Deck 9: The Sick Society

Question 1

Strain theorists agree that society's structure and culture cause strain by:

A) Their form of organization
B) The kinds of goals they prescribe
C) Their allocation of resources
D) All of the above

Answer 1

D

Question 2

___________ believed that people were born with potentially insatiable appetites, which can be heightened or diminished by social structure and its cultural values.

A) Émile Durkheim
B) Robert Merton
C) Robert S. Agnew
D) Nikos Passas

Answer 2

A

Question 3

___________ argued that neoliberal economics promotes relatively unlimited free trade, and as a result is a polarizing force dividing the rich from the poor based on the unequal distribution of income and wealth.

A) Émile Durkheim
B) Robert Merton
C) Robert S. Agnew
D) Nikos Passas

Answer 3

D

Question 4

___________'s general strain theory argued that there are microlevel stresses emanating from negative interpersonal, peer group, or familial relationships that produce strain and that these may be more important.

A) Émile Durkheim
B) Robert Merton
C) Robert S. Agnew
D) Nikos Passas

Question 5

____________ shifted the emphasis of anomie from a breakdown of, or a failure to develop, adequate moral or normative regulation to differential access to opportunity structures that, combined with the egalitarian ideology, produced relative deprivation.

A) Émile Durkheim
B) Robert Merton
C) Robert S. Agnew
D) Nikos Passas

Question 6

A society is described as suffering strain because of:

A) A dysfunctional mismatch between the goals or aspirations it sets for its members and the structure of opportunities it provides for them to achieve these goals
B) An unleashing of individual aspirations without a corresponding provision of normative or moral guidelines to moderate the level of raised aspirations
C) The failure to match people's skills and abilities to the available positions in the society
D) All of the above

Question 7

___________ is the condition in which people in one group compare themselves to others who are better off, and as a result they feel relatively disadvantaged, whereas before the comparison no such feeling existed.

A) Reference group
B) Relative deprivation
C) Ascribed status
D) Status frustration

Question 8

According to Albert Cohen, many lower-class youths, prior to entering school, have low ____________. Nor do they have the socially relevant means and background skills to legitimately achieve status by accomplishing the goals that would bring success in the school setting.

A) reference group
B) relative deprivation
C) ascribed status
D) status frustration

Question 9

_____________ theory states that the differential experience of the effects of structural strain explain why some people in anomic situations resort to deviance, whereas others do not.

A) Reference group
B) Relative deprivation
C) Ascribed status
D) Status frustration

Question 10

_____________ is a psychological state involving self-hatred, guilt, self-recrimination, loss of self-esteem, and anxiety.

A) Reference group
B) Relative deprivation
C) Ascribed status
D) Status frustration

Question 11

Robert Merton identified ___________ ways in which individuals respond or adapt to selective blockage of access to opportunities among those variously located in the class, ethnic, racial, and gender sectors of the social structure.

A) three
B) five
C) seven
D) ten

Question 12

Robert Merton identified five ways in which individuals respond or adapt to selective blockage of access to opportunities among those variously located in the social structure. An adaptation whereby the individual rejects both the goals of society as well as the legitimate means to attain them is called ___________. This mode of adaptation is most likely to be chosen when the socially approved means are perceived as being unlikely to result in success and the conventional goals are seen as unattainable; it becomes an escape device for such people.

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

Question 13

Robert Merton identified five ways in which individuals respond or adapt to selective blockage of access to opportunities among those variously located in the social structure. One mode of adaptation, ____________, involves individuals not only rejecting the goals and means, but replacing them with new ones.

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

Question 14

Robert Merton identified five ways in which individuals respond or adapt to selective blockage of access to opportunities among those variously located in the social structure. One mode of adaptation, ___________, involves individuals rejecting the societal goals but accepting the means. These people recognize that they will never achieve the goals due to personal inability or other factors.

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

Question 15

Robert Merton identified five ways in which individuals respond or adapt to selective blockage of access to opportunities among those variously located in the social structure. One mode of adaptation, ___________, involves the individual accepting the goals of society and the legitimate means of acquiring them. The means include delayed gratification, hard work, and education.

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

Question 16

Cloward and Ohlin identified primary types of deviant subcultures that form in response to the shared perception of injustice. The ___________ subculture is composed of dropouts involved with excessive alcohol and drug use, sexually promiscuous behavior, and survival activities such as pimping. Members of these subcultures are deemed double failures because they have also failed in other types of gangs as well as in conventional society.

A) criminal
B) conflict
C) retreatist
D) rebel

Question 17

Cloward and Ohlin identified primary types of deviant subcultures that form in response to the shared perception of injustice. The ___________ subculture forms where stable organized criminal activity fails to develop. This is because of a variety of ecological factors, including a transient population, few adult role models, and isolation from conventional opportunity structures.

A) criminal
B) conflict
C) retreatist
D) rebel

Question 18

Cloward and Ohlin identified primary types of deviant subcultures that form in response to the shared perception of injustice. The ___________ subculture is primarily interested in crimes that bring material gain: theft, drug dealing, numbers rackets, and so on. These groups are likely to form in neighborhoods where there exists a connection between both conventional activity and theft and various moneymaking rackets. This mutual interdependence provides a relatively stable illegal opportunity structure.

A) criminal
B) conflict
C) retreatist
D) rebel

Question 19

___________ strain is the person's expectation that the current strain will continue into the future. Agnew also posits that some types of strain will not be related to crime.

A) Vicarious
B) Anticipated
C) Explicit
D) Institutional

Question 20

___________ strain refers to the real-life strain experienced by others around the individual. The individual may directly witness the strain experienced by these others, may hear these others' experience of strain, or may hear about the strain of these others.

A) Vicarious
B) Anticipated
C) Explicit
D) Institutional

Question 21

__________anomie theory focuses on what the authors claim is the unique character of US culture, embodied in the American Dream and its relationships with US economic institutions. It argues that all societies have their own internal institutional balance of power, with some institutions more dominant than others.

A) Vicarious
B) Anticipated
C) Explicit
D) Institutional

Question 22

All versions of strain theory agree that deviant behavior is a normal response to abnormal conditions.

Question 23

Strain theory describes the interplay among social structures, cultural context, and individual action.

Question 24

Robert Merton states that human appetites, or desires, are natural. They are not created by cultural influences in the United States, as in other capitalist societies.

Question 25

According to strain theory, crime is one way of both responding to the structural strain and realizing common goals espoused by the larger dominant culture.

Question 26

To resolve their status frustration, lower-class youths seek achieved status, but since they are unable to achieve this by legitimate means, they collectively rebel through a process called relative deprivation.

Question 27

According to Robert Merton, social integration occurs effectively when individuals are socialized into accepting that they will be rewarded for the occasional sacrifice of conforming to the institutionalized means and when they actually compete for rewards through legitimate means.

Question 28

According to Robert Merton, rebels accept the goals but significantly reject or alter the means of acquiring the goals; put simply, they cheat or "hustle." They innovate and seek alternative means to success-often illegitimate. This mode of adaptation accounts for the majority of the crime explained by strain theory.

Question 29

According to Cloward and Ohlin, the retreatist subculture is primarily interested in crimes that bring material gain: theft, drug dealing, numbers rackets, and so on. These groups are likely to form in neighborhoods where there exists a connection between both conventional activity and theft and various moneymaking rackets.

Question 30

According to Cloward and Ohlin, the conflict subculture forms where stable organized criminal activity fails to develop. This is because of a variety of ecological factors, including a transient population, few adult role models, and isolation from conventional opportunity structures.

Question 31

According to Cloward and Ohlin, the criminal subculture is composed of dropouts involved with excessive alcohol and drug use, sexually promiscuous behavior, and survival activities such as pimping. Members of these subcultures are deemed double failures because they have also failed in other types of gangs as well as in conventional society.

Question 32

The American Dream refers to a commitment to the goal of material success, to be pursued by everyone in society, under conditions of open, individual competition.

Question 33

Anticipated strain refers to the real-life strain experienced by others around the individual. The individual may directly witness the strain experienced by these others, may hear these others' experience of strain, or may hear about the strain of these others.

Question 34

Vicarious strain is the person's expectation that the current strain will continue into the future. Agnew also posits that some types of strain will not be related to crime.

Question 35

Institutional anomie theory focuses on what the authors claim is the unique character of US culture, embodied in the American Dream and its relationships with US economic institutions. It argues that all societies have their own internal institutional balance of power, with some institutions more dominant than others.

Question 36

Strain can refer to characteristics of a society; a situation in which the social structure fails to provide legitimate means to achieve what the culture values. It can also refer to feelings and emotions that an individual experiences; feelings of stress or frustration or anxiety or depression or anger.

Question 37

__________ theory reveals a shared concept of humans as engaged in goal-oriented, achievement-directed behavior shaped by social structure and culture.

Question 38

One adaptation to societal strain is __________, whereby people attempt to achieve societal goals of money, material success, and social status regardless of the means used to achieve them.

Question 39

According to Émile Durkheim , crime was any action that offends the collective feelings of the members of society-that shocks their 'common ___________.'

Question 40

According to Robert Merton, social _____________ occurs effectively when individuals are socialized into accepting that they will be rewarded for the occasional sacrifice of conforming to the institutionalized means and when they actually compete for rewards through legitimate means.

Question 41

Robert Merton identified five ways in which individuals respond or adapt to selective blockage of access to opportunities among those variously located in the social structure. One mode of adaptation, ___________, involves individuals rejecting the societal goals but accepting the means. These people recognize that they will never achieve the goals due to personal inability or other factors.

Question 42

Robert Merton identified five ways in which individuals respond or adapt to selective blockage of access to opportunities among those variously located in the social structure. An adaptation whereby the individual rejects both the goals of society as well as the legitimate means to attain them is called ___________. This mode of adaptation is most likely to be chosen when the socially approved means are perceived as being unlikely to result in success and the conventional goals are seen as unattainable; it becomes an escape device for such people.

Question 43

Robert Merton identified five ways in which individuals respond or adapt to selective blockage of access to opportunities among those variously located in the social structure. One mode of adaptation, ____________, involves individuals not only rejecting the goals and means, but replacing them with new ones.

Question 44

According to Robert Merton, ___________ accept the goals but significantly reject or alter the means of acquiring the goals; put simply, they cheat or 'hustle.' They create and seek alternative means to success-often illegitimate. This mode of adaptation accounts for the majority of the crime explained by strain theory.

Question 45

Robert Merton identified five ways in which individuals respond or adapt to selective blockage of access to opportunities among those variously located in the social structure. One mode of adaptation, ___________, involves the individual accepting the goals of society and the legitimate means of acquiring them. The means include delayed gratification, hard work, and education.

Question 46

According to Albert Cohen, many lower-class youths, prior to entering school, have low ____________status. Nor do they have the socially relevant means and background skills to legitimately achieve status by accomplishing the goals that would bring success in the school setting.

Question 47

____________ is a psychological state involving self-hatred, guilt, self-recrimination, loss of self-esteem, and anxiety.

Question 48

To resolve their status frustration, lower-class youths seek achieved status, but since they are unable to achieve this by legitimate means, they collectively rebel through a process called '___________.'

Question 49

According to Cloward and Ohlin, the ___________ subculture is primarily interested in crimes that bring material gain: theft, drug dealing, numbers rackets, and so on. These groups are likely to form in neighborhoods where there exists a connection between both conventional activity and theft and various moneymaking rackets.

Question 50

According to Cloward and Ohlin, the ___________ subculture forms where stable organized criminal activity fails to develop. This is because of a variety of ecological factors, including a transient population, few adult role models, and isolation from conventional opportunity structures.

Question 51

According to Cloward and Ohlin, the ___________ subculture is composed of dropouts involved with excessive alcohol and drug use, sexually promiscuous behavior, and survival activities such as pimping. Members of these subcultures are deemed double failures because they have also failed in other types of gangs as well as in conventional society.

Question 52

Robert Merton identified five ways in which individuals respond or adapt to selective blockage of access to opportunities among those variously located in the social structure. What are these modes of adaptation? Please list and describe these modes.

Question 53

Cloward and Ohlin identified three primary types of deviant subcultures that form in response to the shared perception of injustice. What are these types of subcultures? Please list and describe each.

Question 54

Robert Agnew identified the range of potential strains most likely to be responsible for crime and delinquency. Please list and describe each of these strains. Out of this list, which strain do you think is the MOST likely to be responsible for crime and delinquency?

Question 55

Robert Agnew provides four concrete policy proposals for juveniles. What are these proposals? In your opinion, which is the best one?

Question 56

What is the difference between status frustration and relative deprivation? Please explain.