Deck 2: Explaining Deviant Behavior

Question 1

Social disorganization theory argues that deviance varies systematically by neighborhood and community ecological location.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

According to Gottfredson and Hirschi, who are principal proponents of the self-control theory of deviance, delinquency, and crime, their explanation does not apply to white collar crime.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Positivism is centrally concerned with scientifically determining what's moral and immoral.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

A central assumption of positivist criminologists is determinism-that criminal behavior has a cause, and criminologists can determine what its causes are.

Question 5

The social disorganization school argues that the cause of criminal, deviant, and delinquent behavior is that entire neighborhoods fail to monitor and sanction wrongdoing among their residents.

Question 6

Social disorganization is the "micro" version of routine activity theory, which is a "macro" theory.

Question 7

Social disorganization theory has been entirely discredited and falsified.

Question 8

Positivism in the social sciences is the application of the scientific method to the study of human behavior.

Question 9

The positivistic theories examined in this chapter focus mainly on the question, "Why are certain forms of behavior regarded as deviant?"

Question 10

Anomie theory is based on the idea that in achievement-oriented societies, the social structure exerts pressure on certain persons in the society to engage in non-conforming, unconventional, or deviant behavior.

Question 11

Anomie or strain theory argues that deviant behavior is most common among the most successful members of the middle class.

Question 12

By the 1990s, anomie theory had become completely discredited in American sociology.

Question 13

The differential association theory of crime is primarily an explanation based on learning.

Question 14

Differential association argues that the mass media represent the most powerful mechanisms of learning to engage in deviant, criminal, and delinquent behavior.

Question 15

Both social control and self-control theory are based on the assumption that deviance is inherently attractive, that we do not have to learn to violate norms or laws, that it is conformity to the norms-not deviance and crime-that requires an explanation.

Question 16

The architects of self-control theory, Michael Gottfredson and Travis Hirschi, argue that their explanation of crime complements or is compatible with all of the other sociological theories of criminal behavior.

Question 17

As a scientific theory, positivism seeks supernatural explanations for phenomena that exist in a dimension other than in the material world.

Question 18

Another term for the Chicago school is the differential association theory.

Question 19

Anomie theory attempts to explain the motives for non-normative behavior; in contrast, routine activity theory assumes that non-normative behavior is inherently attractive and appealing.

Question 20

Routine activity theory assumes, but does not attempt to explain, what is different about the motivated offender that makes him or her violate the norms.

Question 21

The unit of analysis of the social disorganization school is the:

A) neighborhood or community
B) individual
C) family
D) state
E) society

Question 22

Which of the following theories argues that in order to engage in crime, we need to be pushed into or motivated to engage in criminal behavior?

A) routine activities theory
B) social disorganization theory
C) anomie theory
D) social control theory
E) self-control theory

Question 23

Robert K. Merton's theory hinges on the gap or lack of congruence between which of the two institutional orders? The:

A) political and the educational order
B) the military and the diplomatic order
C) the religious and the artistic order
D) the economic and the cultural order
E) none of the above

Question 24

Which of the following is a constructionist theory of deviance and crime?

A) social disorganization theory
B) demonic possession
C) Lombroso's theory of biological atavisms
D) free will, rational choice, and routine activity theory
E) none of the above

Question 25

Robert K. Merton conceptualized anomie as a disjunction between:

A) structurally defined goals and culturally available opportunities.
B) culturally defined goals and structurally available opportunities.
C) both structurally defined goals and culturally available opportunities.
D) neither culturally defined goals nor structurally available opportunities.
E) none of the above

Question 26

Which of the following theories argues that virtually everyone would engage in deviance and crime if given the opportunity; sociologists do not have to explain the motivated offender; he/she can simply be assumed.

A) anomie theory
B) genetic theories
C) differential association theory
D) learning theory
E) self-control theory

Question 27

The sociologist known for fashioning the differential association theory of crime is:

A) Emile Durkheim
B) Robert K. Merton
C) Edwin Sutherland
D) Cesare Lombroso
E) Travis Hirschi

Question 28

The criminologist known for fashioning a biological theory of crime is:

A) Emile Durkheim
B) Robert K. Merton
C)Edwin Sutherland
D) Cesare Lombroso
E) Travis Hirschi

Question 29

The sociologist known for fashioning the social control theory of crime is:

A) Emile Durkheim
B) Robert K. Merton
C)Edwin Sutherland
D) Cesare Lombroso
E) Travis Hirschi

Question 30

Positivism's central mission is:

A) developing empathy toward human actors.
B) devising scientific explanations for why things happen in the material world.
C) bringing about the socialist revolution.
D) understanding how people experience things.
E) none of the above

Question 31

Demonic possession-being possessed by the devil or other evil spirits-is:

A) is an example of the free will or rational calculus school of criminology.
B) the most ancient explanation for wrongdoing.
C) an acceptable sociological theory of deviance and crime.
D) an example of a positivistic or scientific explanation for deviance.
E) none of the above

Question 32

A sociologist expressing which of the following theories would have been most likely to have written this quote: "Poor, dense, mixed-use neighborhoods have high transience rates. . . . Transience weakens . . . both formal and informal social control, which increases the likelihood of deviant behavior."

A) anomie/strain theory
B) social disorganization theory
C) differential association theory
D) routine activities theory
E) social control theory

Question 33

Robert K. Merton adapted Emile Durkheim's theory of anomie to devise his own anomie explanation of deviance. There are major differences between the two theories. Which of the following is one of them? In:

A) Merton's theory, deviance is caused by norms that are too strong; in Durkheim's theory, deviance is caused by norms that are too weak.
B) both Durkheim's and Merton's theories, deviance is caused by norms that are too strong; the difference lies elsewhere.
C) Durkheim's theory, deviance is caused by norms that are too strong; in Merton's theory, deviance is caused by norms that are too weak.
D) both Durkheim's and Merton's theories, deviance is caused by norms that are too weak; the difference lies elsewhere.
E) none of the above

Question 34

What is the central explanatory factor of anomie theory?

A) inadequate parenting
B) absence of bonds to conventional society
C) deviant socialization
D) a disjunction between the culture, which stresses success motivation, and society's social and economic structure
E) none of the above

Question 35

A sociologist expressing which of the following theories would have been most likely to have written this quote: "It is only when a system of cultural values extols [praises, encourages] . . . certain common success goals for the population at large while the social structure rigorously restricts or completely closes access to approved modes of reaching these goals for a considerable part of that same population, that deviant behavior ensues on a large scale."

A) differential association theory
B) social control theory
C) anomie/strain theory
D) routine activities theory
E) social disorganization theory

Question 36

Emile Durkheim and Robert K. Merton had very different definitions of anomie and argued that anomie had very different consequences for the society. In Merton's conceptualization, deviance results from:

A) psychopathology.
B) improper parental socialization.
C) a state of normlessness.
D) a too-strong hold of the norms on the members of the society.
E) disorganized neighborhoods

Question 37

Which of Merton's "adaptations" is exemplified by becoming a drug addict?

A) ritualism
B) innovation
C) rebellion
D) retreatism
E) conformity

Question 38

The innovation mode of adaptation in Merton's anomie theory applies to:

A) suicide
B) sexual unconventionality
C) pick-pocketing
D) being a petty red-tape bureaucrat
E) drug addiction

Question 39

Retreatism is exemplified by which of Merton's adaptions to the strain induced by anomie?

A) chronic alcoholism
B) burglary
C) autism
D) being a revolutionary
E) prostitution

Question 40

The Chicago school explanation of deviance doesn't apply to some forms of deviance, one of which is:

A) juvenile delinquency
B) property crime
C) violent crime
D) white collar crime
E) none of the above; all apply to these forms of deviance

Question 41

Scientists seek:

A) naturalistic explanations
B) spiritual explanations
C) political explanations
D) religious explanations
E) ideological explanations

Question 42

The most important factor in social disorganization theory is very closely related to one of routine activity theory's key explanatory variable.

A) socioeconomic status
B) a rigid belief system
C) the number of mental defectives living in a neighborhood
D) absence of a capable guardian
E) one's belief in the capacity to rise in the economic hierarchy

Question 43

Which of the following is an empirical question and hence, a scientific question?

A) Which political system is the best one?
B) Does God exist?
C) Is this painting more beautiful than that one?
D) Which politician is the best one?
E) None of the above; all are unscientific questions

Question 44

Explanatory theories attempt mainly to account for deviant:

A) behavior
B) beliefs
C) physical conditions
D) psychiatric conditions
E) None of the above

Question 45

What is the central explanatory factor of social control theory?

A) deviant socialization
B) absence of bonds to conventional society
C) a disjunction between the culture, which stresses success motivation, and society's social and economic structure
D) inadequate parenting
E) none of the above

Question 46

What is the central explanatory factor of self-control theory?

A) inadequate parenting
B) deviant socialization
C) absence of bonds to conventional society
D) a disjunction between the culture, which stresses success motivation, and society's social and economic structure
E) none of the above

Question 47

Michael Gottfredson and Travis Hirschi, who devised "self-control" theory, argue that the theory does not apply to:

A) drug use
B) delinquency
C) street crime
D) white collar or corporate crime
E) none of the above; they explicitly state that their theory applies to all of the above

Question 48

Positivistic theories of deviance are centrally concerned with an answer to the question:

A) Why are some rule violators punished while conformists remain unpunished?
B) Why are rules that condemn certain behaviors or beliefs enforced?
C) Why do rules against certain behaviors or beliefs exist in the first place?
D) How do people who are stigmatized and punished experience that stigmatization and punishment?
E) Why do some people engage in deviance?

Question 49

"Crime takes place as a consequence of the conjunction of a motivated offender, a suitable target, and the absence of a capable guardian." This statement best exemplifies which of the following theories or perspectives?

A) routine activities theory
B) social control theory
C) social disorganization theory
D) anomie/strain theory
E) differential association theory

Question 50

Which of the following theories is most likely to take the entire society as the unit of analysis subject to the deviance-causing agent?

A) anomie theory
B) social control theory
C) self-control theory
D) social disorganization theory
E) routine activities theory

Question 51

What is the central explanatory factor of community disorganization?

A) inadequate parenting
B) deviant socialization
C) a disjunction between the culture, which stresses success motivation, and society's social and economic structure
D) absence of bonds to conventional society
E) zones of transition

Question 52

A sociologist expressing which of the following theories would have written this quote: "Criminal behavior is learned in interaction with other persons in a process of communication."

A) differential association theory
B) social disorganization theory
C) social control theory
D) routine activities theory
E) anomie/strain theory

Question 53

A sociologist advocating which of the following theories would have written this quote: "Delinquent acts result when an individual's bonds to society are weak or broken."

A) differential association theory
B) social disorganization theory
C) routine activities theory
D) anomie/strain theory
E) social control theory

Question 54

Which of the following perspectives bills itself as "a general theory of crime"?

A) Emile Durkheim's anomie theory
B) Robert K. Merton's anomie theory
C) Michael Gottfredson and Travis Hirschi's self-control theory
D) Edwin Sutherland's theory of differential association
E) Travis Hirschi's social control theory

Question 55

Which of the following theories argues that persons do not have to be stressed into committing deviance, nor does anyone have to learn to engage in deviant behavior?

A) anomie theory
B) differential association theory
C) social disorganization theory
D) social control theory
E) none of the above

Question 56

Gottfredson and Hirschi state that their theory demolishes all other explanations of deviance and crime, except for two. One is routine activities theory; the other is:

A) social disorganization theory.
B) differential association theory.
C) anomie theory.
D) subculture theory.
E) none of the above; all of the above, say Gottfredson and Hirschi, are falsified by their theory

Question 57

In many ways, the "self-control" theory of Michael Gottfredson and Travis Hirschi ("a general theory of crime") contradicts the social control theory advocated by the selfsame Travis Hirschi two decades earlier. In what ways are the two theories contradictory? In what ways are they similar or based on the same principles?

Question 58

How is Robert K. Merton's anomie theory of deviance different from Emile Durkheim's, on which it is based?

Question 59

Why was social disorganization theory abandoned in the 1940s? Why did it make a comeback after the late 1980s?

Question 60

In what ways are the positivistic theories of deviance, crime, and delinquency inadequate or incomplete, according to the constructionist approaches? In what ways, do its advocates argue, is the constructionist approach more adequate or complete? In what ways are the positivist approaches stronger than the constructionist approaches?

Question 61

Michael Gottfredson and Travis Hirschi, authors of "self-control" theory, argue that all other perspectives are wrong, or inconsistent with the facts of crime--except for two. Why do they believe that their theory annihilates the others? And what are the two that, they admit, are consistent with theirs, and how can these two theories be reconciled with their own approach?