Deck 10: Strain Theories

Question 1

Which of the following is the strongest criticism of strain theory?

A) it does not explain women's lower crime rates
B) it neglects differing illegitimate opportunities
C) it focuses only on the lower class
D) it only applies to North America

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Cloward and Ohlin go beyond Merton by realizing that:

A) there are different types of illegitimate opportunities
B) there are different types of legitimate opportunities
C) there is no consensus on success in American society
D) the middle-class measuring rod works against many lower-class students

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following focuses on the inherent divisions of societies based on social inequality and the way these social diversions give rise to different and competing interests.

A) Strain theory
B) Consensus perspective
C) Conflict perspective
D) Anomie

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The condition known as microanomie is where an individual

A) places more value on self-interest than on collective values.
B) places less value on self-interest than on collective values.
C) places equal value on self-interest and collective values.
D) places interest in other peoples values and not their own.

Question 5

Human capital refers to:

A) knowledge about how to succeed at your job
B) talents and capabilities that individuals contribute to production
C) money that people can invest in an enterprises
D) reliability , punctuality, politeness and other "middle class" values

Question 6

Which of the following proposes that people feel pressure to do something when they are exposed to cultural goals that they are unable to obtain because they do not have access to socially approved means of achieving those goals.

A) Strain theory
B) Consensus perspective
C) Conflict perspective
D) Control theory

Question 7

Elijah Anderson notes that exporting manufacturing jobs overseas has made a bad situation worse in inner cities where

A) illegitimate opportunities were not equally accessible to all and they adopt a middle class moral reasoning towards crime.
B) they collectively build a new set of values and standards that are opposite to those of the middle class.
C) they enroll in training sessions to improve their chances when competing for jobs.
D) Traditional work is not available, young people have adopted a code of the street and gain status by being tough and willing to use violence.

Question 8

Which of the following refers to the inability to sustain oneself physically and materially.

A) Blocked opporunity
B) Cultural failure
C) Relative deprivation
D) Differential association

Question 9

The War on Poverty,a crime prevention strategy adopted in the United States during the 1960s,was based on:

A) control theory
B) differential theory
C) conflict theory
D) strain theory

Question 10

Drug use is most likely to be found in:

A) a criminal subculture
B) a conflict subculture
C) a transitional subculture
D) a retreatist subculture

Question 11

Durkheim argued that as ________ decreased,crime and deviance would increase.

A) legitimate opportunity
B) social solidarity
C) relative deprivation
D) stable communities

Question 12

Braithwaite's research supports the notion that:

A) school failure increases the likelihood of delinquency
B) poverty causes crime
C) spatial mixing of economic classes reduces crime
D) deterrence works

Question 13

In order to understand strain theories,it is important to distinguish between cultural factors and structural factors.A cultural factor would be:

A) blocked opportunity
B) inequality
C) racial discrimination
D) an emphasis on the pursuit of wealth

Question 14

Merton shifted Durkheim's concept of anomie from one of generalized normlessness to one of:

A) relative deprivation
B) reaction formation
C) illegitimate opportunity
D) social control

Question 15

Which of the following entails a rejection of the notion that aspirations are entirely self-created; rather,they are defined by society and transmitted by other members of the society.

A) Social structure
B) Culturally prescribed aspiration
C) Middle-class measuring rod
D) Reaction formation

Question 16

For ________,strain arose from the gap between goals and means,or aspirations and expectations.

A) Durkheim
B) Sutherland
C) Lombroso
D) Merton

Question 17

Which of the following is a concept developed by Emile Durkheim to describe an absence of clear societal norms and values.

A) Strain
B) Relative deprivation
C) Cultural conflict
D) Anomie