Question 1

Explain the history of social disorganization and ecological theories and its relevance to practical approaches and programs suggested by these theories.

Accepted Answer

These theories drew on a number of influences. A central starting point of the Chicago school was research about urban patterning and development that was undertaken during the 1920s and 1930s. The influx of new inhabitants and greater mixing of ethnicities in American cities led to conflicts between older, more established residents and recent immigrants. Another influence was the so-called moral statisticians in France and Belgium who attempted to find spatial patterns in criminal activities. Finally, Chicago school social disorganization theorists viewed cities as the natural habitat of humans and believed that there were parallels between plant/animal communities and human communities. More specifically, they embraced the notion of "webs of life," or ecosystems. Plants, animals, and even humans must live in an environment of competitive cooperation, thereby forming a natural economy. This approach came to be known as human ecology.

Question 2

The way in which a neighborhood harnesses formal social control is central to collective efficacy theory.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False  False

Question 3

Social disorganization research has found that incarceration of minor offenders serves to lower crime rates in poverty-stricken areas.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False  False

Question 4

Which of the following was not a key influence on social disorganization theories?

Accepted Answer

A)  Chicago school research 
B)  Marx's dialectical materialism 
C)  The work of the moral statisticians 
D)  The work of Emile Durkheim 
E)  Social ecology 
A)  Chicago school research 
B)  Marx's dialectical materialism 
C)  The work of the moral statisticians 
D)  The work of Emile Durkheim 
E)  Social ecology

Question 5

According to Bursik and Grasmick's theory of community control:

Accepted Answer

A)  there are two levels of control: public and private. 
B)  the allocation of law enforcement resources is most important to understanding why certain neighborhoods have high crime rates. 
C)  economic resources directly determine an area's level of crime. 
D)  the lower classes tend to have more problems regulating their behavior. 
E)  the effect of economic deprivation on crime and delinquency is indirect and mediated by the capacity of a neighborhood to solicit human and economic resources. 
A)  there are two levels of control: public and private. 
B)  the allocation of law enforcement resources is most important to understanding why certain neighborhoods have high crime rates. 
C)  economic resources directly determine an area's level of crime. 
D)  the lower classes tend to have more problems regulating their behavior. 
E)  the effect of economic deprivation on crime and delinquency is indirect and mediated by the capacity of a neighborhood to solicit human and economic resources.

Question 6

List some core assumptions made by social disorganization and ecological theorists.

Accepted Answer

The social disorganization/ecological th

Question 7

Social disorganization theories are examples of kinds of places theories.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 8

According to the concentric zone model, "the Loop" is characterized by the highest levels of crime.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 9

Research on social disorganization indicates that:

Accepted Answer

A)  rates of truancy, infant mortality, tuberculosis, and insanity are all lower in the zones-in-transition. 
B)  social disorganization is characterized by a lack of reputable businesses in the area. 
C)  crime results from low levels of police activity in poverty-stricken areas. 
D)  lack of communication between different racial enclaves living in urban areas can result in social disorganization. 
E)  certain racial groups are more prone to crime than others. 
A)  rates of truancy, infant mortality, tuberculosis, and insanity are all lower in the zones-in-transition. 
B)  social disorganization is characterized by a lack of reputable businesses in the area. 
C)  crime results from low levels of police activity in poverty-stricken areas. 
D)  lack of communication between different racial enclaves living in urban areas can result in social disorganization. 
E)  certain racial groups are more prone to crime than others.

Question 10

Research on social disorganization theories indicates that programs to help poverty-stricken areas should be located outside of the community in order to discourage favoritism.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 11

The ecological fallacy suggests that one cannot make inferences about aggregates when using individual-level data. (

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 12

Bursik and Webb's research on community change patterns and race indicated that:

Accepted Answer

A)  racial minorities are responsible for a disproportionate amount of crime in society. 
B)  increased police patrols in hot-spot areas can dramatically reduce drug dealing, robbery, and other forms of street crime. 
C)  the criminal justice system can prevent crime if criminals are punished more swiftly and severely. 
D)  neighborhood instability caused by mass migrations of people from urban areas to the suburbs was responsible for increasing crime rates in some urban areas during the 1950s. 
E)  community policing contributes to increased feelings of safety among residents. 
A)  racial minorities are responsible for a disproportionate amount of crime in society. 
B)  increased police patrols in hot-spot areas can dramatically reduce drug dealing, robbery, and other forms of street crime. 
C)  the criminal justice system can prevent crime if criminals are punished more swiftly and severely. 
D)  neighborhood instability caused by mass migrations of people from urban areas to the suburbs was responsible for increasing crime rates in some urban areas during the 1950s. 
E)  community policing contributes to increased feelings of safety among residents.

Question 13

How have social disorganization and ecological theories been critiqued in the past? In your opinion, what is the strongest objection to them?

Accepted Answer

One problem with social disorganization

Question 14

Which of the following is false with regard to the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN)?

Accepted Answer

A)  It is an example of purely sociological research. 
B)  It combined several different research approaches. 
C)  It examined Chicago's neighborhoods, particularly the social, economic, organizational, political, and cultural structures and the dynamic changes that took place in the structures over time. 
D)  All of the above. 
E)  None of the above. 
A)  It is an example of purely sociological research. 
B)  It combined several different research approaches. 
C)  It examined Chicago's neighborhoods, particularly the social, economic, organizational, political, and cultural structures and the dynamic changes that took place in the structures over time. 
D)  All of the above. 
E)  None of the above.

Question 15

What do social disorganization and ecological theories try to explain?

Accepted Answer

The problem focus of the social disorgan

Question 16

Which of the following is not associated with social disorganization?

Accepted Answer

A)  High levels of poverty 
B)  High levels of residential mobility 
C)  High levels of relative deprivation 
D)  High levels of residential density 
E)  High levels of broken families 
A)  High levels of poverty 
B)  High levels of residential mobility 
C)  High levels of relative deprivation 
D)  High levels of residential density 
E)  High levels of broken families

Question 17

What does recent research based on social disorganization theory tell us about this approach? Why were multimethod research strategies adopted?

Accepted Answer

In Chicago, researchers found that spati

Question 18

Social disorganization theorists:

Accepted Answer

A)  assume that humans are naturally selfish. 
B)  dismiss the importance of the natural sciences and evolutionary theory. 
C)  contend that class and crime are unrelated. 
D)  acknowledge that some conflict in society is natural. 
E)  demonstrated that neighborhoods tend to show little variation in criminal activity. 
A)  assume that humans are naturally selfish. 
B)  dismiss the importance of the natural sciences and evolutionary theory. 
C)  contend that class and crime are unrelated. 
D)  acknowledge that some conflict in society is natural. 
E)  demonstrated that neighborhoods tend to show little variation in criminal activity.

Question 19

Collective efficacy theory extends psychological ideas to explain crime rates.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 20

Which of the following is true of Sampson's collective efficacy theory?

Accepted Answer

A)  It was inspired by Freudian psychoanalysis. 
B)  It advocates the use of police crackdowns to control crime rates in poverty-stricken neighborhoods. 
C)  It ignores the importance of neighborhood dynamics and how they relate to crime. 
D)  It can shed light on problems outside of crime, including occurrences of low birth weight babies and heat wave deaths. 
E)  It suggests that residents have very little control over the crime rates in their neighborhoods. 
A)  It was inspired by Freudian psychoanalysis. 
B)  It advocates the use of police crackdowns to control crime rates in poverty-stricken neighborhoods. 
C)  It ignores the importance of neighborhood dynamics and how they relate to crime. 
D)  It can shed light on problems outside of crime, including occurrences of low birth weight babies and heat wave deaths. 
E)  It suggests that residents have very little control over the crime rates in their neighborhoods.

Explain the history of social disorganization and ecological theories and its relevance to practical approaches and programs suggested by these theories.

The way in which a neighborhood harnesses formal social control is central to collective efficacy theory.

Social disorganization research has found that incarceration of minor offenders serves to lower crime rates in poverty-stricken areas.

Which of the following was not a key influence on social disorganization theories?

According to Bursik and Grasmick's theory of community control:

List some core assumptions made by social disorganization and ecological theorists.

Social disorganization theories are examples of kinds of places theories.

According to the concentric zone model, "the Loop" is characterized by the highest levels of crime.

Research on social disorganization indicates that:

Research on social disorganization theories indicates that programs to help poverty-stricken areas should be located outside of the community in order to discourage favoritism.

The ecological fallacy suggests that one cannot make inferences about aggregates when using individual-level data. (

Bursik and Webb's research on community change patterns and race indicated that:

How have social disorganization and ecological theories been critiqued in the past? In your opinion, what is the strongest objection to them?

Which of the following is false with regard to the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN)?

What do social disorganization and ecological theories try to explain?

Which of the following is not associated with social disorganization?

What does recent research based on social disorganization theory tell us about this approach? Why were multimethod research strategies adopted?

Social disorganization theorists:

Collective efficacy theory extends psychological ideas to explain crime rates.

Which of the following is true of Sampson's collective efficacy theory?

Basic Principles of Theorizing and Mapping

The Seven-Step Model and Early Explanations of Criminality

Biological Positivist Theories

Psychological Positivist Theories

Psychological Process Theories

Differential Association and Social Learning Theories

Control Theories

Labeling Theories

Social Strain and Anomie Theories

Conflict Theories

Rational Choice Theories

Integrated and General Theories

Biosocial Theories

Developmental and Life Course Theories

Conclusion

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Exam 9: Social Disorganization Theories

Explain the history of social disorganization and ecological theories and its relevance to practical approaches and programs suggested by these theories.

The way in which a neighborhood harnesses formal social control is central to collective efficacy theory.

Social disorganization research has found that incarceration of minor offenders serves to lower crime rates in poverty-stricken areas.

Which of the following was not a key influence on social disorganization theories?

According to Bursik and Grasmick's theory of community control:

List some core assumptions made by social disorganization and ecological theorists.

Social disorganization theories are examples of kinds of places theories.

According to the concentric zone model, "the Loop" is characterized by the highest levels of crime.

Research on social disorganization indicates that:

Research on social disorganization theories indicates that programs to help poverty-stricken areas should be located outside of the community in order to discourage favoritism.

The ecological fallacy suggests that one cannot make inferences about aggregates when using individual-level data. (

Bursik and Webb's research on community change patterns and race indicated that:

How have social disorganization and ecological theories been critiqued in the past? In your opinion, what is the strongest objection to them?

Which of the following is false with regard to the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN)?

What do social disorganization and ecological theories try to explain?

Which of the following is not associated with social disorganization?

What does recent research based on social disorganization theory tell us about this approach? Why were multimethod research strategies adopted?

Social disorganization theorists:

Collective efficacy theory extends psychological ideas to explain crime rates.

Which of the following is true of Sampson's collective efficacy theory?

Basic Principles of Theorizing and Mapping

The Seven-Step Model and Early Explanations of Criminality

Biological Positivist Theories

Psychological Positivist Theories

Psychological Process Theories

Differential Association and Social Learning Theories

Control Theories

Labeling Theories

Social Strain and Anomie Theories

Conflict Theories

Rational Choice Theories

Integrated and General Theories

Biosocial Theories

Developmental and Life Course Theories

Conclusion

Filters