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CCJ 301 1 Chapter 6 Test
With Solution
Stratified Society - ANSWER - people grouped according to economic or social classes
- characterized by the unequal distribution of power, wealth & prestige
Social Class - ANSWER - segment of the population whose members are at a relatively similar economic level
- share attitudes, values, norms, and an identifiable lifestyle
Culture of Poverty - ANSWER - A separate lower-class culture
- characterized by apathy, cynicism, helplessness, and mistrust of social institutions such as schools, government agencies, and the police, that is passed from one generation to the next
Culture of Poverty Creator - ANSWER - Oscar Lewis
Underclass - ANSWER - the lowest social stratum in any country, whose members lack the education and skills needed to function successfully in modern society
Child Poverty - ANSWER - 15 million youths under 18 in the US (22% of all youth) live in families with incomes below the poverty line
Homeless US Children - ANSWER - 1 in 30 children
African American Household Median Income - ANSWER - approx. $33,
Non-Hispanic White Household Median Income - ANSWER - approx. $56,
Social Structure Theory - ANSWER - the view that disadvantaged economic class position is a primary cause of crime
Social Disorganization Theory - ANSWER - branch of social structure theory that focuses on the breakdown in inner-city neighborhoods of institutions such as the family, school, and employment
Strain Theory - ANSWER - Branch of social structure theory that sees crime as a function of the conflict between people's goals and the means available to obtain them
Strain - ANSWER - the anger, frustration, and resentment experienced by people who believe they cannot achieve their goals through legitimate means
Cultural Deviance Theory - ANSWER - Branch of social structure theory that sees strain and social disorganization together resulting in a unique lower-class culture that conflicts with conventional social norms
Subculture - ANSWER - a set of values, beliefs, and traditions unique to a particular social class or group within a larger society
Crime rates are highest in _______, ________, and ________ neighborhoods. - ANSWER - transiet
of Law-violating Gangs in US - ANSWER more than 30,
Who popularized the Social Disorganization Theory? - ANSWER - Clifford R.
Community Disorder - ANSWER - crime rates associated with community deterioration
- disorder, poverty, alienation, disassociation, & fear of crime
- residential instability (large # of people moving in & out)
- abandoned buildings are "magnet for crime"
Community Fear - ANSWER - when people help each other residents are less likely to fear crime
- as fear increases, quality of life deteriorates
Siege Mentality - ANSWER - the outside world is considered the enemy out to destroy the neighborhood
- often results in an expanded mistrust of social institutions
Community Change - ANSWER - stable communities experience relatively low crime rates
- those who cannot leave unstable neighborhoods face an increased risk of victimization
Poverty Concentration - ANSWER - William Wilson
- middle-class & working-class families flee inner-city areas leaving behind
the most poor people
Concentration Effect - ANSWER - as working-class and middle-class families flee inner-city poverty-ridden areas, the most disadvantaged population is consolidated in urban ghettos
Collective Efficacy - ANSWER - social control exerted by cohesive communities and based on mutual trust, including intervention in the supervision of children and maintenance of public order
Collective Efficacy in Stable v. Unstable Neighborhoods - ANSWER Stable: less crime
Unstable: more crime
Informal Social Control - ANSWER - involve peers, family, and relatives
Institutional Social Control - ANSWER - schools, churches, businesses, volunteer organizations
- where these institutions are effective, crime rates decline for some crimes
- most closely associated with criminal behavior
Ritualism - ANSWER - gain pleasure from practicing traditional ceremonies, regardless of whether they have a real purpose or goal
- strict customs in religious orders, feudal societies, clubs, and college fraternities encourage and appeal to them
Retreatism - ANSWER - reject both the goals and means of society
- attempt to escape their lack of success by withdrawing, either mentally or physically, through taking drugs or becoming drifters
Rebellion - ANSWER - some individuals substitute an alternative set of goals and means for conventional ones
- may be a reaction against a corrupt, hated government or an effort to create alternative opportunities or lifestyles within the existing system
Anomie - ANSWER - a social condition in which norms are weak, conflicting, or absent
Institutional Anomie - ANSWER - Steven Messner & Richard Rosenfeld
- The view that anomie pervades U.S. culture because the drive for material wealth dominates and undermines social and community values
American Dream - ANSWER Goal: involves accumulating material goods & wealth via open individual competition
Process: involves both being socialized to pursue material success and believing that prosperity is achievable in American culture
Relative Deprivation - ANSWER - Judith Blau & Peter Blau
- envy, mistrust, and aggression resulting from perceptions of economic and social inequality
General Strain Theory - ANSWER - Robert Agnew
- view that multiple sources of strain interact with an individual's emotional traits and responses to produce criminality
- individual level of strain (micro-level)
Sources of Strain - ANSWER - Failure to achieve positively valued goals
- Disjunction of expectations and achievements
- Removal of positively valued stimuli
- Presentation of negative stimuli
Negative Affective States - ANSWER - anger, frustration, and adverse
- Values, such as toughness and street smarts, that have evolved specifically to fit conditions in lower-class environments
Cultural Transmission - ANSWER - the process whereby values, beliefs, and traditions are handed down from one generation to the next
Gang Culture - ANSWER - in a disorganized area, gangs are a stable community feature
- membership has appeal to adolescents who are alienated from their families as well as the mainstream society
Theory of Deviant Subculture - ANSWER - Albert Cohen
- delinquent behavior of lower-class youths is actually a protest against the norms and values of middle-class US culture
Status Frustration - ANSWER - a form of culture conflict experienced by lower-class youths because social conditions prevent them from achieving success as defined by the larger society
- as a result, many youths join gangs
- the development of the delinquent subculture is a consequence of socialization practices in lower-class environments (unable to develop skills necessary to succeed in society)
Middle-class Measuring Rods - ANSWER - The standards by which authority figures, such as teachers and employers, evaluate lower-class youngsters and often prejudge them negatively
- the conflict and frustration that lower-class youths experience when they fail to meet these standards is a primary cause of delinquency
Reaction Formation - ANSWER - irrational hostility evidenced by young delinquents, who adopt norms directly opposed to middle-class goals and standards that seem impossible to achieve
Theory of Differential Opportunity - ANSWER - Richard Cloward & Lloyd Ohlin
- the view that lower-class youths, those who legitimate opportunities are limited, join gangs and pursue criminal careers as alternative means to achieve universal success goals
Criminal Gangs - ANSWER - exist in stable neighborhoods where close connections among adolescent, young adult, and adult offenders create an environment for successful criminal enterprise
Conflict Gangs - ANSWER - develop in communities unable to provide either legitimate or illegitimate opportunities
