Test Bank

Chapter 9: Marxist and Conflict Theories of Deviance

Multiple Choice

1. ______ theorists would advocate for a revolutionary overthrow of the capitalist system as the only way to solve power differentials and conflict.

a. Conflict

b. Anomie

c. Marxist

d. Strain

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. ______ focus on the political economy and the capitalist system in their analyses of power and conflict, whereas ______ theorists have traditionally expanded their definitions of power beyond a singular focus on the capitalist system.

a. Marxist theories; conflict

b. Conflict theories; Marxist

c. Power-Control theories; Marxist

d. Dialectical materialism; conflict

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Hard

3. What type of economic system are Marxist and conflict theories primarily critical of?

a. socialist

b. communist

c. fascist

d. capitalist

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. Much of the focus of both Marxist and conflict theories is on the creation and maintenance of ______ that benefit one group over another.

a. norms

b. religions

c. laws

d. relationships

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. Which Marxist theorist wrote The Communist Manifesto?

a. Spitzer

b. Chambliss

c. Marx

d. Turk

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Development of Marxist Theory

Difficulty Level: Easy

6. What does Steven Spitzer call unneeded laborers in his work?

a. social dynamite

b. social junk

c. unemployed

d. bourgeoisie

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Development of Marxist Theory

Difficulty Level: Easy

7. According to Karl Marx, in a capitalist society, economic power belongs to the ______.

a. bourgeoisie

b. proletariat

c. educated

d. military

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Development of Marxist Theory

Difficulty Level: Easy

8. Vold, a conflict theorist, studied the process by which individuals become a part of a group, ______, and how conflict arises when groups are threatened by competing interests of other groups.

a. what causes groups to grow

b. how people decide which groups to join

c. the dissolution of relationships within groups

d. the development of relationships within and among groups

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Development of Conflict Theory

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. ______ functions of the law tell individuals what actions they can and cannot perform.

a. Instrumental

b. Symbolic

c. Consensus

d. Relativist

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Development of Conflict Theory

Difficulty Level: Easy

10. Alexandra is a well-educated woman who sees many issues with the capitalist society she lives in. She openly criticizes the system. What would Steven Spitzer call Alexandra?

a. social dynamite

b. social junk

c. proletariat

d. bourgeoisie

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Development of Marxist Theory

Difficulty Level: Medium

11. According to Karl Marx, in a capitalist society, the ______ live in poverty and misery.

a. proletariat

b. bourgeoisie

c. elderly

d. military

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Development of Marxist Theory

Difficulty Level: Easy

12. The ______ function of law does not rely on enforcement or action. Instead, it “invites consideration” of what is considered moral by a society.

a. instrumental

b. symbolic

c. pluralistic

d. constructionist

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Development of Conflict Theory

Difficulty Level: Medium

13. Vold, in studying the ______ involved in the creation of marijuana laws, would suggest that state laws regarding the use of marijuana represent a compromise between those who wish to outlaw marijuana completely and those who wish to grow, sell, and consume marijuana at will.

a. bourgeoisie accommodation

b. Marxist interests

c. instrumental functions

d. group dynamics

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Development of Conflict Theory

Difficulty Level: Medium

14. Vold argues that when conflicts between groups arise and groups are threatened by the competing interests of other groups, individuals ______.

a. escalate those conflicts

b. rally behind the stronger group

c. decrease loyalty to their group

d. lose interest in the weaker group

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Development of Conflict Theory

Difficulty Level: Medium

15. A local city government heard a variety of complaints about the homeless camping out in public spaces. They decided to pass a law to make it illegal to camp in public areas without a permit, and they refused to grant permits to those who could not provide a mailing address. This illustrates Vold’s idea that laws are a/an ______.

a. means of creating dialectical materialism

b. tool that powerful groups use to maintain their interests

c. way to use the proletariat to punish the bourgeoisie

d. avenue to overthrow existing power relationships

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Development of Conflict Theory

Difficulty Level: Medium

16. When those living in poverty vote for politicians who promise to take funding away from programs that benefit the poor, it is an example of ______ consciousness because it means that those living in poverty are identifying with a class that opposes their interest.

a. false

b. double

c. Marxian

d. class

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Development of Marxist Theory

Difficulty Level: Medium

17. According to Marx, the ruling class promote various forms of discrimination to ______.

a. create illegitimate authority

b. distract the intellectuals

c. centralize their authority

d. keep the workforce divided

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Development of Marxist Theory

Difficulty Level: Medium

18. According to Marx, the power of capitalists is based on their ability to control both the means of production and ______.

a. the bourgeoisie

b. communication

c. the educated

d. capital

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Development of Marxist Theory

Difficulty Level: Hard

19. The ______ is created by the formulation and application of criminal definitions, the development of behavior patterns related to criminal definitions, and the construction of criminal conceptions?

a. Marxist conception of law

b. social construction of justice

c. social reality of crime

d. criminal group dynamic

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Development of Marxist Theory

Difficulty Level: Hard

True/False

1. Gerrymandering is an example of how parties in power manipulate the districts in ways that guarantee disproportionate outcomes.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Deviance and Disparity: Voting Rights, Voter Suppression, Gerrymandering, and Social Media

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. Marxist theory clearly specifies how laborers will lose their false consciousness.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Critiques of Marxist and Conflict Theories

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. Marxist theorists suggest capitalism can be used to reduce deviant behavior and group conflict.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Development of Marxist Theory

Difficulty Level: Easy

4. According to Marxist theories, the law is the tool for powerless groups to ensure interests and services of need are met.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Development of Marxist Theory

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. The term “dialectic” in the phrase “dialectical materialism” refers to negotiating contradictions.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Development of Marxist Theory

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. William Bonger built upon Marxist ideas and explicitly related them to the topic of crime in his book Criminality and Economic Conditions.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Development of Marxist Theory

Difficulty Level: Easy

7. In his article “Toward a Political Economy of Crime,” William Chambliss (1975) argues that the only question that matters is, “Why do some individuals become involved with criminal behavior, while others do not?”

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Development of Conflict Theory

Difficulty Level: Easy

8. A Marxian paradigm of crime and criminal law suggest that members of the ruling class will be able to violate the laws with impunity while members of the subject classes will be punished

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Development of Conflict Theory

Difficulty Level: Easy

9. A criticism of conflict and Marxist theorists is that they claim class conflict cannot explain individual acts of deviance.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Critiques of Marxist and Conflict Theories

Difficulty Level: Hard

10. Conflict theories play a key role in allowing us to question how deviance is defined and used to maintain positions of power in society.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Conclusion

Difficulty Level: Easy

Essay

1. Using examples, briefly describe the role played in dialectical materialism by thesis, antithesis, and synthesis of an idea.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Development of Marxist Theory

Difficulty Level: Hard

2. List the assumptions of Marxist and conflict theories. Provide questions this type of research might ask.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Development of Marxist Theory

Difficulty Level: Hard

3. Compare and contrast Marxist and conflict theories.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Development of Conflict Theory

Difficulty Level: Hard

4. Discuss common criticisms of Marxist and conflict theories.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Critiques of Marxist and Conflict Theories

Difficulty Level: Hard

5. Discuss the application of conflict theories to the criminal justice system.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Applications of Marxist and Conflict Theories

Difficulty Level: Medium