Deck 9: Developmental Theories Life Course Latent Trait and Trajectory

Question 1

__________________, in his Philadelphia cohort research, identified a small group of chronic offenders who engaged in frequent and repeated criminal activity across their life spans.

Answer 1

Marvin Wolfgang

Question 2

According to Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory of crime, the propensity to commit crime is tied directly to a person's level of __________________.

Answer 2

self-control

Question 3

Wolfgang found that while many offenders commit a single criminal act and thereafter desist from crime, a small group of ___________________engage in frequent and repeated criminal activity and continue to do so across their life span.

Answer 3

chronic offenders

Question 4

___________________ and Eleanor Glueck are today considered founders of the developmental branch of criminological theory.

Question 5

The _________ pathway to crime begins with minor, underhanded behavior such as lying and shoplifting that leads to property damage and that later escalates to more serious forms of criminality.

Question 6

Building __________________-positive relations with individuals and institutions that are life sustaining supports conventional behavior and inhibits deviant behavior.

Question 7

Most theories focus on why people get involved in crime. In an important 1993 work,____________________, Robert Sampson and John Laub instead focus on whether there are trails back to conformity

Question 8

A __________________ is a stable feature, characteristic, property, or condition present at birth or soon after that makes some people crime-prone over the life course.

Question 9

__________________ and Richard Herrnstein, published Crime and Human Nature in 1985 and suggested that personal traits-such as genetic makeup, intelligence, and body build-may outweigh the importance of social variables as predictors of criminal activity.

Question 10

Gottfredson and Hirschi trace the root cause of poor self-control to inadequate _________.

Question 11

Life course theories recognize that as people mature the factors that influence their behaviors change. At first, family relations may be most influential. In later adolescence, _________ and _________ relations dominate.

Question 12

Critics of the general theory of crime claim that it is _________ or involves circular reasoning.

Question 13

The concept of ____________assumes that the propensity of an individual to participate in antisocial and/or criminal behaviors  is a relatively stable trait, unchanging over their life course.

Question 14

Integrating ___________, social, and psychological elements, the Gluecks' research suggested that the initiation and continuity of a criminal career was a developmental process influenced by both internal and external situations, conditions, and circumstances.

Question 15

Those who study _______________ attempt to provide a more global vision of a criminal career, encompassing its onset, continuation, and termination.

Question 16

The __________________ pathway to crime begins at an early age with stubborn behavior.

Question 17

According to the principles of age-graded theory, repeated negative life experiences create a condition called __________________.

Question 18

Developmental theory holds that criminality may best be understood as one of many social problems faced by at-risk youth, a view termed___________________________. According to this view crime is one among a group of interrelated antisocial behaviors.

Question 19

When Elaine Eggleston Doherty and Margaret Ensminger analyzed the relationship between marriage and official arrest, they found strong evidence of a ________________________.

Question 20

In a critical 1990 article, David Rowe, D. Wayne Osgood, and W. Alan Nicewander proposed the concept of _______ to explain the flow of crime over the life cycle.

Question 21

According to life course theories, over time individuals' behaviors will:

A) stay the same.
B) get worse.
C) get better.
D) all of the above

Question 22

According to _____________________, crime is one among a group of interrelated antisocial behaviors that cluster together and typically involve family dysfunction, sexual and physical abuse, substance abuse, smoking, precocious sexuality and early pregnancy, educational underachievement, suicide attempts, sensation seeking, and unemployment

Question 23

The life events most likely to enable adult offenders to desist from crime are:

A) religion and marriage
B) marriage and career
C) education and religion
D) marriage and education

Question 24

_____ who have early experiences with antisocial behavior are the ones most likely to persist throughout their life course.

A) Boys
B) Girls
C) Boys and girls
D) Victims

Question 25

The view that criminality as a dynamic process, influenced by a multitude of individual characteristics, traits, and social experiences is known as:

A) the social development model.
B) life course theory.
C) interactional theory.
D) human nature theory.

Question 26

Most life course theories assume that the seeds of a criminal career are planted early in life and that early onset of deviance strongly predicts ________.

A) the cycle of violence
B) later poor parenting ability
C) one's age of desistance
D) later and more serious criminality

Question 27

.Life events that enable adult offenders to desist from crime are known as:

A) developmental shifts
B) transition events.
C) key spots.
D) turning points.

Question 28

The branch of criminology that examines change in a criminal career over the life course is known as:

A) the social development model.
B) developmental criminology.
C) the general theory of crime.
D) social control theory.

Question 29

__________________are a small group of offenders who begin their career at an early age and then continue to offend well into adulthood. For this group, the seeds of crime persistence are planted early in life and may combine the effects of abnormal traits, such as neurological deficits, with severe family dysfunction.

Question 30

According to theories of the life course, _____ factors are examples of feathres such as information processing and attention/perception.

A) situational
B) socialization
C) social
D) cognitive

Question 31

Most life course theories believe that the seeds of a criminal career are planted ________.

A) during young adulthood (20s)
B) at any time
C) late in life
D) early in life

Question 32

According to latent trait theories, while the _____ to commit crime is stable, the opportunity to commit crime fluctuates over time.

A) desire
B) ability
C) motivation
D) propensity

Question 33

Most young offenders follow one of two paths. "Typical teenagers" who get into minor scrapes and who engage in what might be considered rebellious teenage behavior with their friends are considered to be __________________.

Question 34

The foundation of developmental theory can be traced to ____, who researched the life cycle of delinquent careers in the 1930s.

A) Marvin Wolfgang
B) Sheldon and Eleanor Glueck
C) Rolf Loeber
D) Sampson and Laub

Question 35

What does research show to be a key factor in terms of the early onset of criminality?

A) personality disorders
B) racism
C) poor parental discipline
D) all of above

Question 36

When referring to age-graded theory, research supports Sampson and Laub's suspicion that criminal career trajectories can be reversed if:

A) life conditions improve.
B) criminal labels are withdrawn.
C) criminal labels are not internalized.
D) social capital is reduced.

Question 37

Which of the following is not an antisocial behavior that problem behavior syndrome argues affects the likelihood of criminal behavior?

A) unemployment
B) free will
C) family dysfunction
D) abuse

Question 38

According to ______, crime is a type of social problem rather than the product of other problems.

A) personality syndrome
B) psychological syndrome
C) emotional syndrome
D) problem behavior syndrome

Question 39

The view that human development is controlled by a stable propensity or "master trait," present at birth or soon after is:

A) strain theory.
B) social economic theory.
C) age theory.
D) latent trait theory.

Question 40

Which of the following is not more typical of early-onset girls than early-onset boys?

A) suicide
B) depression
C) substance abuse
D) relationship problems

Question 41

According of Farrington, ____________ involves passive obedience to the demands of others, such as submitting to physical or sexual abuse without response.

A) ​predation
B) ​defiance
C) ​submission
D) ​trait

Question 42

High levels of coercion produce criminality. Coercion that involves pressures beyond an individual's control, such as economic and social pressure caused by unemployment or poverty, is termed:

A) covert coercion.
B) latent coercion.
C) interpersonal coercion.
D) impersonal coercion.

Question 43

The general theory of crime identifies five life domains that shape how an individual reacts to constraints and motivations. Which of these is not a life domain?

A) self
B) religion
C) family
D) school

Question 44

Most offenders' antisocial behavior peaks during adolescence and then diminishes as they mature until around the age of 18. These offenders are known as:

A) adolescent-limiteds
B) life course persisters
C) adolescent-diminishers
D) social-persisters

Question 45

According to latent trait theories, why are people who are antisocial during adolescence the most likely to persist in crime?

A) because latent traits are stable.
B) because adolescents tend to associate with deviant peers.
C) because educational achievement is more difficult during an adolescent's middle- and high-school years.
D) because cognitive ability is fully formed by adolescence.

Question 46

Gottfredson and Hirschi trace the root cause of poor self-control to inadequate:

A) nutrition and health care.
B) intelligence.
C) child-rearing practices.
D) education.

Question 47

Which of the following is a stable feature, characteristic, property, or condition, present at birth or soon after, that makes some people crime prone over the life course.

A) ​latent trait
B) ​propensity
C) ​birth right
D) ​social contract

Question 48

The pathway of crime that begins at an early age with stubborn behavior leading to deviance and then to authority avoidance is known as:

A) the power pathway.
B) the authority conflict pathway.
C) the overt pathway.
D) the covert pathway.

Question 49

What theory, developed by Gottfredson and Hirschi, considers the criminal offender and the criminal act as separate concepts?

A) human nature theory
B) age-graded theory
C) interactional theory
D) general theory of crime

Question 50

Gottfredson and Hirschi identify people with limited self-control as tending to be:

A) sensitive.
B) aggressive.
C) irrational.
D) impulsive.

Question 51

Positive relations with individuals and institutions that are life sustaining are known as:

A) social connections.
B) antisocial bonds.
C) social capital.
D) turning points

Question 52

According to Farrington,___________challenges control mechanisms but stops short of physical harm: for example, vandalism, curfew violations, and unconventional sex.

A) ​predation
B) ​defiance
C) ​submission
D) ​deviance

Question 53

A stable feature, characteristic, property, or condition present at birth or established early in life that makes some people crime-prone over the life course is known as a/an:

A) life-factor.
B) hidden characteristic.
C) underlying feature.
D) latent trait.

Question 54

The pathway of crime that begins with bullying and annoying others and then escalates to physical fighting and violence is known as:

A) the power pathway
B) the authority conflict pathway
C) the overt pathway
D) the covert pathway

Question 55

According Farrington, ____________involves direct forms of physical violence, such as robbery, sexual assault, or other forms of assault.

A) ​predation
B) ​defiance
C) ​submission
D) ​control

Question 56

An inclination or tendency to behave in a particular way is called a/an:

A) ​propensity.
B) ​factor.
C) ​incidence.
D) ​trait.

Question 57

_____ is a crime-reducing social event. Research proves it to be a key element of social capital and informal social control that allows offenders to lead more conventional lifestyles.

A) Unemployment
B) Marriage
C) Exiting prison
D) Being a victim

Question 58

What is known about the marriage factor and crime?

A) People who maintain successful marriages are more likely to mature out of a life of crime.
B) Marriage stabilizes people.
C) The marriage benefit may be intergenerational.
D) All of the above.

Question 59

One of the small group of offenders whose criminal career continues well into adulthood.

A) ​life course persisters
B) ​latent traiters
C) ​developmentally overt
D) ​introverts

Question 60

According to research on persistence patterns, _______ traits rather than environmental traits seem to have the greatest influence on life course persistence.

A) social
B) individual
C) economic
D) family

Question 61

Programs and policies based on developmental theory typically feature _____ treatment efforts.

A) economic-related
B) singular-focused
C) faith-based
D) multisystemic

Question 62

Adolescents with a history of gang involvement are more likely to have been expelled from school, be binge drinkers, and test positive for marijuana.

Question 63

The most important social control a person can establish is a successful marriage.

Question 64

Social Learning theories hold that human development is controlled by a stable propensity or "master trait," present at birth or soon after.

Question 65

Problem behavior syndrome portrays crime as a type of social problem rather than the product of other social problems.

Question 66

Who developed the life course theory to offer separate explanations for persistent offenders and adolescent-limited offenders?

A) Moffitt
B) Sampson and Laub
C) Agnew
D) Lombroso

Question 67

Criminal conduct has been found to increase the chances of premature death due to both natural and unnatural causes, including deaths from accidents, homicide, and suicide.

Question 68

The association between self-control, poor impulse control, and crime applies more accurately to juvenile crime as motivations for adult crime differ. This helps to explain the aging out process.

Question 69

Research indicates that criminal career trajectories can be reversed if life conditions improve and kids gain social capital.

Question 70

Youths who join gangs are 30% less likely to graduate from high school and 58% less likely to earn a four-year degree than youths of similar background who do not become gang members

Question 71

The Gluecks' research was highly praised for nearly thirty years as the study of crime and delinquency shifted almost exclusively to social factors.

Question 72

The concept of overt stability suggests that people change and develop as they mature; life events have a significant influence on future behavior.

Question 73

Aging out is explained by latent trait theory in that one's propensity to commit crime remains steady over the life course. Only the opportunity to commit crime fluctuates over time.

Question 74

Agnew's general theory of crime and delinquency indicates that crime and social relations are reciprocal. The way an individual reacts to constraints and motivations is shaped by five key elements of human development, called life domains.

Question 75

Developmental theories attempt to provide a more global vision of a criminal career, encompassing its onset, persistence, and desistance.

Question 76

The concept of population heterogeneity assumes that the propensity of an individual to participate in antisocial and/or criminal behaviors is a relatively stable trait, unchanging over their life course.

Question 77

Life course theories are inherently integrated theories and suggest that events taking place over the life course influence life choices.

Question 78

Latent trait theories hold that some underlying condition present at birth or soon after controls behavior.

Question 79

Life experiences resulting from encounters with formal social control mechanisms, such as police and other authority figures, limit opportunities for criminal behavior. Sampson and Laub's age-graded theory refers to such experiences as "turning points in crime."

Question 80

One flaw with life course theories is that as people mature they do not take into account things that influence behavior change as well.