Chapter 5: Modern Sociological Theories of Crime

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. The shift toward sociological explanations of crime in the middle 20th century was followed by increased use of ______.

A. official data

B. self-report data

C. victim data

D. unilateral data

Learning Objective: 5-1: Discuss the theoretical development of the classical criminology perspective, including the classical, neoclassical, and modern perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. Merton’s version of strain theory is often referred to as ______.

A. gratification theory

B. depression theory

C. expressive theory

D. anomie theory

Learning Objective: 5-1: Discuss the theoretical development of the classical criminology perspective, including the classical, neoclassical, and modern perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Robert K. Merton (1910–2003)

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. According to Robert Merton, when an individual is faced with anomie, which of the following is true?

A. Crime might occur.

B. Crime will occur.

C. The individual will find an innovative solution.

D. The individual will proceed as normal.

Learning Objective: 5-1: Discuss the theoretical development of the classical criminology perspective, including the classical, neoclassical, and modern perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Robert K. Merton (1910–2003)

Difficulty Level: Easy

4. According to Merton, the adaptation of ______ occurs when an individual rejects both the culturally accepted goals and means and becomes a social dropout.

A. innovation

B. retreatism

C. ritualism

D. rebellion

Learning Objective: 5-1: Discuss the theoretical development of the classical criminology perspective, including the classical, neoclassical, and modern perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Robert K. Merton (1910–2003)

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. The work of ______ formed the basis for the War on Poverty during the 1964 Johnson Administration’s effort to combat high national poverty rates.

A. Messner

B. Agnew

C. Durkheim

D. Merton

Learning Objective: 5-1: Discuss the theoretical development of the classical criminology perspective, including the classical, neoclassical, and modern perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Robert K. Merton (1910–2003)

Difficulty Level: Easy

6. According to Agnew, there are ______ major sources of strain.

A. two

B. three

C. four

D. five

Learning Objective: 5-1: Discuss the theoretical development of the classical criminology perspective, including the classical, neoclassical, and modern perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Robert Agnew (1953–)

Difficulty Level: Easy

7. Which of the following is an example of when “positively valued stimuli are removed”?

A. death of a loved one

B. abuse in the home

C. living in an unsafe environment

D. being unable to achieve one’s goals

Learning Objective: 5-1: Discuss the theoretical development of the classical criminology perspective, including the classical, neoclassical, and modern perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Robert Agnew (1953–)

Difficulty Level: Easy

8. According to Messner and Rosenfeld, institutional ______ cause(s) high crime rates.

A. checks and balances

B. ineffectiveness

C. power imbalances

D. stagnation

Learning Objective: 5-1: Discuss the theoretical development of the classical criminology perspective, including the classical, neoclassical, and modern perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Stephen f. Messner (1951–) and Richard Rosenfeld (1948–)

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. The social disorganization perspective emerged in the ______.

A. 1910s

B. 1930s

C. 1950s

D. 1970s

Learning Objective: 5-1: Discuss the theoretical development of the classical criminology perspective, including the classical, neoclassical, and modern perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Social Disorganization Perspective

Difficulty Level: Medium

10. The social disorganization perspective differs from other theories of crime because of its focus on characteristics of ______ that are associated with high crime rates.

A. clubs and organizations

B. individual offenders

C. environments

D. group expectations

Learning Objective: 5-1: Discuss the theoretical development of the classical criminology perspective, including the classical, neoclassical, and modern perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Social Disorganization Perspective

Difficulty Level: Easy

11. According to Park and Burgess, the least desirable part of the city to inhabit is the zone of ______.

A. change

B. opposition

C. poverty

D. transition

Learning Objective: 5-1: Discuss the theoretical development of the classical criminology perspective, including the classical, neoclassical, and modern perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Social Disorganization Perspective

Difficulty Level: Easy

12. ______ refers to the inability of an area or neighborhood to control and regulate the behaviors of its residents.

A. Power inequality

B. Social disorganization

C. General strain

D. Legalistic drain

Learning Objective: 5-1: Discuss the theoretical development of the classical criminology perspective, including the classical, neoclassical, and modern perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Clifford Shaw (1896–1957) and Henry D. McKay (1899–1980)

Difficulty Level: Medium

13. Wilson argued that the disappearance of ______ from the city center was responsible for African Americans and recent immigrants being stuck in undesirable, high crime areas, unable to make economic progress.

A. manufacturing jobs

B. low-paying service jobs

C. white collar jobs

D. unstable, transient jobs

Learning Objective: 5-1: Discuss the theoretical development of the classical criminology perspective, including the classical, neoclassical, and modern perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: William J. Wilson (1935–)

Difficulty Level: Medium

14. According to Wilson, the postindustrialization era resulted in the creation of the ______ in urban cities throughout America.

A. working poor

B. truly disadvantaged

C. middle class

D. indigent class

Learning Objective: 5-1: Discuss the theoretical development of the classical criminology perspective, including the classical, neoclassical, and modern perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: William J. Wilson (1935–)

Difficulty Level: Easy

15. According to Robert Sampson, ______ refers to the cohesion among residents and their ability to act for the common good of the neighborhood.

A. social disorganization

B. group dynamism

C. institutional power

D. collective efficacy

Learning Objective: 5-1: Discuss the theoretical development of the classical criminology perspective, including the classical, neoclassical, and modern perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Robert J. Sampson (1963–)

Difficulty Level: Easy

16. Learning theory argues that learning occurs through ______.

A. repetition

B. association

C. invectives

D. transitions

Learning Objective: 5-2: Compare and contrast three major individual-level theories of crime and delinquency—life-course, learning, and control theories.

Answer Location: Learning Theories

Difficulty Level: Easy

17. In learning theory, ______ relies on the use of rewards and punishments to reinforce behaviors.

A. classical conditioning

B. invitational learning

C. operant conditioning

D. transitional learning

Learning Objective: 5-3: Trace the theoretical development of the learning and the control theoretical perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Learning Theories

Difficulty Level: Medium

18. Which of the following is known for his Bobo-doll experiment which demonstrated that learning of aggressive behaviors among children through modeling and imitation?

A. Gabriel Tard

B. B. F. Skinner

C. Edwin Sutherland

D. Albert Bandura

Learning Objective: 5-3: Trace the theoretical development of the learning and the control theoretical perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Learning Theories

Difficulty Level: Medium

19. Which of the following was the first scholar to propose the idea that criminal behavior is learned like any other behavior?

A. Albert Bandura

B. B. F. Skinner

C. Gabriel Tard

D. Edwin Sutherland

Learning Objective: 5-3: Trace the theoretical development of the learning and the control theoretical perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Learning Theories

Difficulty Level: Medium

20. ______ is the first contemporary theory of crime to focus on the process of becoming delinquent rather than on the genesis of crime or criminal subcultures.

A. Behaviorist theory

B. Differential association theory

C. Social disorganization theory

D. Symbolic interactionism

Learning Objective: 5-3: Trace the theoretical development of the learning and the control theoretical perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Learning Theories

Difficulty Level: Medium

21. According to Sutherland, differential associations may vary in frequency, duration, priority and ______.

A. individuality

B. intentionality

C. intensity

D. interpretation

Learning Objective: 5-2: Compare and contrast three major individual-level theories of crime and delinquency—life-course, learning, and control theories.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Edwin H. Sutherland (1883–1950)

Difficulty Level: Easy

22. In a series of articles in the 1950s and 1960s, ______ argued that intimate personal interaction was not necessary for the learning of delinquent behaviors to occur and that identifying with delinquent roles and role models is more important than merely associating with delinquents.

A. Edwin Sutherland

B. Daniel Glaser

C. Albert Bandura

D. C. Ray Jeffery

Learning Objective: 5-3: Trace the theoretical development of the learning and the control theoretical perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Edwin H. Sutherland (1883–1950)

Difficulty Level: Easy

23. ______ developed the theory of differential reinforcement theory by incorporating the principle of operant conditioning to the study of crime causation.

A. Edwin Sutherland

B. Daniel Glaser

C. Albert Bandura

D. C. Ray Jeffery

Learning Objective: 5-3: Trace the theoretical development of the learning and the control theoretical perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Edwin H. Sutherland (1883–1950)

Difficulty Level: Medium

24. The most sophisticated revision of Sutherland’s differential association theory is ______ social learning theory.

A. C. Ray Jeffery’s

B. Albert Bandura’s

C. Daniel Glaser’s

D. Ronald Akers’

Learning Objective: 5-3: Trace the theoretical development of the learning and the control theoretical perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ronald l. Akers (1939–)

Difficulty Level: Medium

25. Akers’ social learning theory, more specifically the variable measuring ______, has consistently been found to have one of the strongest relationships with delinquency when examined with other individual-level theories of crime.

A. association with delinquent friends

B. overall criminal propensity

C. immersion in the delinquent subculture

D. modeling habits

Learning Objective: 5-2: Compare and contrast three major individual-level theories of crime and delinquency—life-course, learning, and control theories.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Ronald l. Akers (1939–)

Difficulty Level: Hard

26. In his later work, Akers added ______ to his social learning theory, which would influence one’s differential associations and differential reinforcements.

A. social disorganization

B. social cohesion

C. social structure

D. social animosity

Learning Objective: 5-3: Trace the theoretical development of the learning and the control theoretical perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ronald l. Akers (1939–)

Difficulty Level: Medium

27. Albert Cohen created a theory in which he argued that lower class youth experience blocked opportunity to achieve status and gain respect in the conventional society because status and respect are earned by ______.

A. meeting middle class standards

B. excelling in school

C. beating the odds

D. breaking the law

Learning Objective: 5-1: Discuss the theoretical development of the classical criminology perspective, including the classical, neoclassical, and modern perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Albert K. Cohen (1918–2014)

Difficulty Level: Easy

28. Which of the following developed a theory in which he argued that focal concerns of lower class youths are responsible for the cycle of delinquency and crime among the people of lower class because such negative values keep producing males who would abandon their family and thus children who would look to the streets for male role models?

A. Albert Cohen

B. Richard Rosenfeld

C. Walter Miller

D. Mervin Wolfgang

Learning Objective: 5-1: Discuss the theoretical development of the classical criminology perspective, including the classical, neoclassical, and modern perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Edwin H. Sutherland (1883–1950)

Difficulty Level: Easy

29. Wolfgang and Ferracuti argued that there is a subculture among the lower class in America that has conduct norms that promote ______.

A. a parasitic lifestyle

B. a criminal lifestyle

C. the creation of gangs

D. the use of violence

Learning Objective: 5-1: Discuss the theoretical development of the classical criminology perspective, including the classical, neoclassical, and modern perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Mervin Eugene Wolfgang (1924–1998) and Franco Ferracuti (1927—1996)

Difficulty Level: Easy

30. Control theories are rooted in the ______ school of criminology.

A. positivist

B. social learning

C. social disorganization

D. classical

Learning Objective: 5-3: Trace the theoretical development of the learning and the control theoretical perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ronald l. Akers (1939–)

Difficulty Level: Medium

31. Which of the following is the central question addressed by control theories?

A. Why does an individual become involved in crime?

B. What prevents people from engaging in crime?

C. How are laws enforced in society?

D. Why are laws created?

Learning Objective: 5-2: Compare and contrast three major individual-level theories of crime and delinquency—life-course, learning, and control theories.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Control Theories/Neoclassical Criminology

Difficulty Level: Medium

32. If you stole your neighbor’s car and justified your actions by telling yourself that you only borrowed the car and would return it later, which of the following techniques of neutralization did you use?

A. denial of injury

B. denial of victim

C. denial of responsibility

D. condemnation of the condemners

Learning Objective: 5-2: Compare and contrast three major individual-level theories of crime and delinquency—life-course, learning, and control theories.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Gresham M. Sykes (1922–2010) and David Matza (1930–)

Difficulty Level: Hard

33. Which of the following scholars argued that “delinquent acts result when an individual’s bond to society is weak or broken”?

A. Albert Cohen

B. David Matza

C. Travis Hirschi

D. Walter Reckless

Learning Objective: 5-3: Trace the theoretical development of the learning and the control theoretical perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Travis Hirschi (1935–2017)

Difficulty Level: Medium

34. According to Hirschi, the social bond is composed of four parts: attachment, commitment, belief, and ______.

A. dedication

B. involvement

C. attitude

D. conformity

Learning Objective: 5-3: Trace the theoretical development of the learning and the control theoretical perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Travis Hirschi (1935–2017)

Difficulty Level: Medium

35. Gottfredson and Hirschi argued that an individual’s level of self-control is fixed at age ______ and remains stable throughout the life course.

A. 3

B. 5

C. 7

D. 9

Learning Objective: 5-3: Trace the theoretical development of the learning and the control theoretical perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Michael R. Gottfredson (1951–) and Travis Hirschi (1935–2017)

Difficulty Level: Medium

36. ______ theory focuses on how an individual’s self-image and behavior are influenced by the reactions of society.

A. Conflict

B. Labeling

C. Routine activities

D. Visualization

Learning Objective: 5-5: Discuss how social reaction, critical, and feminist theories differ from other traditional theories of crime and delinquency.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Labeling/Social Reaction Theory

Difficulty Level: Easy

37. A ______ results when an individual who is being labeled begins behaving in ways that confirm the label applied to him or her.

A. self-fulfilling prophecy

B. reciprocal status

C. self-aggrandizing status

D. neutralization

Learning Objective: 5-5: Discuss how social reaction, critical, and feminist theories differ from other traditional theories of crime and delinquency.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Labeling/Social Reaction Theory

Difficulty Level: Easy

38. ______ theories argue that the ruling class of society uses its power to keep the poor in its place.

A. Cartesian

B. Lemertist

C. Marxist

D. Orwellian

Learning Objective: 5-5: Discuss how social reaction, critical, and feminist theories differ from other traditional theories of crime and delinquency.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Marxist Theories

Difficulty Level: Easy

39. One of the first feminist theories of crime, ______, argued that females engage in a lower level of crime than males because of the lack of opportunity for women in society.

A. conservative feminism

B. general feminism

C. liberal feminism

D. expressive feminism

Learning Objective: 5-5: Discuss how social reaction, critical, and feminist theories differ from other traditional theories of crime and delinquency.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Feminist Theories

Difficulty Level: Hard

40. According to Terrie Moffitt, a very small number of juveniles, ______, engage in chronic violent offenses and contribute to the majority of serious violent offenses in society.

A. life-course persistent offenders

B. drifting offenders

C. habitualized offenders

D. adolescent limited offenders

Learning Objective: 5-4: Describe how the life-course perspective differs from other individual theories of delinquency.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Terrie Moffitt (1955–)

Difficulty Level: Easy

True/False

1. According to Merton, the adaptation of conformity occurs when someone accepts the culturally prescribed goals but rejects the socially approved means of achieving those goals.

Learning Objective: 5-1: Discuss the theoretical development of the classical criminology perspective, including the classical, neoclassical, and modern perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Robert K. Merton (1910–2003)

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. Robert K. Merton limits the source of strain to the inability to achieve material success.

Learning Objective: 5-1: Discuss the theoretical development of the classical criminology perspective, including the classical, neoclassical, and modern perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Robert K. Merton (1910–2003)

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. According to Agnew, “goal commitment” is constant for everyone in a given society.

Learning Objective: 5-1: Discuss the theoretical development of the classical criminology perspective, including the classical, neoclassical, and modern perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Robert Agnew (1953–)

Difficulty Level: Easy

4. Though empirical studies often support general strain theory, finding that strain is related to crime, it is usually not the most important variable in explaining crime.

Learning Objective: 5-1: Discuss the theoretical development of the classical criminology perspective, including the classical, neoclassical, and modern perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Robert Agnew (1953–)

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. According to Shaw and McKay, the areas with high crime rates were fluid over time, often depending on which racial and ethnic group resided in the areas at the time.

Learning Objective: 5-1: Discuss the theoretical development of the classical criminology perspective, including the classical, neoclassical, and modern perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Clifford Shaw (1896–1957) and Henry D. McKay (1899–1980)

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. Differential association theory consists of an explanation of the process of learning crime but does not address the content which is learned.

Learning Objective: 5-2: Compare and contrast three major individual-level theories of crime and delinquency—life-course, learning, and control theories.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Edwin H. Sutherland (1883–1950)

Difficulty Level: Easy

7. Along with Hirschi’s bond theory, Glaser’s social learning theory is considered today one of the most important theories in criminology.

Learning Objective: 5-2: Compare and contrast three major individual-level theories of crime and delinquency—life-course, learning, and control theories.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ronald l. Akers (1939–)

Difficulty Level: Medium

8. Rational choice theory was adapted from the field of economics to explain law-breaking behaviors.

Learning Objective: 5-3: Trace the theoretical development of the learning and the control theoretical perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Rational Choice Theory

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. Lawrence Cohen and Marcus Felson argued that the convergence of three factors—motivated offenders, suitable targets, and the lack of neutralizations—makes crime more likely.

Learning Objective: 5-1: Discuss the theoretical development of the classical criminology perspective, including the classical, neoclassical, and modern perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Routine Activities Theory/Lifestyle Theory

Difficulty Level: Easy

10. Consistent with get tough approaches to crime, research consistently finds that the severity of punishment is more important than certainty of punishment.

Learning Objective: 5-1: Discuss the theoretical development of the classical criminology perspective, including the classical, neoclassical, and modern perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Modern classical perspective

Difficulty Level: Hard

11. Feminist theories of crime emerged in the 1970s in response to the lack of attention paid to women and girls who are involved in the criminal justice system and the lack of policies, programs, and studies that are developed and centered around females.

Learning Objective: 5-5: Discuss how social reaction, critical, and feminist theories differ from other traditional theories of crime and delinquency.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Labeling/Social Reaction Theory

Difficulty Level: Easy

12. In life-course theory, a transition is a significant life event that has the potential to change an individual’s antisocial trajectory.

Learning Objective: 5-4: Describe how the life-course perspective differs from other individual theories of delinquency.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Robert J. Sampson (1963–) and John H. Laub (1953–)

Difficulty Level: Medium

13. James Howell presented a theory of juvenile delinquency based on the risk-protection framework used in business to analyze the risk of an investment.

Learning Objective: 5-4: Describe how the life-course perspective differs from other individual theories of delinquency.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Robert J. Sampson (1963–) and John H. Laub (1953–)

Difficulty Level: Hard

Essay

1. Discuss Merton’s anomie theory. What is the source(s) of strain? What are the various ways in which an individual might respond to strain? When is crime likely to occur?

Learning Objective: 5-1: Discuss the theoretical development of the classical criminology perspective, including the classical, neoclassical, and modern perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Robert K. Merton (1910–2003)

Difficulty Level: Hard

2. Explain the major tenets of differential association theory. When is crime most likely to occur? What is learned as part of the criminal learning process? Be sure to reference Sutherland’s nine statements of differential association.

Learning Objective: 5-2: Compare and contrast three major individual-level theories of crime and delinquency—life-course, learning, and control theories.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Edwin H. Sutherland (1883–1950)

Difficulty Level: Hard

3. Discuss the development of feminist theories of crime. When did they develop? Why did they develop? What are the three approaches when considering the theoretical issues of women and crime?

Learning Objective: 5-5: Discuss how social reaction, critical, and feminist theories differ from other traditional theories of crime and delinquency.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Feminist Theories

Difficulty Level: Hard

4. Discuss the work of Terrie Moffitt. Explain the differences between Moffitt’s adolescent-limited offender and life-course persistent offender. Which offender is more serious? How did she explain the delinquency seen in each group? What was the result of her research (i.e., the implications of her findings)?

Learning Objective: 5-4: Describe how the life-course perspective differs from other individual theories of delinquency.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Terrie Moffitt (1955–)

Difficulty Level: Hard

5. Discuss the basics of routine activities theory. Who developed the theory? What does the theory seek to explain? What does it not explain? How does the theory explain the occurrence of crime? How does the term “hotspot” relate to the theory? What is the status of empirical support for the theory?

Learning Objective: 5-1: Discuss the theoretical development of the classical criminology perspective, including the classical, neoclassical, and modern perspectives.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Routine Activities Theory/Lifestyle Theory

Difficulty Level: Hard