Deck 4: Social Structure, Anomie, and Crime

Question 1

According to Durkheim we should consider social facts as

A) things.
B) external to individuals.
C) coercive.
D) all of the above.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following is an example of altruistic suicide according to Durkheim?

A) Childless women
B) Lottery winners
C) Hindu wives
D) Elderly men

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Regarding homicide, Durkheim theorized that with evolution from mechanical to organic solidarity, homicide would

A) increase.
B) decrease.
C) stay the same.
D) become an epidemic.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Durkheim demonstrated that societies with greater levels of __________ have lower homicide rates.

A) individualism
B) collectivism
C) Catholicism
D) suicide

Question 5

Durkheim's analysis of society developed a sociological methodology based on what?

A) Theology
B) Psychoanalysis
C) Biological reduction
D) Positivism

Question 6

What was the fundamental question that Durkheim was trying to answer?

A) How is social order possible?
B) What are the preconditions of an ordered, stable, and moral society?
C) What conditions produce social disorder?
D) All of the above

Question 7

According to Durkheim, the first and most basic rule is to consider "social facts" as if they were

A) things.
B) moral virtues.
C) extraneous social forces.
D) crucial elements in the healthy development of individual egos.

Question 8

According to Durkheim, social facts have external controls over individuals because they

A) are unchanging in time and space.
B) regulate how individuals act, think, and feel.
C) exist within a specific time and place.
D) exist within the individual.

Question 9

According to __________, social phenomena have an objective existence of their own and exist quite independently of the individuals who experience them.

A) Agnew
B) Marx
C) Durkheim
D) Merton

Question 10

Mechanical solidarity is defined as those societies that are

A) simple in the division of labor and have a high collective conscience.
B) complex in the division of labor and have a low collective conscience.
C) simple in the division of labor with a high degree of individualism.
D) complex in the division of labor with a low degree of individualism.

Question 11

Organic solidarity is defined as those societies that are

A) simple in the division of labor and have a high collective conscience.
B) complex in the division of labor and have a low collective conscience.
C) simple in the division of labor with a high degree of individualism.
D) complex in the division of labor with a low degree of individualism.

Question 12

According to Durkheim, repressive laws are more likely to be found within

A) organic solidarity.
B) positive law.
C) mechanical solidarity.
D) complex divisions of labor.

Question 13

According to Durkheim, restitutive laws are more likely to be found within

A) organic solidarity.
B) positive law.
C) mechanical solidarity.
D) complex divisions of labor.

Question 14

What is the aim of restitutive law according to Durkheim?

A) Punishment of individuals and infliction of pain
B) Reestablishment of the status quo and social relationships
C) Reinforcement of elite definitions of reality
D) Reinforcement of the existing class structure

Question 15

Why did Durkheim reject the legalistic definition of crime?

A) Because it was too broad for his purposes.
B) Because it was absurd to think the lawmakers would understand crime better than he did.
C) Because he regarded it as inadequate for scientific sociology.
D) Because he regarded it as too individualistic.

Question 16

Durkheim's own definition of crime relied on the fact that

A) police routinely disregard offenses.
B) too many offenses go undetected; therefore, the legalistic definition is inadequate.
C) laws support the interests of elite members of society.
D) people are punished for their offenses.

Question 17

To truly investigate crime, Durkheim believed it was necessary to understand

A) punishment.
B) criminal justice procedures.
C) lawmakers.
D) offenders' pathologies.

Question 18

The real targets of punishment, according to Durkheim, are

A) the offenders' families.
B) law-abiding and honest people.
C) offenders.
D) children.

Question 19

According to Durkheim, a sociological perspective understands crime as

A) useful.
B) inevitable.
C) normal.
D) all of the above.

Question 20

According to Durkheim, crime is normal because

A) it is a social fact that exists in nearly all societies.
B) absolute and total conformity is never possible.
C) it contributes to a healthy society.
D) it illuminates social boundaries.

Question 21

According to Durkheim, crime is inevitable because

A) it is a social fact.
B) even a society of saints will have some violations.
C) absolute and total conformity is always possible.
D) it illuminates social boundaries.

Question 22

According to Durkheim, crime is useful because

A) it is a social fact.
B) absolute and total conformity is seldom possible.
C) even a society of saints will have some violations.
D) it contributes to the integration of society.

Question 23

Variations in suicide rates can only be explained sociologically because suicide

A) rates vary with religious orientations.
B) rates fluctuate with the type and extent of social organization.
C) is the ultimate antisocial act.
D) injures the entire society, not just the individual.

Question 24

A type of suicide that Durkheim identified is

A) anomic.
B) altruistic.
C) egoistic.
D) all of the above.

Question 25

According to Durkheim's typology, egoistic suicide results from

A) intensely strong social bonds.
B) a sudden disruption of social bonds.
C) weakened social bonds.
D) particular individual states.

Question 26

According to Durkheim's typology, altruistic suicide results from

A) intensely strong social bonds.
B) sudden disruption of social bonds.
C) weakened bonds between individual and society.
D) individual pathologies.

Question 27

According to Durkheim's typology, anomic suicide results from

A) inability to resist the demands of one's social group.
B) a sudden crisis of economic or social life that leads to abrupt changes in expectations.
C) weakened social bonds.
D) individual pathologies.

Question 28

According to Durkheim's typology, individualistic suicide results from

A) inability to resist the demands of one's social group.
B) a sudden disruption of social bonds.
C) weakened social bonds.
D) particular individual states.

Question 29

If we follow the idea of "winning the game at all costs," even overlooking the rules of the game, then the result is likely to be

A) one very unhappy loser.
B) hostility and frustration leading to rebellion.
C) a fair fight.
D) anomic strain.

Question 30

According to Merton, the "lack of fit" between the goal and the means occurs

A) if the penalties for failure are severe.
B) when not all members of society have equal access to means.
C) when ideological beliefs such as the "American Dream" no longer integrate society.
D) all of the above.

Question 31

In Merton's model a stable society

A) has egalitarian ideology, but unequal routes to success.
B) emphasizes the goals more than the means.
C) emphasizes the means more than the goals.
D) has egalitarian ideology and makes routes to success available to all.

Question 32

According to Merton, what are the modes of adaptation?

A) lumpenproletariat, working class, middle class, and capitalist class
B) conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism, and rebellion
C) conformity, middle class, and capitalist ideology
D) working class, innovation, and middle-class success

Question 33

According to Merton, conformists

A) accept the means and the goals.
B) reject the means, but accept the goals.
C) accept the means, but reject the goals.
D) reject the means and the goals.

Question 34

According to Merton, innovators

A) accept the means and the goals.
B) reject the means, but accept the goals.
C) accept the means, but reject the goals.
D) reject the means and the goals.

Question 35

According to Merton, retreatists

A) accept the means and the goals.
B) reject the means, but accept the goals.
C) accept the means, but reject the goals.
D) reject the means and the goals.

Question 36

According to Merton, ritualists

A) accept the means and the goals.
B) reject the means, but accept the goals.
C) accept the means, but reject the goals.
D) reject the means and the goals.

Question 37

Merton's theory was criticized because

A) he relied too heavily on official, socially constructed data to prove his theory.
B) it relies on the assumption that the culturally approved means and goals are widely accepted.
C) although most people accept the goals of success, many of them rely on alternatives for getting there.
D) he was too idealistic and did not really understand historical materialism.

Question 38

Merton's theory was criticized because

A) it indicated his passion for preserving the status quo.
B) he was a privileged white man at a highly prestigious university.
C) he presumed that most anomic strain would occur in the lower classes.
D) he presumed that most readers would just "know" what he was thinking.

Question 39

Which twentieth-century U.S. criminologist most heavily influenced revised strain theories?

A) Sutherland
B) Merton
C) Hirschi
D) Marx

Question 40

Agnew's theory of a "general strain theory" identified three chief sources of strain. Which of the following is NOT one of them?

A) The failure to achieve positively valued goals.
B) The removal of positively valued stimuli from the individual.
C) The presentation of positively valued stimuli.
D) The presentation of negative stimuli.

Question 41

In applying general strain theory to animal abuse, Agnew argued that strain

A) causes humans to develop animal tendencies.
B) causes simple animals to abuse other animals.
C) might lead to animals' aggressive behavior.
D) might lead directly and indirectly to animal abuse.

Question 42

According to Agnew's research, nonhuman animals are sometimes the __________ and sometimes the __________ of violence.

A) target, tool
B) scapegoat, blame
C) perpetrator, victimizer
D) observer, silent witness

Question 43

Agnew said-at the heart of his theory of general strain-that if we treat people

A) badly, they might get mad and become docile.
B) badly, they might get mad and engage in crime.
C) nicely, they will become docile.
D) badly, they will get even.

Question 44

Messner and Rosenfeld's macro-level strain theory views the American Dream as

A) a commitment to material success and collective well-being.
B) a commitment to material success but not at the expense of collective well-being.
C) a commitment to the goal of material success, to be pursued by everyone in society under conditions of open, individual competition.
D) none of the above.

Question 45

According to Messner and Rosenfeld, modern U.S. society is incapable of delivering the American Dream to all citizens because of

A) a nightmare economy.
B) a cultural fetish for money.
C) a structural inequality eliminating opportunities for many.
D) both b and c.

Question 46

An example of a devalued noneconomic institution functioning for economic ends is

A) the stock market.
B) the military.
C) the education system.
D) the United Nations.

Question 47

According to Messner and Rosenfeld, high levels of crime in the United States result from

A) poor social solidarity.
B) social disorganization.
C) poverty.
D) a culture and social structure based on materialism.

Question 48

From a perspective of institutional strain theory, solutions to crime include

A) reestablishment and strengthening of the American Dream.
B) cultural regeneration and radical reappraisal of the American Dream.
C) free education so that all can achieve the American Dream.
D) both a and c.

Question 49

For Merton, anomie is a

A) chronic condition due to the strain of inaccessible means to social goals.
B) temporary condition due to the sudden change in one's status.
C) temporary condition due to the strain of inaccessible means to social goals.
D) chronic condition due to the sudden change in one's status.

Question 50

According to Merton, the unavailability of means to achieve goals results in

A) social conflict between groups.
B) a poorly integrated, unstable, and stressed society.
C) healthy competition for scarce resources.
D) lower prices for commodities.

Question 51

In Durkheim's view most suicide has social causes.

Question 52

For Durkheim, mechanical solidarity is evident in complex societies with high degrees of individualism.

Question 53

Organic solidarity is characterized by a high degree of collective conscience and a low level of individualism.

Question 54

Repressive law is typically seen in societies that have organic solidarity.

Question 55

Restitutive law attempts to restore the status quo ante.

Question 56

Merton's concept of anomie indicates that it is a temporary condition resulting from a sudden change in status.

Question 57

Merton's typology of reactions to anomic strain include conformity, innovation, retreatism, ritualism, and rebellion.

Question 58

According to Merton's theory, ritualists will accept the means but not the goals of success in society.

Question 59

A person who follows the means and ends of a society would be, according to Merton, a ritualist.

Question 60

Durkheim's work has influenced a number of other theorists, including the Chicago School.

Question 61

Messner and Rosenfeld linked the American Dream to high rates of illegal gun ownership.

Question 62

Merton's work was an attempt to refute Durkheim's views of social order.

Question 63

From a sociological perspective, crime is normal.

Question 64

According to Durkheim, punishment reinforces social bonds.

Question 65

Sociological analysis should pay attention to social dynamics, but it should treat social facts as things in their own right.

Question 66

Agnew's "revised strain" approach is deeply critical of Merton's over-emphasis of social psychological rather than structural causes of crime.

Question 67

According to Agnew, animal abuse may a response to negative stimuli and/or the failure to achieve socially valued goals.

Question 68

According to Messner and Rosenfeld, Merton's theory does not pay sufficient attention to the lop-sided import of the capitalist system in U.S. society.

Question 69

The "institutional anomie" approach suggests that the "American Dream" may actually be an "American Nightmare."

Question 70

Durkheim's and Merton's analyses are often discussed together. Indeed, Merton identified himself as a functionalist and acknowledged his intellectual debt to Durkheim. Even so, their work differed in important ways. Demonstrate your understanding of the relationship between Merton and Durkheim by comparing and contrasting their level of analysis, approaches to anomie, and analyses of the cause of crime.

Question 71

Although Durkheim's work reflects the time period in which he was writing, Durkheim also made innovative and creative claims, some of which might seem counterintuitive. Write a brief essay that explains how Durkheim's thought both reflected the intellectual currents of the time and deviated from them. Pay particular attention to his arguments that established the new science of "sociology."

Question 72

In The Division of Labor in Society, Durkheim makes an evolutionary argument that connects changes in social organization to shifts in the nature of law. Write a brief essay that summarizes Durkheim's argument about the evolution of social "solidarity" and how this shift influences the nature of law.

Question 73

Using Merton's typology, coupled with insights from Durkheim, explain why crime is not necessarily a threat to social order but ritualism potentially is.

Question 74

Although Merton's anomie theory provides a powerful explanation of the social basis of crime and deviance, some contemporary theorists both criticize and extend his work. Write a short essay that illustrates your understanding of Merton's explanatory model, notes some of its major criticisms, and addresses a contemporary extension of his work.