Deck 14: Social Control Theory

Question 1

What does Canadian research show about linkages between crime and neighbourhoods?

A) high crime neighbourhoods tend to be toward the outer boundaries of cities
B) the picture is too difficult to study given the geographic vastness of Canada
C) there is more crime in economically disadvantaged neighbourhoods
D) it does not appear that there is a link between crime and type of neighbourhood

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The main premise underlying Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory of crime is that delinquents and criminals lack a personality trait essential to pro-social behaviour.What is the trait?

A) commitment to conventional values
B) self-control
C) self-respect
D) the ability to feel empathy towards others

Answer 2

B

Question 3

According to research conducted in Illinois by Shaw and McKay,which of the following geo-spatial areas have the highest crime rate?

A) semi-rural areas and small towns outside of cities
B) slum areas near the city centre
C) business and industrial areas away from the city centre
D) the central business district of a city

Answer 3

B

Question 4

According to social control theory,which of the following assumptions is correct?

A) Human beings are born moral.
B) Human beings are neither good nor evil.
C) Some humans are born good; others are born evil.
D) Human beings are born inherently evil.

Question 5

According to Thrasher,why might delinquency take place in slum neighbourhoods?

A) the youth are bored and have nothing else to do
B) there are few police willing to patrol in the area
C) most households do not have anyone home during the day
D) there are more opportunities for crime to occur

Question 6

The "ecological fallacy," as it relates to crime,involves which of the following?

A) overemphasizing the role of socialization for producing and maintaining criminal tendencies
B) incorrectly inferring that belonging to the lower class makes one more likely to become involved in crime
C) inadequately amalgamating larger geographical areas from smaller ones
D) failing to take into account naturally occurring individual differences

Question 7

Neighbourhoods characterized by weak institutions contribute to ineffectual social controls,which then leads to high rates of crime and other types of deviance.This statement is central to which of the following schools of thought on crime causation?

A) social disorganization theories
B) critical criminology theories
C) interactionist theories
D) social psychology theories

Question 8

According to Hirschi,if a person is so busy in conventional activities that he or she does not have time to engage in deviant behaviour,what social bond is this an example of?

A) commitment
B) attachment
C) involvement
D) belief

Question 9

Which of these statements coincides with Gottfredson and Hirschi's notion of self-control?

A) Individuals who lack self-control tend to plan for the future.
B) A lack of self-control is an inherited trait.
C) Those who fail to develop self-control in childhood will be more likely to be involved in crime.
D) Individuals with low self-control typically engage in only one or two forms of risky behaviour.

Question 10

Which of the following best represents the reason why social controls are largely absent in some neighbourhoods according to Shaw and McKay's ecological analysis of crime?

A) group conflict
B) the mode of production
C) weak social institutions and organizations
D) rapid social change

Question 11

Shaw and McKay situated the origins of deviance in which of the following?

A) a neighbourhood's social environment
B) rapid changes taking place in mass society
C) individual pathology
D) the family

Question 12

The assumption that no special motivation is needed to explain deviance and that it is conformity and not deviance that needs explaining is at the core of which of the following theories on crime causation?

A) critical criminology theories
B) interactionist theories
C) social control theories
D) social psychology theories

Question 13

Which of the following questions about crime is most likely to be posed by a social control theorist?

A) What is in that person's make-up that propels him/her to crime?
B) Why did he or she do it?
C) Why don't we all do it?
D) We all do it,so why doesn't everyone get caught?

Question 14

What name does Hirschi give to the social bond that represents the degree to which an individual pursues conventional goals?

A) commitment
B) attachment
C) involvement
D) belief

Question 15

According to Reiss,which of the following does not represent a social control?

A) ties to one's family
B) ties to one's neighbourhood
C) ties to one's job
D) ties to one's school

Question 16

In his research Reiss found that success or failure of young men on probation is most associated with which of the following?

A) absence of both personal controls and social controls
B) substance abuse
C) association with delinquent peers
D) absence of social controls but strong personal controls

Question 17

Which of the following did Nye believe to be most significant in preventing delinquency?

A) government
B) peer group
C) school
D) family

Question 18

Why was Nye's research on delinquency considered a methodological advance over previous studies?

A) He used self-reports of delinquent behaviour.
B) His measures were tested for reliability and validity.
C) He used a multivariate model that examined many variables.
D) He used a control group.

Question 19

Which of the following are the social bond elements described by Travis Hirschi?

A) belief,attendance,control,values
B) involvement,commitment,attachment,belief
C) contingency,attention,commitment,attachment
D) attachment,intention,structure,control

Question 20

Which of the following is the name of the social bond that denotes why we refrain from crime because we don't want to hurt or embarrass people we like?

A) attachment to others
B) socialization within a stable family
C) involvement in conventional activities
D) commitment to conformity

Question 21

Which of the following describes the correlation between school failure and delinquency?

A) negative and strong
B) positive and strong
C) positive and weak
D) negative and weak

Question 22

From a control perspective,the Watergate scandal can be largely explained as the result of which of the following?

A) a lack of commitment to the American people
B) a lack of belief that such acts were wrong
C) a lack of attachment to conventional,non-political groups
D) an over-involvement in political processes

Question 23

According to Stark and colleagues,when does religion have an effect on criminal behaviour?

A) when it posits a single moral being (a God)
B) when religion binds people into a moral community
C) when religious penalties are associated with crime
D) when the creed expressly forbids crime as a sin

Question 24

Theories and research presented inChapter 14 suggest that the school is of primary importance in socializing young people and is an important determinant of delinquency.What are the two impacts that schools have on delinquency?

A) Regular attendance in school can increase delinquency if it leads to greater delinquent contacts and lessons learned through this group can increase delinquency.
B) Failure in school will undermine future job success and a young person's experience at school,if negative,can impact daily life and increase delinquency.
C) Family members who do not support schooling can undermine attendance and this,combined with low intelligence,can lead to delinquency.
D) Delinquent youth are placed in the same classes to segregate them from others and this,along with the neighbourhood the school is in,can impact crime rates.

Question 25

Which of the following approaches to parental supervision and discipline of children is likely to be most successful in preventing delinquency?

A) strict supervision and moderate punishment
B) low supervision and strict punishment
C) low supervision and moderate punishment
D) strict supervision and strict punishment

Question 26

With which of these approaches can control theory be combined to explain how social forces have created poverty and inequality among Canada's Aboriginal people?

A) interactionist
B) conflict
C) postmodern
D) feminist

Question 27

The concept that a young person's lack of ties to conventional order will increase the likelihood of association with delinquent peers involves which two theories?

A) social learning theory and social control theory
B) differential association theory and social learning theory
C) social control theory and feminist theory
D) social control theory and differential association theory

Question 28

According to research,which of these family variables is strongly associated with increased delinquency?

A) parental supervision
B) parental role modelling
C) harsh discipline
D) disapproval of unwanted behaviour

Question 29

Which of the following statements best represents why schools are important institutions in the context of Hirschi's social bonds?

A) Schools promote attachment.
B) Schools promote commitment.
C) Schools promote modelling.
D) Schools promote social ideology.

Question 30

According to Anderson's study,"street-oriented" parenting is characterized by which of the following?

A) aggression and yelling
B) strict supervision
C) lack of discipline
D) timely interventions and redirection

Question 31

Which of the following institutions affects delinquency when it binds individuals to a moral code in a community where involvement is strong?

A) school
B) community
C) the state
D) religion

Question 32

According to longitudinal research involving children at the Stanford University nursery,which of the following characterizes the children who were able to delay eating the marshmallows?

A) They had fewer behavioural problems.
B) They did worse on college entrance test scores.
C) They used drugs more.
D) They had fewer coping skills in adolescence.

Question 33

Gas sniffing among young Mushuau Innu children from the Davis Inlet is largely attributed to which of the following?

A) European colonization that brought a shift from a nomadic to sedentary life
B) small homes built close together that lack running water or sewage drainage
C) relocating the entire community on three occasions
D) weak parenting within the Innu community

Question 34

What is the significance of turning points according to Sampson and Laub?

A) adults who are released from jail into a rural environment are not likely to recidivate
B) disciplinary practices of delinquent families have a significant impact on offender behaviours
C) reaching puberty is a significant marker in the life of an offender and is worthy of further study
D) events and experiences encountered throughout life can impact one's likelihood of engaging in criminal behaviour

Question 35

Which of the following points is made by those who believe that control theories focus on the relationship between individuals and social institutions?

A) individuals are motivated to offend no matter what the nature of their relationship to social institutions
B) crime will be lowered when social institutions work together to support conforming behaviour
C) most institutions are overly controlling and this increases rather than decreases criminality
D) social control theory focuses too much on middle class and corporate crime rather than on street crime

Question 36

When control theory is combined with differential association theory,the first step in delinquency involvement entails which of the following?

A) no unconventional social bonds
B) strong conventional social bonds
C) weak conventional social bonds
D) weak unconventional social bonds

Question 37

According to Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory of crime which of the following is most responsible for low self-control in people?

A) socially disorganized neighbourhoods
B) poor relationships with parents and/or poor parenting
C) inability to adapt to rapid social change
D) mental health disorders

Question 38

Which of the following did Manitoba's Aboriginal Justice Inquiry blame for the high crime rates among aboriginal people?

A) conflict within aboriginal societies
B) unemployment and underemployment
C) cultural and community breakdown
D) policies of the Department of Indian Affairs

Question 39

Which of the following is the critique of social control theories by critical criminologists?

A) They focus too much on the family and not enough on the community.
B) They do not take into consideration the political and economic structures that produce crime.
C) They do not take into consideration the psychological make-up of individual offenders.
D) They do not take into account how religion promotes intercultural violence.

Question 40

Which of these did Patterson conclude was the most important factor for reducing problem behaviours among children?

A) a token reward system
B) positive social modeling
C) punishment for misdeeds
D) prenatal nutrition

Question 41

To the control theorist,we would all be criminals but for the restraints provided by social controls.

Question 42

According to control theory,conformity,not deviance,needs to be explained.

Question 43

According to Gottfredson and Hirschi,the most important factor in determining criminality is a lack of self-control.

Question 44

According to Shaw and McKay,the origins of deviance could be traced to the pathology of individuals.

Question 45

Research indicates that very strict discipline is associated with lower rates of delinquency.

Question 46

The term "ecological fallacy" is used to emphasize how the social environment really has no influence over factors that contribute to the onset of criminal behaviour.

Question 47

Deviant youth are more likely to care what their parents think of them than are non-deviant youth.

Question 48

Religion has a greater impact on delinquency if it is part of the community's moral and institutional order.

Question 49

Nye considered the school to be the most significant institution in the development of social controls within society.

Question 50

Hirschi's early work focused on external sources of social control.

Question 51

According to Schafer and Polk,which of the following best describes the role of schools in delinquency?

A) The school offset the initial handicaps of low-income and minority-group children but actively contributes to educational failure and deterioration of low-income and minority-group children.
B) The school offsets the initial handicaps of low-income and minority-group children and passively contributes to educational failure and deterioration of low-income and minority-group children.
C) The school fails to offset the initial handicaps of low-income and minority-group children and passively contributes to educational failure and deterioration of low-income and minority-group children.
D) The school fails to offset the initial handicaps of low-income and minority-group children and actively contributes to educational failure and deterioration of low-income and minority-group children.

Question 52

According to Gottfredson and Hirschi,children with low self-control are frequently raised in families with poor parenting skills.

Question 53

Strong family ties are important in the development of social bonds.

Question 54

Deviance is so strongly internalized if it begins in youth that it is likely to be a lifelong pattern of behaviour.

Question 55

The school provides a stake in conformity for all children,regardless of whether they succeed or fail in school.

Question 56

According to Thrasher,all adolescent gangs engage in delinquency.

Question 57

Ties to primary groups such as the family are considered essential to fostering social control,according to Reiss.

Question 58

According to control theory,people are inherently honest,and as such,criminal behaviour is motivated by strong incentives,such as financial rewards or excitement.

Question 59

Links between religion and delinquency are some of the strongest in social control research.

Question 60

Which of the following is one of the characteristics of schools that can help at-risk students academically and behaviourally?

A) have parents assisting in classrooms
B) shelter students from decision-making worries
C) small school and class size; low staff turnover
D) isolate intellectually gifted students from struggling students

Question 61

Schools can help at-risk students academically and behaviourally,which can then promote social bonds,self-control,and prosocial behaviour.

Question 62

Conflict criminologists argue the political and economic structure is ignored by social control theorists.

Question 63

One of the policy implications of control theory is the need for psychoanalytic therapy to be provided to delinquent youth.

Question 64

Control theory advocates for stronger punishments for upper-world crime.

Question 65

Several researchers have argued that social control theory is one of the few purist perspectives that cannot be combined with other theories.

Question 66

Control theory helps explain the deviance of people who have a strong stake in conformity.