Deck 16: Putting It All Together: Integrated Theories of Crime

Question 1

Which of the following theorists has questioned the strategy of theoretical integration, suggesting that we focus on improving individual theories instead?

A) Francis Cullen.
B) Terence Thornberry.
C) Ron Akers.
D) Travis Hirschi.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following theorists argued that "to integrate theories is to formulate relationships among them"?

A) Hirschi.
B) Messner et al.
C) Shaw and McKay.
D) Sutherland.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following is the most common way to integrate theories?

A) Simply listing the causes of crime from different theories.
B) Rank ordering the causes of crime from different theories.
C) Listing key variables from different theories and describing how they affect one another and work together to affect crime.
D) Taking two theories and adding them together.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following is the central construct for understanding crime, according to the integration by Francis Cullen?

A) Social control.
B) Control balance.
C) Social learning.
D) Social support.

Question 5

Which of the following is not an example of an integrated theory?

A) Ron Akers's social learning theory.
B) Cohen's theory about delinquent boys.
C) Messner and Rosenfeld's institutional-anomie theory.
D) Thornberry's interactional theory.

Question 6

A common opposition to theoretical integration is

A) Variation explained typically declines upon integration.
B) Assumptions of integrated theories are often conflicting.
C) Social behavior is not complex enough to require theoretical integration.
D) Theoretical integration always involves cross-disciplinary work, and not enough scholars are trained in such a way.

Question 7

Thornberry's interactional theory argues that

A) Cultural values influence criminal behavior.
B) Macro-level factors are more important than micro-level factors.
C) Social support reduces criminal behavior.
D) Most variables have a reciprocal effect on one another.

Question 8

Wikstrom's situational action theory claims crimes are acts

A) Of greed.
B) Of selfishness.
C) That violate moral rules embodied in the law.
D) That violate moral rules embodied in the Bible.

Question 9

Opponents of theoretical integration argue that

A) Integration is impossible without fundamentally altering the theories that are being combined.
B) Integration is too complicated.
C) Integration will lead to ineffective policy recommendations.
D) Integration is lazy.

Question 10

Agnew's general theory of crime relies on all the following theories except

A) Strain.
B) Control.
C) Social learning.
D) Social disorganization.

Question 11

Which of the following is not one of the five clusters in Agnew's general theory?

A) Disorganized neighborhoods.
B) Poor parenting practices.
C) Negative school experiences.
D) Peer delinquency.

Question 12

In Agnew's theory, this refers to the likelihood that others will detect and sanction criminal behavior.

A) Internal control.
B) External control.
C) Stake in conformity.
D) Social control.

Question 13

Individuals have a large stake in conformity to the extent that

A) Individuals have weak emotional bonds to conventional others.
B) Individuals have jobs that they do not like.
C) They have a good reputation among conventional others.
D) They are wealthy.

Question 14

According to Agnew, people are taught to engage in crime in all the following ways except

A) Reinforced for crime.
B) Exposed to successful criminal models.
C) Taught beliefs favorable to crime.
D) Live in high-crime neighborhoods.

Question 15

According to Agnew, this has the largest effects on crime in childhood.

A) Low self-control and poor parenting.
B) Low self-control and peer delinquency.
C) Low self-control, peer delinquency, and bad jobs.
D) Low self-control and high-crime neighborhoods.

Question 16

According to Wikstrom's situational action theory, this refers to the ability to act in accordance to one's morality when tempted or provoked.

A) Morality.
B) Self-control.
C) Action alternatives.
D) Moral context.

Question 17

According to Agnew, the fact that life domains not only affect crime but also affect one another is referred to as

A) The revolving door of crime.
B) Mutual influence.
C) The web of crime.
D) Coalescence of variables.

Question 18

According to Wikstrom, all action, including crime, is an outcome of

A) Social learning and self-control.
B) Social bonds and rational choices.
C) Social disorganization and differential associations with others.
D) What action alternatives a person perceives and what choices a person makes.

Question 19

Agnew's integrated theory does which of the following?

A) End-to-end integration.
B) Macro-level integration.
C) A variable-centered approach to integration.
D) Integration using a central causal process.

Question 20

Which of the following is true according to Agnew's integrated theory?

A) The multiple causal effects on crime tend to be linear.
B) The multiple causal effects on crime tend to be contemporaneous.
C) The multiple causal effects on crime tend to be independent.
D) The multiple causal effects on crime tend to be stable across the life course.

Question 21

Agnew groups the variables that have relatively large, direct effects on crime into five life domains. Briefly describe those life domains. Select any two of those five domains and describe how they index or affect constraints against or motivations for crime.

Question 22

Describe the key points of Agnew's integrated theory. What traditional theories does he draw on (and how) in this general theory?

Question 23

Explain the role of morality in criminal behavior as presented in Wikstrom's situational action theory (SAT).

Question 24

How does self-control influence criminal behavior in Wikstrom's SAT?

Question 25

Discuss the interaction between propensity and exposure in Wikstrom's SAT.

Question 26

What are the five fundamental arguments of SAT?