Deck 11: Conflict Theories

Question 1

According to Quinney,conceptions of crime are constructed and diffused in the segments of society by various means of communication.Which of the following is the most dominant means of communication?

A)the State
B)the police
C)the media
D)word-of-mouth

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following theories assumes that crime reflects a clash between the conduct norms of immigrant cultures and the conduct norms of the dominant culture?

A)instrumental Marxism
B)cultural conflict theory
C)group conflict theory
D)structural Marxism

Answer 2

B

Question 3

According to Sellin,what is the expression of culture conflict when individuals who act based on the conduct norms of their own cultural group find themselves in violation of the conduct norms that the dominant group has enacted into law?

A)a crime
B)an act of the cultural resistance
C)an indiscretion
D)an institutionalized conduct norm

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Who wrote Culture Conflict and Crime (1938),which focused on how cultural conflict between the conduct norms of different cultural groups can contribute to crime?

A)Marx
B)Vold
C)Quinney
D)Sellin

Question 5

According to Sellin,social values that receive the protection of the criminal law are those valued by which of the following groups?

A)immigrant groups
B)the capitalist class
C)the dominant interest groups
D)the State

Question 6

Based on Vold's group conflict theory,which of the following best illustrates a crime that results from conflict between the behaviour of a minority group and the laws and regulations of the dominant society?

A)revolutions against the State
B)serial killing
C)civil disobedience resulting in arrests
D)striking by unionized employees that turn violent

Question 7

Who wrote Theoretical Criminology (1958),which formulated group conflict theory as an explanation for certain types of criminal behaviour?

A)Marx
B)Sellin
C)Quinney
D)Vold

Question 8

Aruna Papp argues that the reluctance to "racialize" honour killings by law enforcement and the media ultimately does a disservice to many.To which of the following does this reluctance NOT do a disservice?

A)the victim
B)the immigrant community
C)the offender(s)
D)Canadian society

Question 9

In Vold's group conflict theory,which of the following would constitute a "minority group"?

A)the government
B)a youth gang
C)management in a corporation
D)the bourgeoisie

Question 10

In Vold's group conflict theory,which of the following best illustrates a crime that results from conflict between competing interest groups vying for power?

A)a revolution to overthrow the government
B)serial killing
C)a strike by unionized employees that turns violent
D)a so-called honour killing

Question 11

Which of the following concepts best explains honour killings and their condemnation in Canada?

A)cultural conflict
B)relative autonomy
C)left realism
D)structural Marxism

Question 12

According to Vold,strikes or lockouts that may result in violence or property damage is representative of what type of group-based conflict resulting in criminal behaviour?

A)when there is conflict between competing minority groups
B)when there is conflict between the State and minority groups
C)when there is a conflict between a minority group and the laws of the dominant majority
D)when there is conflict between competing interest groups vying for power

Question 13

According to Sellin,what is the result in complex societies when diverse cultural groups maintain distinct conduct norms or cultural rules governing appropriate conduct?

A)Civil war erupts.
B)The State mediates any conflicts between these distinct groups.
C)A cultural conflict between the conduct norms of the different cultural groups may emerge.
D)Social cohesion tends to increase.

Question 14

According to Vold,delinquent gangs that break the law are representative of what type of group-based conflicts resulting in criminal behaviour?

A)when there is conflict between competing minority groups
B)when there is conflict between the State and minority groups
C)when there is a conflict between a minority group and the laws of the dominant majority
D)when there is conflict between competing interest groups vying for power

Question 15

Which of the following major propositions does NOT form part of Quinney's conflict theory of crime?

A)Conceptions of crime are constructed and diffused through the segments of society by various means of communication.
B)Criminal definitions describe behaviours that conflict with the interests of the segments of society that have the power to shape public policy.
C)Criminality is an inherent human behaviour.
D)Criminal definitions are applied by the segments of society that have the power to shape the enforcement and administration of criminal law.

Question 16

Which of the following is Vold's group conflict theory unable to explain?

A)intragroup crime
B)ideologically motivated crimes
C)politically motivated crimes
D)intergroup crime

Question 17

Which of the following terms would Sellin apply to describe the practice of female genital mutilation in Canada?

A)cultural conflict
B)cultural incompatibility
C)conduct norms
D)criminal norms

Question 18

Group conflict theory begins with which of the following assumptions?

A)The more complex a society becomes,the greater the probability that there will be culture conflict.
B)The law is a codification of mutually agreed upon societal norms and values.
C)The State acts in the long-term interests of capitalism as a whole.
D)There will always be conflict between groups in society.

Question 19

What term does Sellin use to describe the "conduct norms" embodied in the criminal law that represent the values of the dominant group?

A)dominant conduct norms
B)institutionalized conduct norms
C)cultural conflict
D)criminal norms

Question 20

Based on the work of Sellin,which of the following describes a situation where culture conflict is unlikely to arise?

A)when the laws of one cultural group are extended to cover the territory of another
B)when conduct norms clash on border areas between distinct cultures
C)as a result of colonization,migration,or immigration
D)when a society is culturally homogeneous

Question 21

According to Marxist criminologists,which of the following best represents the roots of conflict and hence crime?

A)the structure of capitalist society
B)pathologies of individual offender
C)the biological and genetic make-up of offenders
D)intragroup conflict among those within the working classes

Question 22

Which perspective is most likely to focus on street crime because it is concentrated within the working class and other marginalized groups?

A)instrumental Marxism
B)group conflict
C)left realism
D)structural Marxism

Question 23

"The State is the direct instrument of the ruling or capitalist class." Which of the following perspectives is most closely associated with that statement?

A)structural Marxism
B)left realism
C)group conflict theory
D)instrumental Marxism

Question 24

Which of the following concepts is most closely associated with Marxist theories of crime?

A)the social reality of crime
B)culture conflict
C)the mode of production
D)conduct norms

Question 25

Which of the following is NOT a component of the "square of crime" mentioned by left realists?

A)the witnesses
B)the victim
C)the public
D)the offender

Question 26

According to structural Marxists,which of the following is the State's main role?

A)to preserve the political power of current elites
B)to ensure that contracts are upheld in the courts
C)to preserve the long-term interests of the capitalist class
D)to ensure that lawbreakers are found and punished

Question 27

Which of the following is NOT one of the characteristics of Marxist theory of crime control,according to Quinney?

A)American society is based on an advanced capitalist economy.
B)The State is organized to serve the interests of the dominant economic class.
C)Criminal law is an instrument of the State.
D)Many laws are enacted that do not represent the immediate interests of the capitalist class.

Question 28

Which of these perspectives uses victimization surveys to examine the problem of crime for the working class?

A)instrumental Marxism
B)radical feminism
C)structural Marxism
D)left realism

Question 29

Structural Marxists argue that the State is relatively independent of the ruling class.What is their term for this condition?

A)laissez-faire
B)political independence
C)superstuctural diversity
D)relative autonomy

Question 30

Which of the following schools of thought are Marxist theories of criminality most closely associated?

A)the consensus perspective
B)the conflict perspective
C)psychological theories of crime
D)feminist theories of crime

Question 31

Which of the following best reflects the structural Marxists conclusions on corporate crime?

A)Corporate crime costs more than conventional crime but work and occupation-related deaths are less than deaths from homicide and manslaughter.
B)Corporate crime costs less than conventional crime but work and occupation-related deaths outnumber deaths from homicide and manslaughter.
C)Corporate crime costs less than conventional crime and work and occupation-related deaths are less than deaths from homicide and manslaughter.
D)Corporate crime costs more than conventional crime and work and occupation-related deaths outnumber deaths from homicide and manslaughter.

Question 32

According to Greenberg,which of the following is an example of a surplus population within the context of a Marxian theory of deviance?

A)incarcerated offenders
B)juveniles
C)females in their reproductive years
D)new immigrants

Question 33

Left realism was developed because Marxist theories were deficient at which of the following?

A)taking a global perspective
B)addressing the harm caused by street crime
C)providing testable hypotheses
D)bringing about revolutionary change

Question 34

Which of the following is NOT one of the arguments that Greenberg puts forth to explain the causes of juvenile delinquency?

A)Juveniles are excluded from access to income and become surplus population.
B)Delinquency is created because they cannot finance their leisure and social activities.
C)Adolescent theft occurs because of a conflict between the desire to participate in activities valued by peer culture and the lack of legitimate sources of funding to finance these activities.
D)Youth are deliberately targeted by the State for arrest and punishment.

Question 35

According to Spitzer,which of the following groups is an example of how capitalism indirectly creates a problematic surplus population?

A)student radicals
B)laid-off workers
C)the unemployed
D)those who use drugs to be able to cope with work

Question 36

For which of the following reasons has the instrumental Marxist position been criticized?

A)interpreting the base/superstructure metaphor too loosely
B)being unable to account for laws implemented by the State that are not in the immediate interest of the ruling class
C)overemphasizing how ruling class's actions may be affected by structural causes
D)portraying the ruling class as a complex,shifting group

Question 37

Which of the following does the structural Marxist perspective contend?

A)The law exclusively represents the interests of the dominant capitalist class.
B)The notion of "equality before the law" reflects the substantive equalities of class,race,and gender in the economic sphere.
C)Enacted laws that benefit the less powerful reflect an ideological need to develop a widespread consent for the existing social order.
D)The formal equality of each individual in the legal sphere extends to the economic sphere.

Question 38

In which of the following countries was left realism first developed?

A)Canada
B)Great Britain
C)USSR
D)United States

Question 39

Canada's anti-combines legislation is an example of which of the following?

A)relative autonomy
B)pure capitalist interest
C)surplus population
D)collective bargaining

Question 40

Which of the following is NOT one of the nonrepressive crime control programs and policies put forth by left realists?

A)alternatives to prisons
B)pre-emptive deterrence
C)making police more accountable to the public
D)tougher penalties for offenders

Question 41

Instrumental Marxists contend that the State has relative independence from the capitalist class and is therefore able to enact laws that are not in the immediate interests of the capitalist class.

Question 42

Marxist theories tend to focus on better understanding the individual pathologies of criminal offenders.

Question 43

Spitzer argued that the criminalization of much behaviour is directed toward those problem populations who are surplus to the labour market.

Question 44

Vold's group conflict theory pays particular attention to violence that occurs between competing criminal groups and gangs.

Question 45

Marxist research on corporate crime focuses on those who are outside the sphere of production.

Question 46

Quinney's group Conflict theory argues that all social groups have the power to influence policy.

Question 47

Left idealism is an amalgamation of both instrumentalist and structuralist Marxist accounts of the State,law,and crime.

Question 48

Marxist criminologists view conflict as rooted in the structure of capitalist society (capitalist economic relations).

Question 49

Marx himself did not develop a theory of crime.

Question 50

According to the textbook,the tainted pet food crisis was largely caused by the accidental inclusion of the wrong chemicals into a large batch of ingredients for dog food.

Question 51

According to Sellin,how a crime is defined is very much influenced by the character and interests of those groups in society that have the most power.

Question 52

For left realists,"square of crime" refers to the intersection of offenders,the capitalist class,the State,and criminal law.

Question 53

Structural Marxists begin with the assumption that the State in capitalist societies ensures the ongoing viability of capitalism generally.

Question 54

Vold's group conflict theory is interested in the process of law creation as it relates to the activities of antagonistic interest groups in the broader community.

Question 55

Left realists emphasize alternatives to the criminal justice system in controlling crime.

Question 56

According to Quinney's group Conflict theory people in less powerful segments of society are more likely to have their behaviour criminalized.

Question 57

One of the critiques of Instrumental Marxist perspectives on crime is that it ignores laws that are contradictory to the position of the powerful capitalist class.

Question 58

According to Vold's Group conflict theory,violence that erupts during a strike by a trade union is an example of crimes that occur when there is a conflict between the behaviour of a minority group and the laws of the dominant majority.

Question 59

According to Sellin's cultural conflict theory,criminal norms refer to the norms that predominate among criminal offenders

Question 60

Theft is a cogent example of cultural conflict theory of crime.

Question 61

Explain how Spitzer makes use of the Marxian notion of "surplus population" to formulate his theory of deviance.

Question 62

Describe how Quinney's (1970)group conflict theory differs from both Vold's and Sellin's conflict theories.

Question 63

Distinguish between Instrumental Marxism and structural Marxism.

Question 64

Describe what Quinney means when he says that conceptions of crime are constructed and diffused in the segments of society by various means of communication.In particular,what role does the news media play in the social construction of crime?

Question 65

Distinguish between the forces of production,and the social relations of production,as used in Marxist theory.

Question 66

Left realists have been criticized for failing to take into account the political,economic and cultural history of the society in which crime occurs.

Question 67

Describe and critique Greenberg's Marxian explanation of juvenile crime.

Question 68

Distinguish between Sellin's culture conflict theory and Vold's group conflict theory.Be sure to state the main assumption of each theory as well as their views of society.

Question 69

Describe and critically examine Vold's group conflict theory.Identify some examples of the two general classes of group conflict that can result in criminal behaviour.

Question 70

What did Sellin mean by the term "criminal norms?"  How do criminal norms develop?

Question 71

What is an honour killing?  How do honor killings fit into Sellin's culture conflict theory.

Question 72

Explain what left realists mean when they emphasize the need to examine the "square of crime."

Question 73

Describe how left realism is distinguished from Marxist theories of crime.

Question 74

Outline the main assumptions of Quinney's conflict theory of crime.

Question 75

Describe the alternative approaches to crime control that are emphasized by left realists.

Question 76

Describe the basic elements of Marx's conception of the mode of production and what is meant by the economic base and superstructure.