Deck 9: Social Disorganization Theories

Question 1

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

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

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Social disorganization theorists:

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.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

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

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.

Answer 3

E

Question 4

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

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.

Question 5

Research on social disorganization indicates that:

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 6

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

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 7

Which of the following is not associated with social disorganization?

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 8

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

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 9

Social disorganization theories are examples of kinds of places theories.

Question 10

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

Question 11

Collective efficacy theory extends psychological ideas to explain crime rates.

Question 12

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

Question 13

A key practical contribution from social disorganization theories is the Chicago Area Project.

Question 14

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.

Question 15

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

Question 16

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

Question 17

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

Question 18

What do social disorganization and ecological theories try to explain?

Question 19

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

Question 20

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

Question 21

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