption script.
C) Intentional self-change.
D) Possible self.

Question 20

This is the self that forms when offenders look ahead and see themselves in prison, addicted, victimized, and abandoned.

A) Working self.
B) Possible self.
C) Condemnation self.
D) Feared self.

Question 21

Describe the impact that the Glueck and Glueck study had on developmental criminology.

Question 22

Describe the two groups of offenders identified by Moffitt. Explain the differences in patterns of delinquency/crime and causes of delinquency/crime across the groups.

Question 23

Describe the different ways in which individual traits and environmental factors interact with (or influence) one another to produce persistent antisocial behavior, according to Moffitt's theory.

Question 24

Describe Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory. Is it a theory of continuity, change, or both? Explain.

Question 25

Despite Gottfredson and Hirschi being mentors of Laub and Sampson, the theory of the latter departs substantially from Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory. Explain how Gottfredson and Hirschi, from the vantage point of their general theory, would likely criticize the perspective of Sampson and Laub (or Laub and Sampson).

Question 26

Describe what Sampson and Laub mean by turning points in criminal trajectories in their age-graded social bond theory.

Question 27

How can criminal trajectories be changed, according to Giordano et al.? How does the theory of Giordano et al. regarding change in trajectories compare with the explanation offered by Sampson and Laub (or Laub and Sampson)?

Question 28

Describe the process of desistance presented by Paternoster and Bushway. How does this compare with Laub and Sampson and Giordano et al.?

Question 29

Explain the process of desistance presented by Paternoster and Bushway. Be sure to discuss the working self, possible self, and fear self.