Verified Test Bank Delinquent Subcultures Labeling Chapter 5

5

Delinquent Subcultures, Subcultures of Delinquency, and the Labeling Perspective

CHAPTER OUTLINE

5.1 The Chicago School of Criminology: Social Disorganization and Delinquency

The Chicago School was part of the post-Progressive Era in social science. Between 1915 and the early 1940s, sociology as a discipline was heavily dominated by the researchers at the University of Chicago, and the school continues to influence the discipline today. Chicago scholars were from similar backgrounds: raised Christian in Midwestern small towns or rural areas. They also held similar reform-oriented, liberal political views. Consequently their research often led directly to policy reform. The city of Chicago had experienced rapid social change in the form of immense immigration from many European countries and in-migration from the American South (especially African Americans searching for economic security in the booming city). This naturally led to a vigorous study of the consequences of “urbanism” especially within the inner city. The ecological approach was developed mainly at the University of Chicago using multiple research methods to study social conditions within the city. Scholars combined life histories, survey research methods, and other quantitative approaches. But following Robert Park’s recommendation to “get their feet wet” in real research, Chicago’s pride and passion were qualitative studies of crime in urban areas. Chicago school researchers went into the “field” and believed that the “facts would speak for themselves,” much like other positivists of their day.

Box 5.1 notes that the rise of sociology in the United States from 1890 to1910 is linked to the Progressive Era (1890–1910), rapid expansion of the university system and institutionalization of social sciences at elite schools, and governmental recognition of new professional associations—including what was then called the American Sociological Society.

With the economic turmoil of the Great Depression, Prohibition, and gangsters ruling the city, the city of Chicago provided a natural experiment for the study of crime, urbanism, and rapid social change. Some examples of this research include: Thomas and Znaniecki’s The Polish Peasant in Europe and America (1918–1920), which used personal documents and life histories to illuminate the difficult lives of Polish immigrants; Thomas’ The Unadjusted Girl (1923) summarized 3,000 interviews where female delinquency is attributed to four “wishes”: new experiences, security, response, and recognition; Shaw et al.’s Delinquency Areas (1929) argued that the physical deterioration and social disintegration of inner-city areas leads to the disintegration of community, as well as the community’s ability to police itself. In this work and others, such as the life story of The Jack Roller (1930), Shaw showed that listening to the delinquents themselves provides useful insight into their troubling behavior. This insight, along with the notion of social disorganization, ran throughout much Chicago scholarship. Because of their methodological advances, the Chicago school revolutionized sociology and criminology. Rather than seeing delinquents as defective, the Chicago school research indicated that delinquents are normal people living in abnormal settings. Thrasher’s The Gang (1927), for example, implied that gang delinquency was a normal method of adjustment in deprived areas.

Shaw and McKay’s Juvenile Delinquency and Urban Areas (1942)

Using detailed and sophisticated statistical techniques developed by Quetelet (Chapter 3.2), Shaw and McKay examined links among urban growth, community problems, and juvenile delinquency. Specifically, they investigated:

1. The variance of juvenile and adult delinquency rates in different types of cities.

2. The correlation of juvenile delinquency with rates of juvenile recidivism; economic, social, and cultural characteristics of local communities; and with patterns of immigration.

3. The influence of economic and social conditions on juvenile delinquency as a cultural tradition in certain neighborhoods.

4. The prevention and treatment of juvenile delinquency.

There are four stages to their study. First, they studied census data that showed the clusters of immigrant groups located in specific neighborhoods. The neighborhoods varied in terms of their conditions; some were well maintained, whereas others were in serious disrepair. The increasingly common physical deterioration was noticeable in the “zones of transition” just on the periphery of the central business district. Inhabitants with professional and clerical occupations tended to live in the affluent suburbs far from the central business district, whereas the industrial workers and the poor (recent immigrants) were concentrated in the dilapidated areas. Geographic segregation was common as well, largely based on ethnic communities.

Second, in studying the arrest records of juvenile delinquents, Shaw and McKay showed that certain areas of the city (near the central business district) had large concentrations of juvenile delinquency, whereas other areas did not. Using specialized maps, Shaw and McKay computed delinquency rates for each square mile of the city. As the plots expanded toward the suburbs, delinquency rates declined dramatically.

Third, Shaw and McKay illustrated that juvenile delinquency is not an isolated social problem but is strongly correlated with other community problems such as school truancy, infant mortality, tuberculosis, and mental disorders. Areas with high rates of these social issues also had the highest juvenile recidivism rates. Correlation is not causation; they were quick to point out. Rather the research indicates patterns of overall social decay that must be addressed (see Figure 5.1 in the text). Furthermore, higher rates of delinquency within ethnic communities did not mean that these were “inferior” people, but that their conditions of life bred desperation. The patterns were similar regardless of which immigrant group was living in the deteriorated neighborhoods.

Lastly, relating social values with “larger economic processes” was important to Shaw and McKay. They believed that the overall conditions of suburban, middle-class neighborhoods provided a general consensus on the respect for social values that were cultivated through parent–teacher groups, service clubs, churches, and neighborhood centers. Working-class neighborhoods lacked these social ties due to the diversity of ethnic groups living in these areas with divergent cultural beliefs and practices. This cultural conflict often leads to predatory youth gangs and organized crime. Therefore, high delinquency rates result from (1) conflicting moral values; (2) adult role models involved in criminal activities; and (3) a social tradition of delinquency in that community. Low-income neighborhoods often generate criminal activity among boys because of the lack of legitimate economic opportunities in their areas. At the same time, as with rich boys, poor boys were exposed “to the luxury values and success patterns of our culture.”

Evaluation of the Chicago School

There are several areas for criticism in Shaw and McKay’s research. First, their use of official data was problematic (see Chapter 2 on socially constructed crime rates). They recognized a tendency for crime to go unreported, but they did not critically evaluate the foundations on which their data were constructed. Second, delinquency rates were calculated based on where the delinquent juveniles resided, not where the offenses were committed. Third, Shaw and McKay argued that delinquency rates would remain stable despite great changes in the social complexion of Chicago, but did this mean that actual offense rates would remain stable as well? Or, that the reporting patterns of police remained stable? Valier (2002) notes that Shaw and McKay’s findings seem structured by some of the theoretical assumptions in their argument. Shaw and McKay did not provide an adequate definition of their concept of social disorganization, the very cornerstone of their theory. According to their use of the concept, social disorganization seems to mean different things at different times. Moreover, disorganization is a relational concept in that it always implies a reference point of organization. They also did not follow up on their original ecological insights. They thus linked delinquency to a breakdown of values among the delinquents, their families, and the community, rather than investigating links among industrialization, resulting social disorganization, and deviance.

5.2 Delinquent Subcultures

In the 1950s many criminologists began to explore delinquent subcultures. The main question of these theorists was initially raised by Durkheim: Given the widespread persistence of deviance, what functions do deviant values serve for those who subscribe to them? The empirical work on subcultures investigated more thoroughly a variable touched on by the Chicagoans—social class. Subcultural theories address a variable the Chicagoans only touched on—class—explaining why delinquent subcultures flourish among the working class.

A. K. Cohen’s Delinquent Boys (1955)

Building from what he perceived as flaws with Merton and Sutherland’s theories, Cohen explored the nature of criminal and delinquent subcultures among boys. Culture refers to the knowledge, beliefs, values, codes, tastes, and prejudices that persist in the social relations people regularly have in personal interactions. A subculture refers to a set of beliefs that differs in some way from the dominant culture. A delinquent subculture is “a way of life that has somehow become traditional among certain groups in American society.” Cohen said these groups were characterized by boys’ gangs that flourished in the “delinquent neighborhoods” of larger urban areas. Box 5.2 describes the six major characteristics of the subcultures of delinquent boys: non-utilitarian and malicious activities, versatility, short-run hedonism, group autonomy, working-class membership, and male. A good theory must be able to explain all six of these characteristics, as well as why subcultures flourish where they do in the class context. Cohen began by arguing that lower-class families have values that are distinct from the middle class, leaving lower-class children less equipped for satisfying the standards of “adult” life. Working-class parents place less emphasis on analytical skills, educational achievement, self-denying discipline, and long-range planning; they place more emphasis on physical prowess in groups and having fun. Yet, all children are evaluated based on middle-class standards, so some children are doomed as failures in middle-class terms. To Cohen, this middle-class measuring rod is largely responsible for the repeated failures of working-class children in public schools. This failure leads to status frustration, which generates “guilt, self-recrimination, anxiety, and self-hatred.” This leads the working-class boy to solve his dilemma by neglecting “book knowledge” and developing street smarts—an adjustment mechanism known as a reaction formation.

Cohen addressed two areas mostly ignored even today: female delinquency and middle-class male delinquents. Cohen noted that girls are not socialized into competing in male-dominated realms and thus don’t face the same adjustment problems boys do. Also, female delinquency can harm feminine status, as heterosexual relationships are a primary source of female status. Thus, although delinquency can enhance male status, it can degrade female status. Cohen also theorized that middle-class boys may be responding to the same tensions of masculinity as working-class boys. In Cohen’s view, middle-class delinquents react negatively to conduct norms feminized by their association with good, respectable, middle-class mothers. “Bad” behavior thus distances from femininity while asserting masculinity. In contrast, working-class masculinity is defined in opposition to femininity and middle-class masculinity. Three problems emerge with his theory: (1) it ignores the authenticity of working-class values; (2) the perspective does little to explain race; and (3) Cohen assumed that middle-class goals were internalized by working-class boys.

Delinquency and Lower-Class Culture

Criticism for Cohen’s research was initiated by Walter Miller, who posited that lower-class culture is criminogenic. Using data from a three-year urban area project with a range of subjects, Miller argued that members of the lower-class culture engage in crime as a means of getting something they want to avoid a condition they do not want. Often the most accessible way to get what they want is through crime. Lower-class focal concerns—trouble, toughness, smartness, excitement, fate, and autonomy—differ from those of the middle class. Lower-class culture, for example, values a person’s ability to outfox someone else, as opposed to a middle-class culture that values a person’s ability to think systematically and analyze a situation. A small percentage of lower-class families also tend to have more female-headed households than middle-class families do, which leaves most lower-class boys without suitable male role models. According to Miller, the fatherless lower-class boy can suffer from an identity crisis and gender confusion, which can be lessened via “belonging” and the status provided by the street corner group or gang. In Miller’s view, delinquents solve their problems within their own lower-class cultural frameworks, whereas Cohen highlights reaction to middle-class life. Note that evidence does not support the claim that boys from single-parent families are more psychologically or emotionally deprived.

Delinquency and Opportunity

Cloward and Ohlin also criticized Cohen, as well as Miller, when they studied juvenile delinquency. Drawing from Merton’s theory of anomie, Cloward and Ohlin believed that delinquent subcultures arise because of a gap between the aspirations of lower-class youth and the legitimate means available to them for reaching those aspirations. They noted, though, that illegitimate means or opportunities are not distributed evenly throughout the working class. Using a typology of lower-class male youths, Cloward and Ohlin theorized that there are four major categories of offenders. Table 5.1 outlines the categories: Type I and Type II lower-class boys aspire to middle-class achievement, but Type II boys see their reference group as more important than their aspirations. Type III boys are interested in monetary success, but not in middle-class values, and they are that group that is most likely to become delinquents. Type IV boys are not interested in any sort of success; they drop out but rarely get into trouble with the law. Type III boys participate in three sorts of delinquent subcultures:

1. The criminal subculture. The first subculture is generated when legitimate aspirations of delinquency-prone boys are illegitimately satisfied in neighborhoods where a criminal subculture already exists. These boys have their own success strategies, techniques for learning, and hierarchies of success.

2. The conflict subculture. The second subculture is poor, disorganized, transient, and unstable. It is visible to the media, and focuses on interpersonal violence, gang warfare, and property offenses.

3. The retreatist subculture. The final subculture is the last avenue for boys who have been marginalized from every other social group. It is characterized by persistent drug use and abuse.

Cloward and Ohlin’s work informed Kennedy’s Juvenile Delinquency Prevention and Control Act (1961). This program was later expanded during Johnson’s War on Poverty before it was abandoned by the Nixon administration (in part due to conservative’s critique of government involvement in lessening inequality).

Evaluation of Subcultural Theory

Subcultural theory attempted to answer some of the questions of the Chicago School, but they ended up replicating some of its errors, namely, ignoring female and middle-class male delinquency. They did, though, demonstrate that delinquency is not a solo activity committed by psychologically disturbed individuals, but a group activity that arises specific social contexts. The subcultural theorists advanced criminology in two main aspects. First, they documented (and implicitly critiqued) a relationship between lower-class opportunities and the social and economic inequality of the U.S. class structure. They also recognized that juvenile delinquency takes a variety of forms and is engaged in for a variety of reasons. Critiques vary, ranging from Yablonsky’s (1962) objection that deviant psychological traits were not considered to multiple critiques that subcultural theory ignores real-world complexities (e.g., why many boys don’t join gangs, diversity of gang types and behaviors, and overlap between lower- and middle-class values).

5.3 Matza’s Delinquency and Drift (1964)

David Matza declared that the subcultural theory completely misunderstood the causes of delinquency. The key concepts in Matza’s theory of delinquency are (1) the positive delinquent, (2) the subculture of delinquency, and (3) delinquency and drift.

The Positive Delinquent

Matza argued that “the positive delinquent does not exercise choice, his action is constrained [and he] must behave in a delinquent manner because of the determinants that have shaped him.” In his criticism of the positivist view of criminology, he said that this approach of hard determinism had given way to soft determinism, where poverty and crime are linked with differential association and the values of a delinquent subculture. One of the consequences of the positivist view of criminology is that it predicted more crime than actually occurs. If delinquents were as different from the law abiding as the positivists had assumed, then “involvement in delinquency would be more permanent and less transient, more pervasive and less intermittent than is apparently the case.”

The Subculture of Delinquency

Matza theorized that there is a subculture of delinquency but that it is not a delinquent subculture. The distinction is that in a delinquent subculture the assumption is that the values of the group are in stark opposition to the dominant culture. Because most delinquents are just children, it is nearly inconceivable that they would construct an alternative subculture strongly opposed to the values of mainstream culture. Juvenile delinquents are not that different from their law-abiding contemporaries. According to Matza, subcultures of delinquency have at least two basic mentalities: One allows members to behave illegally and to gain prestige for doing so; the other one reveals that the subculture remains committed to the important values of conventional culture. One must examine the two-mindedness of this subculture of delinquency by assessing the “situation of apprehension” (if the subculture of delinquency and the conventional culture hold conflicting values that lead the delinquent to express genuine contrition or remorse) and the “situation of company” (where boys experience status anxiety about their roles in the group, often engaging in crime to impress the others).

Delinquency and Drift

Matza’s concept of “drift” also contains his assertion that there exists a degree of free will and choice in human action. The means by which this choice is made is the subject of his theory of delinquency and drift, which has three components: neutralization, will, and preparation and desperation. Neutralization allows potential delinquents to escape the values of the dominant culture, by reducing the effectiveness of moral and social controls. Box 5.3 presents Sykes and Matza’s five techniques of neutralization:

1. Denial of responsibility.

2. Denial of injury.

3. Denial of victim.

4. Condemnation of condemners.

5. Appeal to higher loyalties.

These generally reduce the effectiveness of the cultural values that typically serve as controls against delinquency. Matza (1964) noted that neutralizations alone do not explain delinquency. Will is activated preparation (necessary skills) and desperation (motive); the former provides will to repeat offenses, whereas the latter concerns will for future acts. Delinquency provides the delinquent with the sense of at least having made something happen in situations where he or she otherwise feels a lack of control.

Evaluation of Delinquency and Drift

Some research has supported the theory of delinquency and drift quite well, whereas other research contradicts it. In The Seductions of Crime, Katz (1988) argued that in addition to “background” scholars must address the “foreground: experience of thrill and other emotions that seduce one into crime. Pereetti-Watel’s (2003) research on cannabis users added three neutralization techniques. Most work concerns whether neutralizations occur before or after deviant acts. Finally, a fundamental flaw pointed out by Greenberg (1993), is that Matza failed to evaluate if working-class youth are more likely to engage in techniques of neutralization than middle-class youth, both of whom may be delinquent.

5.4 The Labeling Perspective

Set within the social reforms of the 1960s, the labeling perspective emerged as a means of challenging the status quo. Central to this approach were academic criminologists, who questioned the utility of their own research and the purposes it served within the broader culture.

The Social Meaning of Deviance

Within the context of viewing society as a fluid and ongoing process, the social meaning of human actions is constantly changing. Therefore, the social meaning of “deviance” is always in a state of flux. Criminologists within the labeling perspective generally try to understand the point of view of marginalized groups as a starting point for their investigations into crime and deviance. This facilitates understanding from a broader array of perspectives, rather than simply an academic one. Becker’s famous research on marijuana use is an important contribution in this tradition. For people to get high “properly,” they must learn to use the substance, to perceive the effects, and to understand those effects as pleasurable. Therefore, the meaning of “getting high” is socially constructed within a context that frames pleasure as a physiological experience. Becker believes it is incomplete to view deviance simply as a violation of particular rules and codes of behavior. Cross-culturally (e.g., the perception of homosexuality as morally deviant in some cultures, and its acceptance in others, such as ancient Greek society), then, deviance and its meaning results from the power elite’s success at imposing their own values of “right” and “wrong” on others. Becker wrote “social groups create deviance by making the rules whose infraction constitutes deviance, and by applying those rules to particular people and labeling them as outsiders . . . deviant behavior is behavior that people so label.”

Societal Reaction

Most societies would label murder as deviant and criminal; however, there are wide cultural differences in most forms of deviance. Tannenbaum (1938) argued that the condemnation of delinquent behavior is transformed into a redefinition of the individual as a deviant person. Deviance, therefore, does not emerge from within the individual but from external societal reaction to that person’s behavior.

Primary and Secondary Deviance

Primary deviance, the first act of deviance in which a person engages, has many causes that are social, cultural, and psychological. However, secondary deviance is caused by the social reaction to the primary deviance. The social reaction usually attaches a label to the primary deviant (such as “sick,” “cripple,” “criminal,” “insane,” etc.), which is then internalized by that person. As such, the labeling process involves the original deviance, as well as the social reaction, the internalization of the label, and the continued deviance based on that label. Labeling theorists tend to avoid explanations that rely on individual causation, preferring the more sociologically sound approach of examining societal reaction and the deviance amplification that results.

Deviance Amplification

Figure 5.2 illustrates the amplification of deviance. Through a complicated process of media hype, moral entrepreneurs, and political agendas, marijuana use became heavily stigmatized and the users were seen as sick, unwashed, promiscuous deviants. The media fed into this frenzy by publishing statistics on drug arrests and drug-related crimes. Marx argued that the escalation of deviance occurs during the initial attempts to control certain behaviors, that nonenforcement facilitates the commission of crimes, and that covert facilitation amplifies deviance when officials participate in crimes they are attempting to detect (e.g., undercover policing).

Stigmatization

A stigma is a sign of disgrace imposed on an individual whose behavior is perceived as deviant. This position of disgrace requires others to remain distant from the stigmatized. The effects of stigma are greatest on those who are economically powerless and socially marginalized. The stigma is internalized as a “master status” by the individual. Goffman asked: How do stigmatized individuals “negotiate” their “spoiled identities”? Social class and powerlessness are important components in sorting out this question. Due to racial inequality in the United States, certain groups of people are automatically stigmatized due to their ethnicity, and that stigma can be compounded by any deviant behavior they engage in and the “master status” they internalize.

Recent work explores how labeling effects are mediated by other processes. Hirschfield (2008) found no stigma-related effects for inner-city African-American and Latino juvenile arrestees. Bernburg, Krohn, and Rivera (2006) found that juvenile justice intervention increases the odds of subsequent gang involvement and serious delinquency. Chiricos et al. (2007) found that recidivism is linked to criminal labeling. For example, adjudicated juveniles have higher rates than do juveniles whose adjudication was withheld. This is especially the case for whites, females, and first offenders aged 30 and older.

Evaluation of Labeling Theory

Labeling perspectives remind us that certain labels (such as “crime” and “deviance”) occur regularly and continue in modern society, but that labels are applied selectively and in culturally specific ways. An obvious problem with this perspective is that it has not been fully developed into a theory, and therefore has not been effectively tested. Its prominence in criminology texts, however, indicates its continued importance within the study of crime and the valuable insights it offers. It has also led to some important reform efforts within the criminal justice system: decarceration, diversion programs, and most recently reintegrative shaming and restorative justice.

CLASS EXERCISES

1. Show the Spike Lee film Do The Right Thing in class. In the context of subcultural theories of delinquency, ask the students to consider how this movie relates to their understanding of the theories.

2. Depending on the number of students in the class, form two (or more) groups. Assign the labeling perspective to another group and subcultural theories to the other group(s). Have each group brainstorm the key ideas and insights for their assigned theory. Once this task is completed bring the class back together for a showing of Carlito’s Way. Before starting the film inform the groups that their task is to watch the film through the “lens” of their theory, noting both how the film illustrates their concepts and how their theory helps them understand and explain events in the films. After the film have each group give a presentation about their insights; as each group presents, record their insights either on the board or in a word processing document, depending on available technology. Finally, have the class as a whole “look across” the presentations and discuss two insights: (a) when different theoretical approaches are applied to the “same” events they yield different insights, and (b) how comprehensive understanding of social life often requires multiple theoretical lenses. Variations: This exercise can be used over the course of multiple class sessions and in combination with group work outside the classroom (e.g., do the brainstorming and show the film in class, but have the groups do their “analyses” outside of class in anticipation of in-class presentations and discussion). It is also possible to do the exercise using the Chicago School.

3. Have students locate areas of crime on the maps as a basis for discussing ecological theory; how might they account for the crime clusters? Note: In some municipalities law enforcement produces “crime maps.” If yours does, compare the students’ “maps” with those produced by police. In addition to illustrating Chicago School insights (as above), if discrepancies are discovered between the student-generated and law-enforcement-generated maps, then the discussion can revisit insights regarding reportability and official statistics.

4. Have students design a crime program based on the insights of the Chicago School, subcultural theories, and labeling, respectively. Instruct the students to make explicit links between the “planks” of their programs and theoretical insights (e.g., how decriminalization, decarceration, and diversion are linked to insights of the labeling approach). Depending on the number of students, this exercise can be done by the entire class. Alternatively, break the students into groups and assign a theory to each group. The crime programs can then be the basis of group presentations designed to illustrate and elaborate the theories.

5. View the documentary Crips and Bloods (2009) in class, then discuss the film in light of key insights from the Chicago School and subcultural theories (e.g., social disorganization; lower-class culture focal points of trouble, toughness, smartness, excitement, fate, and autonomy; Cohen’s vs. Miller’s understandings of the content of delinquent male subculture; opportunity theory and types of subcultures; and drift).

TEST BANK FOR CHAPTER 5

Multiple-Choice Questions

1. The Progressive Era is characterized by its concern for

a. tax rates and income equity.

b. moral instruction and labor market preparedness.

c. alleviating social problems.

d. keeping America white.

2. The city of Chicago experienced rapid immigration from Europe and in-migration from the American South, as a result of

a. social policies that encouraged movement away from the coasts and toward the heartland.

b. fears of political persecution among refugees.

c. Chicago’s plea for more people to work in its factories.

d. Al Capone’s promise of economic opportunity for all who would move there.

3. The Polish Peasant in Europe and America, by Thomas and Znaniecki

a. employed official documents from government agencies to track Polish immigrants.

b. used government-sponsored survey research to estimate the numbers of Polish immigrants.

c. used personal documents and life histories to examine the circumstances of Polish immigrants.

d. used in-depth interviews to help Polish immigrants understand their new surroundings.

4. The Unadjusted Girl illustrated how female delinquency results from what Thomas determined were

a. four wishes.

b. novel approaches to social circumstances.

c. clear violations of proper behavior for girls.

d. single-mother patterns in their families of origin.

5. In Delinquency Areas, Shaw argued that physical deterioration of the neighborhood led to social

a. solidarity.

b. disorganization.

c. atrophy.

d. integration.

6. Unlike previous criminologists, Chicago School scholars believed that delinquents were

a. abnormal people living in normal conditions.

b. normal people living in normal conditions.

c. abnormal people living in abnormal conditions.

d. normal people living in abnormal conditions.

7. In studying the demographics of juvenile delinquency, Shaw and McKay identified the highest rates of delinquency in

a. suburban areas.

b. the zone of transition.

c. the central business district.

d. rural areas.

8. According to Shaw and McKay’s research, physical deterioration eventually leads to

a. social chaos.

b. social order.

c. social disorganization.

d. mechanical solidarity.

9. Shaw and McKay believed that neighborhoods with high rates of delinquency were usually ethnic-minority communities because

a. they were morally inferior to the white natives of Chicago.

b. they had not had the opportunities to work their way out of those conditions yet.

c. those communities were battling cultural conflicts among themselves.

d. the immigrants were ill-equipped for doing business in the United States.

10. By plotting juvenile delinquency rates on maps, Shaw and McKay were able to show that

a. certain areas of Chicago had large concentrations of juvenile delinquents.

b. crime and juvenile delinquency remained relatively constant across the zones of the city.

c. it is possible to prevent juvenile delinquency in most cities.

d. filtering delinquency rates outward is a good social strategy for containing them.

11. According to Shaw and McKay’s research, delinquency rates vary with

a. rates of school truancy.

b. presence of young adult offenders.

c. infant mortality rates.

d. all of the above.

12. According to Cohen, a subculture refers to the existence of a set of cultural practices that

a. differ from the dominant culture.

b. reinforce the dominant culture.

c. eventually dominate the main culture through physical force.

d. subdivide the dominant culture.

13. According to Cohen, a subculture of delinquent boys is characterized as being

a. utilitarian, benevolent, and positive.

b. nonutilitarian, malicious, and negativistic.

c. nonutilitarian, benevolent, and negativistic.

d. utilitarian, malicious, and negativistic.

14. A defining characteristic of delinquent subcultures is that they are usually

a. black.

b. white.

c. female.

d. male.

15. A specific problem encountered by working-class boys, according to Cohen’s research, is that they are

a. raised by working-class parents.

b. never given proper training in schools.

c. evaluated based on a “middle-class measuring rod.”

d. encouraged to succeed at all costs.

16. The “middle-class measuring rod,” by which all children are evaluated, includes

a. income levels and graduated resources distributed based on ability to pay.

b. ambition, individual responsibility, achievement, and constructive leisure.

c. adjustment mechanisms.

d. both a and c.

17. According to Cohen, in response to the “status frustration” that they experience, working-class boys often respond with a

a. control strategy.

b. physical altercation with a middle-class boy.

c. plea for help from the principal of their schools.

d. reaction formation.

18. What did Cohen argue regarding female delinquency?

a. Girls do not face the same problems of adjustment that working-class boys face.

b. Girls are socially not to associate in small groups, such as gangs.

c. Delinquency often has a negative effect on a girl’s status, but a positive effect on the status of boys.

d. Both a and c.

19. A serious omission in Cohen’s theory was his failure to examine

a. race and ethnicity.

b. class.

c. gender.

d. sexuality.

20. A serious problem with Cohen’s theory was his failure to provide empirical evidence that

a. middle-class goals are better than working-class goals.

b. working-class boys are indeed more delinquent than middle-class boys.

c. working-class delinquents actually accept middle-class goals.

d. middle-class parents are more ambitious than working-class parents.

21. According to Miller, female-headed households result in

a. boys seeking male role models on the street.

b. girls becoming sexually promiscuous.

c. mothers working too many hours.

d. mothers living on welfare without adequate child support.

22. According to Miller, boys who are reared by a single mother are likely to

a. become effeminate and homosexual.

b. experience teasing and humiliation.

c. suffer from poverty and loose morals.

d. suffer from an identity crisis and develop problems with gender-role identification.

23. According to Miller, gangs resolve the problems of identity crisis for lower-class boys because they

a. teach boys new skills on getting along in a tough world.

b. provide a sense of belonging and a status to the boys.

c. teach boys the difference between right and wrong.

d. help boys belong to a constructive civic group.

24. According to Cloward and Ohlin’s research, Type III boys

a. want middle-class success within middle-class standards.

b. want monetary success and internalize middle-class values.

c. want monetary success, but don’t internalize middle-class values.

d. are dropouts.

25. Where are criminal subcultures most likely to exist according to Cloward and Ohlin’s research?

a. In poor, disorganized, transient, and unstable neighborhoods.

b. In poor but stable urban neighborhoods where legitimate aspirations are blocked.

c. In immigrant neighborhoods.

d. Both a and c.

26. Where are we most likely to find boys who fail in both legitimate and illegitimate opportunities?

a. conflict subcultures

b. retreatist subcultures

c. criminal subcultures

d. underground subcultures

27. Which type of subculture focuses on highly visible acts of interpersonal violence, gang warfare, and property destruction?

a. conflict subcultures

b. retreatist subcultures

c. criminal subcultures

d. underground subcultures

28. Subcultural theories of juvenile delinquency were influential in developing social policy during what presidencies?

a. Truman and Eisenhower

b. Kennedy and Johnson

c. Ford and Carter

d. Reagan and Bush

29. One major problem with the subcultural theories of juvenile delinquency is their pejorative assumption regarding

a. young people’s needs and desires.

b. upper-middle-class culture.

c. middle-class culture.

d. lower-class culture.

30. Which of the following is not a key concept of Matza’s theory?

a. conformity subculture

b. subculture of delinquency

c. drift

d. positive delinquency

31. According to Matza’s research, the subculture of delinquency is of “two minds.” They are:

a. condemning deviance while condemning conventional values.

b. condemning deviance while embracing conventional values.

c. allowing deviance while condemning conventional values.

d. allowing and encouraging deviance while remaining basically committed to conventional values.

32. According to Matza, delinquents tend to __________ between violations of the law and adherence to it.

a. drift

b. negotiate

c. compromise

d. none of the above

33. “Appeal to higher loyalties” is seen in which of the following examples?

a. “It didn’t hurt anyone else.”

b. “He hit me first!”

c. “She deserves what’s coming to her.”

d. “I was just helping my friend!”

34. Denial of the victim is seen in which of the following examples?

a. “It didn’t hurt anyone else.”

b. “He hit me first!”

c. “She deserves what’s coming to her.”

d. “I was just helping my friend!”

35. In his critique of Matza, Jack Katz argues that criminologists should study the

a. foreground of delinquency and crime.

b. background or social causes of delinquency and crime.

c. intellectual aspects of delinquency and crime.

d. political meaning of delinquency and crime.

36. The labeling perspective’s neutral posture toward deviants eventually became a

a. celebration of deviant activity as evidence of the virtue of social diversity.

b. celebration of deviants because they are so oppressed.

c. warning against deviant behavior because of the threat to social order.

d. warning against deviant behavior because of the possibility of disease.

37. Labeling theorists saw alcoholism, mental illness, and criminality as

a. evidence of the diseased nature of the chronically poor.

b. evidence of a widespread pathology in modern capitalism.

c. victims of society who had the potential to rebel against its values.

d. the result of blocked access to illegitimate subcultural opportunities.

38. Which of the following is NOT a key concept of the labeling perspective?

a. psychopathic personality

b. the social meaning of deviance

c. societal reaction to deviance

d. stigma

39. From a labeling perspective, crime and deviance are

a. never fully understandable.

b. pregiven, objective categories and nonnegotiable statuses.

c. socially relative categories and negotiable statuses.

d. relatively similar concepts and statuses cross-culturally and historically.

40. Becker’s research on marijuana users indicates that

a. they must learn to experience the effects of marijuana as pleasurable.

b. they must learn to deceive their parents about their use.

c. they get high on the first try.

d. users of medical marijuana do not experience a high from the drug.

41. According to __________, what counts as deviance is mostly a function of the ability of powerful groups to impose their concept of right and wrong on others.

a. Sykes and Matza

b. Cohen

c. Becker

d. Shaw and McKay

42. What causes “primary deviance” according to Lemert?

a. membership in delinquent gangs

b. social, psychological, and cultural factors

c. single-parent families

d. personality disturbances

43. Lemert sees “secondary deviance” as caused by

a. membership in delinquent gangs.

b. ineffective reactions to primary deviance.

c. single-parent families.

d. societal reactions to primary deviance.

44. Which statement most accurately reflects a labeling perspective?

a. Punishment produces criminality.

b. Criminality produces punishment.

c. Deviance leads to social control.

d. Social control leads to deviance.

45. “Deviance amplification” results from

a. internalized subterranean values.

b. the application of social control.

c. failures of internalized self-control.

d. inability to manage stigma.

46. What is “deviance amplification”?

a. Decreased deviance as a result of social control.

b. The dialectical relationship between deviance and social control.

c. An unintended increase in deviance as a result of social control.

d. The mutually constitutive relationship between norms, conventionality, and deviance.

47. According to labeling theorists “stigma” is

a. a sign denoting someone disqualified from full social acceptance.

b. an indication of one’s inherent inferiority.

c. a sign of disgrace imposed on an individual.

d. both a and c.

48. According to Goffman, total institutions are

a. safe environments for leaving behind a stigmatized identity.

b. difficult environments from which to escape the effects of stigma.

c. environments where individuals learn to maintain a stigmatized identity.

d. environments where people escape the effects of stigma.

49. Which of the following reforms would be advocated by labeling theorists?

a. Decriminalization, diversion, and decarceration.

b. Three-strikes policies and mandatory minimum sentencing.

c. The Juvenile Justice Prevention and Control Act.

d. Neighborhood watch and clean-up programs combined with increased police presence.

True or False Questions

1. _____ Shaw and McKay linked their explanations of juvenile delinquency to nativist principles.

2. _____ Shaw and McKay’s study Juvenile Delinquency in Urban Areas found that delinquency rates were higher in the zone of transition than in the suburban areas of Chicago.

3. _____ Cohen’s research on juvenile gang members tried to answer questions about their values and beliefs.

4. _____ Cohen believed that due to the “middle-class measuring rod,” most juvenile delinquents are drawn from the poor and working classes.

5. _____ One of the problems with Cohen’s research is his failure to address female delinquency.

6. _____ Miller’s research linked lower-class boys’ juvenile delinquency with female-headed households.

7. _____ According to Cloward and Ohlin’s research, Type III boys want more economic success and seek status through big cars and flashy clothes.

8. _____ Cloward and Ohlin believed that Type III boys were high achievers in educational settings and had aspirations for economic success through legitimate workforce participation.

9. _____ A “conflict subculture” is characterized by a high level of involvement in criminal activities such as racketeering, numbers, and selling illegal drugs.

10. _____ Despite its popularity in criminology, subcultural theory has not been able to influence federal crime policy.

11. _____ Matza believed that many young people who act in a deviant manner eventually conform.

12. _____ Labeling theorists emphasize the importance of stigma in the process of adopting and internalizing a deviant identity.

13. _____ Primary deviance always leads to secondary deviance.

14. _____ The labeling perspective is basically a conservative view of human behavior and the relationship to society.

15. _____ Labeling theory flourished in the 1960s and dominated criminology for a time, but has not led to new research since then.

16. _____ According to Chiricos et al., arrests and adjudication are not related to recidivism.

17. _____ Hirschfield’s research found that arresting juveniles lowered their status in families and neighborhoods.

18. _____ Subcultural theorists agree that neutralization techniques are used before delinquent or criminal acts.

19. _____ According to Pereetti-Watel, marijuana smokers scapegoat hard drug users.

Essay Questions

1. Shaw and McKay’s research on delinquency is often held up as an exemplar of the Chicago School. Briefly explain what distinguishes the Chicago approach from other criminological theories. Be sure to address at least two key findings from Shaw and McKay’s work in the course of your answer.

Required content:

1. The Chicago School emphasized the “ecological” aspects of the city and their relation to crime.

Any two of the following points:

1. Rates of juvenile delinquency were linked to particular areas of the city.
2. The residences of juvenile delinquents were clustered in particular areas of the city.
3. Rates of juvenile delinquency were higher in some parts of the city—regardless of which ethnic group was living there at the time.
4. Middle-class areas of the city had lower amounts of juvenile delinquency, a finding that might reflect the “voluntary” social control typically found in such areas (e.g., PTA, clubs) and/or that fact that middle-class youth have less contact with “deviant” adults.
5. Juvenile delinquents tend to be exposed to a tradition of delinquency in their neighborhoods and/or they have contact with criminal adults.
6. Neighborhood “disorganization” was correlated with crime and delinquency.

2. First, identify the five techniques of neutralization as formulated by Sykes and Matza. Next, explain how student “cheaters” might use two of these techniques to justify cheating.

Required content:

1. Denial of responsibility
2. Denial of injury
3. Denial of the victim
4. Condemnation of the condemners
5. Appeal to higher loyalty

Application:

1. The cheating occurred inadvertently; the cheater was forced to cheat by others.
2. Cheating does not harm.
3. There is no victim when cheating occurs; faculty cannot be harmed by cheating.
4. The exam you made is too hard for us and/or your homework standards are unrealistic.
5. Getting into law school (or medical school, etc.) is more important than this class; my parents will come down on me if I don’t do well in college; my relationship to my friends is more important than this class, etc.

3. The labeling perspective is often described as a “paradigm shift” in criminological theory. Explain what made the labeling approach different from the theories that proceeded it, and briefly discuss two key labeling concepts or insights.

Required content:

1. Labeling focuses on the social construction of deviance: why is something deviant? How did it get that way?
2. Previous theories focused on either individual deviants/criminals and/or the causes of deviance and crime.
3. Labeling theorists stress that “societal reaction”—the reactions of others—is central to the construction of deviance and deviants.
4. Labeling theorists focus on how individuals become deviant, for example, when stigma is attached to an individual it shapes how we interact with her.

Additional content:

1. Deviance amplification: application of social control has the ironic effect of increasing deviance.
2. Primary vs. secondary deviance: the quality of deviance is a function of the reactions of others. Secondary deviance is that which occurs in response to being construed as deviant.
3. Labeling dynamics can lead to or exacerbate recidivism.

4. Although their work differs, Albert Cohen, Walter Miller, Richard Clower, and Lloyd Ohlin are considered “subcultural theorists.” Briefly explain two key ideas these subcultural theorists share. Next, briefly discuss the different ways these theorists explain why working-class boys are involved in delinquent subcultures.

Required content:

1. Shared: delinquency is a group based rather than an individual phenomenon
2. Shared: delinquency may be part of cultural tradition or shared way of life. (Put differently, delinquency may be learned.)

In addition, students must address one unique concept per theorist:

1. Cohen: Working-class boys do not measure up to a “middle-class measuring rod.” Delinquent boys thus experience “status frustration.” Delinquent subcultures are a “reaction formation” catalyzed by failure in middle-class settings such as schools. Delinquent gangs provide boys with an alternative status structure.
2. Miller: Gangs resolve problems generated by cultural or familial milieu (e.g., female-headed households). Working-class boys have values that diverge from the middle class, but that does not mean their culture is a reaction to the middle class. Working-class boys have unique “focal concerns” (trouble, toughness, smartness, excitement, fate, and autonomy).
3. Cloward and Ohlin: Delinquent subcultures arise from a gap between aspirations and working-class possibilities for achievement. Delinquent subcultures have their own structures of opportunity (not everyone is able to enter the subculture). Different types of working-class neighborhoods give rise to different types of subcultures. Cloward and Ohlin identified four types of delinquent boys; the types differ on whether or not the boys aspire toward membership in the middle class and/or an improved economic position.

Additional Sources

Becker, Howard S. 1967. Whose Side Are We on? Social Problems 14 (3): 239–247.

Bourgois, Phillipe. 2003. In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Crips and Bloods: Made in America (2009): Documentary film.

Fine, Gary Alan, ed. 1995. A Second Chicago School? The Development of a Postwar American Sociology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Heap, Chad. 2009. Slumming: Sexual and Racial Encounters in American Nightlife, 1885–1940. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Millman, Marcia. 1975. She Did It All for Love: A Feminist View of the Sociology of Deviance. In M. Millman and R. M. Kantor, eds., Another Voice. Garden City, NY: Anchor Books.

Schur, Edwin M. 1984. Labeling Women Deviant: Gender, Stigma, and Social Control. Philadelphia: Temple University.

Sikes, Gini. 1997. 8 Ball Chicks: A Year in the Violent World of Girl Gangs. New York: Anchor Books.

Streetwise (1984). Documentary of Seattle street kids. Winner of the 1985 Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize.

Whyte, William Foote. 1981. Street Corner Society: The Social Structure of an Italian Slum (3rd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.