Deck 2: Positivist Theories

Question 1

According to Merton,when persons hold high success aspirations and are not given the opportunity to realize them,they might

A)resort to illegitimate means of achieving their aspirations.
B)reset their goals to an even higher level.
C)feel irrepressible psychological pressures and become violent.
D)become more religious.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The essence of several types of anomie-strain theory is that the experience of

A)personal,psychological strain leads to deviant behavior.
B)socially induced strain pressures individuals to commit deviant acts.
C)significant social and political conflict leads to deviant acts.
D)cultural change leads to social strain and outbreaks of deviant behavior.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Merton's version of anomie-strain theory is based on the premise that

A)the breakdown of social norms,or anomie,inhibits deviance.
B)society encourages the individual to engage in deviance.
C)deviant behavior is the expression of the individual's primitive psychological desires.
D)society cannot restrain the individual from using power to prevent deviance.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Peter,disillusioned with the way things are going,decides to live in a hippie commune away from the rest of society.According to Merton's theory,his behavior is an example of

A)conformity.
B)innovation.
C)ritualism.
D)retreatism.

Question 5

All of Jane's friends have jewelry and new clothes,but she has no money to buy them.She therefore resorts to shoplifting to get what she wants.According to Merton's theory,her behavior is an example of

A)conformity.
B)innovation.
C)ritualism.
D)retreatism.

Question 6

According to Merton,the only cultural value of importance in American society is

A)family relationships.
B)hard work.
C)material success.
D)religious faith.

Question 7

According to Robert Merton's goal-means gap theory,the psychoanalytic approach to deviant behavior is wrong because that theory incorrectly assumes that

A)society discourages the individual from engaging in deviant behavior.
B)society encourages the individual to engage in deviant behavior.
C)society has no impact on human biological impulses.
D)individuals freely choose to partake in deviant behavior.

Question 8

Joe,a steel worker in Cleveland,Ohio,has no aspirations of being rich and successful.Nevertheless,he works hard and takes pride in his job.According to Merton's theory,this is an example of

A)conformity.
B)innovation.
C)ritualism.
D)retreatism.

Question 9

According to Albert Cohen,when lower-class boys experience status frustration,they set up their own competitive system in the form of

A)violent gangs.
B)religious groups.
C)delinquent subcultures.
D)boys clubs.

Question 10

Cloward and Ohlin attempt to extend Merton's central idea that the lower classes are denied legitimate opportunity by introducing the concept of

A)status frustration.
B)the means-goal gap.
C)differential illegitimate opportunity.
D)differential legitimate opportunity.

Question 11

Cohen's theory utilizes which group to illustrate status frustration?

A)upper-class boys.
B)middle-class boys.
C)lower-class boys.
D)lower-class girls.

Question 12

According to Cloward and Ohlin,lower-class boys experience different opportunities in the form of three subcultures,which are

A)criminal,conflict,and rebellious.
B)criminal,retreatist,and innovative.
C)conflict,rebellious,and innovative.
D)criminal,conflict,and retreatist.

Question 13

According to Cohen's theory,the place in American society where lower-class boys experience the greatest status frustration is

A)home.
B)school.
C)neighborhood.
D)the job.

Question 14

According to Merton's anomie-strain theory,which of the following statements is true?

A)All Americans have about the same chance of reaching high success goals.
B)Both the cultural goals of success and the legitimate means of achieving high success goals are freely available to all Americans.
C)Relatively few Americans believe that success is an important part of life.
D)The legitimate means of achieving high success goals are not freely available to all classes of people.

Question 15

Joe is a sociologist who is undertaking a study of drug use.He is interested in how broken families and poor neighborhoods lead to more problems of drug addiction.Joe is following a __________ theory of deviant behavior.

A)positivist
B)constructionist
C)scientific
D)historical

Question 16

Cloward and Ohlin used the concept of differential illegitimate opportunity to mean that some members of the lower class have

A)a greater chance to become middle class through use of illegitimate and legitimate opportunities.
B)more opportunities to pursue legitimate and conforming activities.
C)more positivist cultural values than others.
D)fewer opportunities to pursue illegitimate opportunities.

Question 17

Cohen's theory of status frustration most closely resembles Merton's goal-means gap because they both

A)use similar styles of research.
B)argue that deviant actions are the product of individual choice.
C)assert that lower-class people are more likely to engage in deviant actions.
D)assume that social class has little to do with deviant behavior.

Question 18

Which of the following is NOT a primarily positivist theory of deviance?

A)differential association
B)anomie-strain theory
C)control theory
D)phenomenological theory

Question 19

The theories of positivist sociologists attempt to explain the __________ of deviance.

A)negative features
B)symbolism
C)causes
D)meanings

Question 20

Albert Cohen's theory is similar to Merton's approach,but Cohen replaced the word "success" with the word "__________."

A)wealth
B)innovation
C)anomie
D)status

Question 21

An expression of disapproval designed to invoke remorse in the wrongdoer is called

A)labeling.
B)denouncing.
C)bonding.
D)shaming.

Question 22

Most control theorists seem to

A)imply that too much social control will force criminals to commit more crimes.
B)accept the Freudian assumption that our inborn animal impulses,if unchecked,will turn into deviant behavior.
C)accept the notion that one has to learn some skill and ideology in order to commit deviance.
D)assume that social control often indirectly or unexpectedly causes deviant behavior.

Question 23

According to control theories of deviance,the central question is

A)what causes deviance.
B)what causes conformity.
C)what causes criminality.
D)what is the definition of deviance.

Question 24

Recent developments in anomie-strain theory have located new sources of strain that might push individuals toward deviance.Which of the following is NOT one of those newly identified strains?

A)American culture's "anything goes" mentality in the pursuit of success
B)removal of positively valued stimuli such as the death of a friend
C)the discrepancy between success aspirations and the opportunities for realizing those aspirations
D)presentation of negative stimuli,such as the experience of child abuse or criminal victimization

Question 25

The deterrence doctrine assumes that human beings,when anticipating deviant behavior,are

A)basically rational.
B)basically irrational.
C)nasty and evil.
D)motivated to fight crime.

Question 26

Daniel Glaser felt that Sutherland's theory was too __________ and proposed that a process of identification with criminals also had to take place.

A)liberal
B)mechanistic
C)voluntary
D)sociological

Question 27

Which of the following is NOT a kind of social control that can prevent deviance?

A)bonds to society
B)reintegrative shaming
C)differential association
D)legal punishment

Question 28

Burgess and Akers find Sutherland's differential association theory inadequate because Sutherland

A)ignored the individual's choice-making ability.
B)placed too much emphasis on the rewards,not the consequences,of deviant behavior.
C)could not empirically test his theory.
D)did not specify what is involved in the process of learning to become a criminal.

Question 29

Many sociologists have criticized Merton's version of anomie-strain theory for assuming that lower-class people

A)are entirely dishonest.
B)have the same level of success aspirations as other social classes.
C)have higher levels of success aspirations than others.
D)are poor because they have deviant values.

Question 30

One contribution that anomie-strain theory has made to the body of sociological research on deviance is that

A)society,not the individual,causes much deviance.
B)the individual,not society,causes much deviance.
C)sociology can actually discover very little about deviant behavior.
D)almost all deviant behavior is committed by the lower classes.

Question 31

According to Hirschi,which of the following is NOT a way for individuals to bond themselves to society?

A)a commitment to conformity
B)an experience of a gap between goals and means
C)a belief in moral validity of the rules
D)involvement in conventional activities

Question 32

Hank is a sociologist investigating the causes of crime.He is interested in how some areas of the city have traditions of crime that persist over generations,and how individuals easily move into groups following those traditions.What theory of deviance is guiding Hank's research?

A)labeling theory
B)control theory
C)differential association theory
D)strain theory

Question 33

Burgess and Akers argued that before one becomes criminal,a process of __________ must occur where he or she is rewarded for continuing deviant behavior.

A)differential reinforcement
B)differential revulsion
C)differential learning
D)differential rejection

Question 34

Which of the following statements is an accurate criticism of Burgess-Akers's social learning theory?

A)It fails to explain why a person fails to continue to commit deviant acts.
B)It cannot explain why a person initially commits a deviant act.
C)It explains only why a person initially commits a deviant rather than a conforming act.
D)It fails to explain why a person continues to commit deviant acts.

Question 35

If a society makes a deviant feel guilty while showing understanding and forgiveness,it practices __________ shaming.

A)bureaucratic
B)disintegrative
C)reintegrative
D)degrading

Question 36

According to Glaser,before a person pursues criminal behavior,he or she must first __________ real or imaginary persons whose criminal behavior seems acceptable.

A)strongly reject
B)rebel against
C)identify with
D)fall deeply in love with

Question 37

According to Hirschi's theory of social control,if elements of bonding to society are weak,the individual might

A)have strong self-control.
B)have a good self-concept.
C)develop a strong goal orientation.
D)slide into deviance.

Question 38

According to the deterrence doctrine,all of the following would help reduce the rate of crime,EXCEPT for making punishment

A)more certain.
B)more swift.
C)more general.
D)more severe.

Question 39

According to Sutherland's differential association theory,a person may become deviant or delinquent when there is a(n)

A)economic strain produced by a lack of economic opportunity.
B)political movement that calls for attacks on social inequality.
C)excess of deviant contacts favorable to violation of the law.
D)absence of deviant contacts calling for obeying the law.

Question 40

Which of the following concepts constitutes the core of Sutherland's differential association theory?

A)numerous associations with criminals
B)an excess of criminal over anticriminal contacts
C)a strong criminal personality
D)an excess of criminal over anticriminal personality traits

Question 41

Merton's theory was inspired by the sociologist _______,the first to use the term "anomie" as a sociological concept.

A)Karl Marx
B)Robert Merton
C)Emile Durkheim
D)Sigmund Freud

Question 42

Merton's theory assumes the premise that lower-income people have a higher propensity to commit deviant acts compared to higher-income people.

Question 43

Merton's ritualists and retreatists have one thing in common,which is the absence of high success goals in their lives.

Question 44

________ holds that if an individual associates with people who hold deviant ideas more than with those who embrace conventional ideas,the individual is likely to become deviant.

A)Control theory
B)Differential Association
C)Anomie-Strain
D)All Positivist theories

Question 45

According to Cohen,the major frustration lower-class people experience is with their lack of status,not material success.

Question 46

Sociologists criticizing control theory point out that control can become a possible cause of deviance.They therefore conclude that most versions of this theory are too

A)underdeveloped.
B)oriented to adult deviance.
C)simplistic.
D)focused on society's unattainable goals.

Question 47

Cloward and Ohlin called members of the retreatist subculture "double failures" because they fail to gain success in other deviant subcultures and the larger society.

Question 48

______________ study the underlying causes of deviance through social and environmental factors.

A)Positivists
B)Constructionists
C)Marxists
D)Historians

Question 49

According to Merton,the access to the institutionalized means of achieving high success goals is not equally distributed in American society.

Question 50

Under Merton's Anomie-Strain Theory,the breakdown of social norms is a result of ___________________.

A)Lack of legitimate opportunities to succeed
B)Lack of societal expectations of ambition
C)Lack of societally approved goals
D)An overwhelming amount of social norms to follow

Question 51

One of Merton's great contributions to the study of deviance was to locate the cause of deviance in the individual,not society.

Question 52

Which of the following is NOT an example of Merton's legitimate means to achieving success?

A)Insider trading
B)Networking
C)An education
D)A good job

Question 53

Merton's theory indicates that individual acts of deviance have a social origin.

Question 54

Which of the following is the best example of Burgess and Akers's Differential Reinforcement theory?

A)Ann is fined for shoplifting one day. To get back at the store,she starts to shoplift more and more expensive items.
B)Having been fired from a job for drinking during his shift,Derek begins to drink more heavily during the week.
C)Having been rewarded with good grades for studying hard in the past,Trae continues to study hard today.
D)Having been given poor grades for not studying enough in the past,Pam loses motivation to study entirely.

Question 55

Merton's Anomie-Strain Theory observes that failure to move up and achieve success is the fault of ____________ in American culture.

A)the community
B)the educational system
C)the family unit
D)the individual

Question 56

In general,positivist theories focus on the meanings of deviance,while constructionist theories point to the causes of deviance.

Question 57

According to critics,reintegrative shaming may work only with

A)hardened criminals.
B)embarrassed criminals.
C)first-time offenders.
D)sexual offenders.

Question 58

There is no reliable evidence to support anomie-strain theory's claim that people of the lower classes are more likely than those of other classes to engage in deviant behavior.

Question 59

What factor combinations are said by Robert Agnew to contribute to frustration,fear,and anger?

A)Removal of positively valued stimuli and presentation of negative stimuli
B)Removal of negatively valued stimuli and presentation of positive stimuli
C)Removal of both positive and negatively valued stimuli
D)Presentation of both positive and negatively valued stimuli

Question 60

By introducing their concept of differential illegitimate opportunity,Cloward and Ohlin totally reject Merton's version of anomie-strain theory.

Question 61

Social control can actually cause deviant behavior as well as prevent it.

Question 62

Like Merton and Sutherland,control theorists seek the cause of deviance directly by asking,"What causes deviance?"

Question 63

Sutherland developed his theory of differential association in order to explain criminality as an individual,but not a group phenomenon.

Question 64

One criticism of differential association theory is that it is hard to define precisely what differential association is in real-life situations.

Question 65

One essential part of differential association theory is the assertion that the process of learning to become a criminal is the same as the process of learning to become a normal person.

Question 66

The concept of differential reinforcement is best at explaining why a person continues to commit a deviant act,not why he or she does so in the first place.

Question 67

Reintegrative shaming is another form of negative stigmatizing.

Question 68

The theory of __________ association says that if a person associates with criminal patterns more than with anticriminal patterns,that person is likely to become criminal.

Question 69

Attachment to conventional people and institutions and commitment to conformity are two ways individuals bond to conventional society.

Question 70

According to Messner and Rosenfeld,lack of opportunity is the primary and overwhelming factor that contributes to people resorting to illegal means of achieving success.

Question 71

If persons lower their aspirations or abandon high success goals but continue to work hard,they are involved in what Merton called __________.

Question 72

Glaser tried to extend Sutherland's theory by arguing that the individual must first identify with criminals before being influenced by them.

Question 73

According to the deterrence doctrine,certainty and swiftness of punishment are two ways crime can be reduced.

Question 74

The kind of deviant subculture Ohlin and Cloward studied that provides the best illegitimate opportunity for achieving success goals is the __________ subculture.

Question 75

Research has shown that strong social controls can almost totally prevent deviant behavior from occurring.

Question 76

In Merton's view,modern,industrialized U.S.society heavily emphasizes the cultural value of community.

Question 77

According to control theory,the absence of __________ causes deviance.

Question 78

Burgess and Akers argued that differential association can occur without reinforcement or social learning.

Question 79

If a wrongdoer is punished in such a way as to be stigmatized,rejected,or ostracized,the individual experiences __________ shaming.

Question 80

Sutherland's Social Learning Theory purports that deviant behavior is learned via cultural values of success.