Question 1

In neighborhoods where collective efficacy is high, children are less likely to become involved with deviant peers and  engage in problem behaviors.

Accepted Answer

Collective efficacy, which refers to the shared belief in a community's ability to act together for the common good, often leads to a supportive environment that discourages involvement with deviant peers and reduces the likelihood of engaging in problem behaviors among children.

Question 2

Agnew suggests that community-level factors such as blocked opportunities and lack of social support produce feelings of strain.

Accepted Answer

Robert Agnew's General Strain Theory suggests that strain or stress is a result of negative relationships with others where individuals perceive they are being mistreated. This includes community-level factors such as blocked opportunities and lack of social support, which can lead to feelings of strain and, consequently, deviant behavior.

Question 3

Social institutions such as schools and churches are still able to work effectively in a climate of alienation and mistrust.

Accepted Answer

Social institutions such as schools and churches are less effective in a climate of alienation and mistrust because people are less likely to trust or participate in them.

Question 4

Structural strain suggests that economic and social sources of strain shape collective human behavior.

Accepted Answer

Structural strain theory, developed by sociologist Robert K. Merton, posits that societal structures may pressure citizens to commit deviant acts through a disjunction between socially approved goals and the means available to achieve them, thus indicating how economic and social sources of strain can shape collective human behavior.

Question 5

NYC's emphasis on broken windows policing was credited with producing significant declines in the crime rate in the city.

Accepted Answer

The broken windows policing strategy, which focuses on addressing minor crimes to prevent larger ones, was credited with contributing to significant declines in New York City's crime rates during the 1990s and beyond.

Question 6

According to general strain theory, strain can be the result of the failure to achieve positively valued goals, the removal of positively valued stimuli, or the presentation of negatively viewed stimuli.

Accepted Answer

General strain theory posits that strain occurs from the failure to achieve positively valued goals, the removal of positively valued stimuli from one's life, or the confrontation with negative stimuli, leading to negative emotions and possibly to delinquency or crime as coping mechanisms.

Question 7

According to Agnew, criminality is the direct result of negative affective states that are produced by a variety of sources of strain.

Accepted Answer

Robert Agnew's General Strain Theory posits that criminal behavior is a result of strain or stress which leads to negative emotions, prompting individuals to engage in crime as a coping mechanism.

Question 8

Societal dispersion refers to the condition that exists when wealthy people and poverty-stricken people live in close proximity.

Accepted Answer

Societal dispersion generally refers to the distribution of people across different geographical areas or social strata, not specifically to the proximity of wealthy and poverty-stricken individuals.

Question 9

General strain theory suggests that crime peaks during adolescence because adolescence is a time of high stress created by the weakening of parental supervision and the development of relationships with a diverse peer group.

Accepted Answer

General strain theory posits that individuals may turn to crime in response to the stress or strain they experience from various sources, including the challenges and transitions of adolescence, such as reduced parental supervision and the influence of peer relationships.

Question 10

Social structure concepts, especially Cloward and Ohlin's views, were a critical ingredient in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations' "War on Poverty," begun in the early 1960s.

Accepted Answer

Cloward and Ohlin's theories on delinquency and opportunity structures influenced the understanding of poverty and its solutions, contributing to the development of social programs during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations' "War on Poverty." Their work highlighted the importance of providing opportunities to disadvantaged communities, aligning with the administrations' efforts to address poverty through structural reforms and social welfare programs.

Question 11

Postindustrial social systems are highly developed and dependent upon the division of labor; people are connected by their interdependent needs for one another's services, and production is referred to as organic solidarity

Accepted Answer

In postindustrial social systems, the complexity of job specialization and the interdependence among individuals based on their roles in the production process lead to organic solidarity, as described by Emile Durkheim, where social cohesion is maintained through the interdependence of individuals in advanced societies.

Question 12

According to Cohen, the "delinquent boy" adopts a set of norms in direct opposition to middle-class values.

Accepted Answer

Albert K. Cohen's theory on delinquent subcultures suggests that the "delinquent boy" rejects middle-class values and norms, adopting behaviors and attitudes that are in direct opposition to those values, as a form of adaptation to status frustration.

Question 13

According to Sellin, culture conflict occurs when the rules expressed in criminal law clash with the demands of group conduct norms.

Accepted Answer

Thorsten Sellin introduced the concept of culture conflict to explain how conflicts between the conduct norms of different cultural groups and the dominant societal norms can lead to criminal behavior, particularly when the laws of a society reflect values that are at odds with the values of a cultural group.

Question 14

There is evidence that stress influences males and females equally; however, the degree to which it leads to criminal behavior is much higher among females than males.

Accepted Answer

Research indicates that stress affects males and females differently due to biological, psychological, and social factors. However, the assertion that stress leads to a much higher degree of criminal behavior among females than males is not supported by evidence. In fact, statistics generally show higher rates of criminal behavior among males.

Question 15

The social disorganization concepts articulated by Shaw and McKay have remained a prominent fixture of criminological scholarship for more than 75 years.

Accepted Answer

Shaw and McKay's social disorganization theory, introduced in the early 20th century, has significantly influenced criminology and remains a foundational concept in understanding how community structure and social dynamics contribute to crime rates.

Question 16

Although welfare has been curtailed through the Federal Welfare Reform Act of 1996, research shows that crime rates decrease when families receive supplemental income through public assistance payments.

Accepted Answer

Studies have found that increases in welfare benefits can lead to decreases in crime rates, as financial support helps alleviate some of the economic pressures that may contribute to criminal behavior.

Question 17

While short-term national economic trends may have little effect on crime, long-term local unemployment rates may have a significant impact on conditions at the neighborhood level.

Accepted Answer

Long-term local unemployment can lead to economic deprivation in a neighborhood, which may increase stress, reduce resources for crime prevention, and potentially lead to higher crime rates, reflecting a significant impact on neighborhood conditions.

Question 18

Societies held together by traditions, shared values, and unquestioned beliefs (i.e., mechanical solidarity) are the most likely to develop anomie.

Accepted Answer

Societies characterized by mechanical solidarity, where cohesion comes from shared beliefs and values, are less likely to develop anomie. Anomie is more likely in societies with organic solidarity, where cohesion is based on the interdependence of specialized roles, leading to weaker shared norms and values.

Question 19

Anomie is derived from the French word nomos , meaning "without feeling."

Accepted Answer

Anomie is derived from the Greek word "anomia," meaning "lawlessness" or "normlessness," and it refers to a social condition where norms are confused, unclear, or not present.

Question 20

Explain the socioeconomic structure of American society.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Explain the socioeconomic structure of American society....

Quiz 6: Social Structure Theories

In neighborhoods where collective efficacy is high, children are less likely to become involved with deviant peers and engage in problem behaviors.