Deck 5: Strain and Cultural Deviance Theories

Question 1

Which of the following theories argues that all members of society subscribe to the cultural values of the middle class?

A) strain theory
B) conflict theory
C) social disorganization theory
D) differential association theory

Answer 1

strain theory

Question 2

The structural-functionalist perspective was developed by

A) Robert Agnew.
B) Robert McKay.
C) Robert K. Merton.
D) Emile Durkheim.

Answer 2

Emile Durkheim.

Question 3

Durkheim's concept of anomie was intended to explain

A) crime.
B) juvenile delinquency.
C) suicide.
D) status offenses.

Answer 3

suicide.

Question 4

Merton's theory of anomie emphasizes

A) that anger helps justify aggressive behavior and stimulates individuals into action.
B) institutionalized means to attain the desired ends.
C) that people learn to commit crime as a result of antisocial values, attitudes, and criminal behavior patterns.
D) none of these

Question 5

Which of the following is not one of the modes of adaptation discussed by Merton?

A) rebellion
B) conflict
C) retreatism
D) conformity

Question 6

People who adapt by __________ reject both the cultural goals and the legitimate means to attain those goals.

A) rebellion
B) ritualism
C) retreatism
D) reformation

Question 7

Merton and his followers believe that the greatest proportion of crime will be found

A) evenly distributed across the social classes.
B) in the upper classes.
C) in the middle classes.
D) in the lower classes.

Question 8

In a study of 190 U.S. cities with populations of 100,000 or more, researchers found that both inequality and __________ are related to homicide rates.

A) age
B) race
C) poverty
D) gender

Question 9

Merton's theory has been criticized for which of the following reasons?

A) It neglects crime committed by middle- and upper-class people.
B) It assumes that the heterogeneous society in the United States has goals that everyone agrees on.
C) It cannot explain why there is so much useless, destructive behavior.
D) All of these are criticisms of Merton's theory.

Question 10

Which of the following is not a manifestation of the dominance of economic institutions according to Messner and Rosenfeld?

A) the devaluation of noneconomic rules and functions
B) the absence of economic success
C) the accommodation of other institutions to economic needs
D) the penetration of economic norms

Question 11

Which of the following is not a strain-producing event discussed by Agnew?

A) strain caused by social disorganization
B) strain caused by the failure to achieve positively valued goals
C) strain caused by the presentation of negative stimuli
D) stress caused by the removal of positively valued stimuli from the individual

Question 12

Which of the following programs was designed to address the disparity between goals and means in society?

A) Operation Weed and Seed
B) LEAP
C) the Chicago Area Project
D) Perry Preschool Project

Question 13

Which of the following is True of social disorganization theory?

A) It states that different ethnic groups learn different conduct norms and that the conduct norms of one ethnic group in the slum will clash with the norms of another ethnicity in the same slum.
B) It maintains that people learn to commit crime as a result of contact with antisocial values, attitudes, and criminal behavior patterns.
C) It focuses on the development of high-crime areas in which there is a disintegration of conventional values caused by rapid industrialization, increased immigration, and urbanization.
D) It maintains that crime is most likely to occur among the lower social classes.

Question 14

Cultural deviance theorists argue that

A) crime is most likely to occur among the lower social classes.
B) American society is made up of various groups and subgroups, each with its own standards of right and wrong.
C) people learn to commit crime as a result of contact with antisocial values, attitudes, and criminal behavior patterns.
D) crime is the result of social disorganization.

Question 15

Park and Burgess advanced the study of social disorganization by introducing _________ into the study of human society.

A) ecological analysis
B) social class
C) statistics
D) modes of adaptation

Question 16

Though the work of social ecologists has had a significant impact, it has been criticized for

A) its focus on how crime patterns are transmitted, not on how they start in the first place.
B) its failure in explaining how differential associations lead to crime.
C) ignoring societal heterogeneity.
D) not being able to explain all types of crime.

Question 17

In 1939, Edwin Sutherland introduced the ___________ theory in Principles of Criminology.

A) anomie
B) social disorganization
C) cultural transmission
D) differential association

Question 18

Edwin Sutherland's differential association theory suggests that _____.

A) lower-class persons adopt illegitimate means to achieve economic success
B) there is an inevitability about the process of becoming a criminal
C) there is no simple connection between class and crime
D) delinquency is transmitted from one generation to the next in disorganized urban areas

Question 19

In formulating his differential association theory, Sutherland relied heavily on the findings of _______ and _______ that delinquent values are transmitted within a community or group from one generation to the next.

A) Burgess; Parks
B) Merton; Agnew
C) Shaw; McKay
D) Messner; Rosenfeld

Question 20

If a clash occurs at the borders between neighboring cultural areas, this is an example of what type of conflict?

A) primary
B) secondary
C) class
D) race

Question 21

According to Thorsten Sellin, the purpose of _____ is to define what is considered appropriate or normal behavior and what is inappropriate or abnormal behavior.

A) anomie
B) cultural norms
C) conduct norms
D) synnomie

Question 22

Which type of conflict, according to Sellin, arises when a single culture evolves into a variety of cultures, each with its own conduct norms?

A) primary
B) secondary
C) class
D) race

Question 23

According to strain theory, individuals who choose the adaptation of innovation do not accept society's goals because they do not have legitimate means to achieve those goals.

Question 24

Sociologists define deviance as any behavior that members of a social group define as violating their norms.

Question 25

Messner and Rosenfeld believe that the American dream does not encourage high crime rates.

Question 26

According to Sellin, primary conflict occurs when norms of two cultures clash.

Question 27

Discuss and evaluate Merton's theory of anomie and the five modes of adaptation.

Question 28

Discuss the three main types of strain-producing events according to Agnew's general strain theory. In this discussion, also explain how Agnew revised Merton's theory.

Question 29

Social disorganization theory is one of the three major cultural deviance theories. Explain this theory, including criticisms or limitations.

Question 30

Explain Edwin Sutherland's differential association theory, and discuss any six of the nine propositions that explain the process by which delinquent values are transmitted.

Question 31

Compare and contrast strain theories and cultural deviance theories.