Criminology A Candian Perspective 8th

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Chapter 10 - Strain Theories

1. Which of the following is NOT an assumption underlying the consensus perspective?
a. Most people share similar values.
b. Morality is universal.
c. The law represents a consensus of societal values.
d. Criminal law reflects the interests of powerful groups that create and enforce those laws.
ANSWER: d

2. Which of the following best represents the main assumption underlying the conflict perspective?
a. Criminal law is meant to quell conflict in society.
b. Criminal law reflects the interests of powerful groups that create and enforce those laws.
c. Criminal law reflects how crime is ultimately about conflict between individuals.
d. Criminal law is the result of conflict between legislators.
ANSWER: b

3. Chapter 10 argues that strain theory fits the overall orientation of the consensus perspective. Which of the
following is a characteristic of strain theory that does NOT fit the consensus perspective?
a. Social institutions all contribute to the smooth running of society.
b. Those in positions of power ensure that these institutions reflect their interests.
c. Crime occurs when something unusual happens that affects these institutions.
d. Strains, stresses, and frustrations all affect one’s behaviour and actions in society.
ANSWER: b

4. The concept of anomie is central to the theories of which of these social scientists?
a. Durkheim
b. Kobrin
c. Cloward
d. Weber
ANSWER: a

5. Which of the following is another term for anomie?

a. normalcy
b. normlessness
c. normfulness
d. normalness
ANSWER: b

6. According to Durkheim, why is it necessary for crime to exist in every society?

a. Crime is needed to define the boundaries of acceptable behaviour.
b. There are always some evil persons in every society.
c. Rules are made to be broken.
d. The criminal justice industrial complex relies on criminals for its livelihood.

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ANSWER: a

7. Which of the following terms refer to the patterned and relatively stable arrangement of roles and statuses
found within societies and social institutions?
a. middle-class measuring rod
b. diffusion of responsibility
c. social structure
d. culturally prescribed aspirations
ANSWER: c

8. According to Durkheim, which of the following is most essential to the well-functioning societies?
a. social solidarity
b. culturally prescribed aspirations
c. diffusion of responsibility
d. capitalism
ANSWER: a

9. Which of the following best characterizes Durkheim’s concept of “anomie”?

a. Anomie is solely a characteristic of associated with individuals.
b. Anomie is solely a characteristic of 19th-century societies.
c. Anomie exists when a society is characterized by normlessness.
d. Anomie is an established medical condition.
ANSWER: c

10. According to Durkheim, which of the following is essential to stable societies?

a. heterogeneity
b. increased division of labour
c. social cohesion
d. strong political leadership
ANSWER: c

11. Which of the following theorists originally adapted Durkheim’s theory of anomie to America to explain the
emergence of crime?
a. Merton
b. Merlin
c. Cloward
d. Sutherland
ANSWER: a

12. Crime is a symptom of the gap between culturally prescribed aspirations and the socially structured means
for realizing them. Which of the following theories is associated with this statement?
a. social disorganization
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b. strain
c. moral reasoning
d. social learning
ANSWER: b

13. According to Merton's strain theory, which of the following best characterizes the “innovator”?
a. He/she believes in both the culturally defined goals and the legitimate means for goal attainment.
b. He/she believes in neither the culturally defined goals nor the legitimate means for goal attainment.
c. He/she does not believe in the culturally defined goals but does believe in the legitimate means for
goal attainment.
d. He/she believes in the culturally defined goals but follows illegitimate means for goal attainment.
ANSWER: d

14. According to Merton, which of the following best describes the accumulation of money and the status that
results from it in America?
a. an illegitimate means
b. a culturally prescribed aspiration
c. a culturally approved means
d. a conventional means
ANSWER: b

15. For Merton, crime in America is the result of which of the following?
a. the socially structured means for reaching aspirations
b. the gap between culturally prescribed goals and socially structured means for reaching them
c. the overlap between socially prescribed goals and culturally structured means for reaching aspirations
d. the culturally prescribed goals of American society
ANSWER: b

16. Which of the following characteristics of students did Konty find positively correlated with self-reports of
criminal and deviant behaviour?
a. self-transcending values but not self-enhancing values
b. self-enhancing values and self-transcending values
c. self-enhancing values but not self-transcending values
d. neither self-enhancing values nor self-transcending values
ANSWER: c

17. Which term is used in Chapter 10 to refer to a condition in which an individual places more value on self-
interest than on collective values?
a. relative deprivation
b. individualism
c. micro-anomie
d. anomie
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ANSWER: c

18. According to Bernard, strain in Merton’s theory is best interpreted as which of the following?
a. a feature of the underclass
b. a feature of individuals
c. a property of social structures
d. a theoretically empty concept
ANSWER: c

19. What is the result when the structural features of a society create an uneven distribution of legitimate
opportunities?
a. There will be a high rate of crime.
b. There will be pockets of instrumental crime.
c. Crime will be concentrated in the lower classes.
d. Crime will be concentrated in the upper classes.
ANSWER: a

20. According to Messner and Rosenfeld which of the following defines the American Dream?
a. individual achievement
b. material success
c. devoutness
d. wisdom
ANSWER: b

21. For Messner and Rosenfeld, which of the following is not only intrinsic to the American Dream, but also a
principal reason behind crime in that country?
a. popular fame
b. individual achievement
c. equal opportunity
d. weak restraints on the means to achieve material success
ANSWER: d

22. According to Messner and Rosenfeld’s institutional-anomie theory, which institution dominates all others in
America?
a. the family
b. the economy
c. religion
d. education
ANSWER: b

23. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of Messner and Rosenfeld’s institutional-anomie theory?
a. The American Dream emphasizes monetary success, but places less emphasis on legitimate means of
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achieving that success.
b. Illegitimate means to achieve the American Dream encourages people to turn to crime.
c. The economy is more important than all over institutions.
d. The American Dream explicitly encourages people to turn to crime to make money.
ANSWER: d

24. According to Chapter 10, why is corporate crime in North America a prime example of institutional-
anomie?
a. It illustrates the weak restraints on the means to achieve wealth.
b. It illustrates how pathological people can rise up the corporate hierarchy.
c. It illustrates how the American Dream really only applies to those running corporations.
d. It illustrates how corporations are inherently criminogenic.
ANSWER: a

25. According to Chapter 10, what is one of the reasons that Japan has a lower rate of corporate crime compared
to North America?
a. The Japanese do not use the free market system.
b. The family appears to rank higher on the hierarchy of institutions compared to economics.
c. Corporate crime is an executable offence.
d. There is little strain or anomie in Japanese culture.
ANSWER: b

26. According to Chapter 10, which of the following is NOT one of the ways to reduce crime by changing the
behaviour of the elite?
a. Reduce unethnical behaviour by corporate executives.
b. Target the frequent acts of immorality in corporations and governments.
c. Screen corporate and political elite for signs of psychopathy.
d. Have the criminal justice system send a clear message to powerful people that some behaviours are
simply wrong.
ANSWER: c

27. Criminologist Robert Agnew focuses on strain as a feature of which of the following?
a. small communities
b. organizations
c. individuals
d. large-scale societies
ANSWER: c

28. Strain is more likely to lead to delinquency if certain conditions are present. Which of the following is NOT
one of these conditions?
a. The strains are high in magnitude (e.g. a serious assault).
b. The strains are unjust.
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c. The strains are linked to low social control.
d. The strains lead to unprofitable crimes.
ANSWER: d

29. Cloward and Ohlin’s theory of illegitimate opportunity structures combined strain theory with which of the
following theories?
a. differential association theory
b. social learning theory
c. social control theory
d. labelling theory
ANSWER: a

30. According to Cloward and Ohlin, what did Merton’s theory fail to take into account?
a. cultural perceptions of goals
b. cultural perceptions of means
c. differential legitimate goals
d. differential opportunities
ANSWER: d

31. Which of the following best represents the main argument behind the Opportunity Structures perspective on
strain and criminal behaviour?
a. People can participate in a given adaptation only if they have access to the means to do so.
b. The opportunity to commit crimes is there for most people.
c. The opportunity to commit crimes is there only for those experiencing strain.
d. Strain and opportunity structures are synonymous.
ANSWER: a

32. According to Cloward and Ohlin, young people who experience are at risk of becoming involved in different
types of gangs or subcultures. Which of the following is NOT one of these gangs or subcultures?
a. criminal
b. conflict
c. passivist
d. retreatist
ANSWER: c

33. According to Cloward and Ohlin, which of the following adaptations has the fewest barriers to entry for
working-class youths?
a. the passivist subculture
b. the criminal subculture
c. the retreatist subculture
d. the conflict subculture
ANSWER: c
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34. Which of the following contradicts the “code of the street”?

a. You must let others know you are willing to negotiate.
b. You must show nerve.
c. You must respond to aggression with aggression.
d. You must let others know how tough you are.
ANSWER: a

35. It is well established that many African-American youth have been shut out of the mainstream economy due
to racism. They are also disproportionately involved in gangs and drug trafficking. Which of the following
theories best explains these two intertwined social problems?
a. social learning theory
b. differential association theory
c. strain theory
d. control theory
ANSWER: c

36. Which of the following best represents one of the contributions of anomie and strain theories in
understanding crime in society?
a. It shifted focus away from sociological variables to psychological ones.
b. It shifted focus from psychological and genetic variables to sociological ones.
c. It shifted focus to the relationship between anomie, crime, and suicide.
d. It showed how crime can emerge in even stable societies.
ANSWER: c

37. Which of the following is a significant critique of Merton’s strain theory?

a. It can only be applied to crimes committed by the socially marginalized.
b. It can only be applied to North American societies.
c. It helps account for social class differences in crime, but not gender differences.
d. It helps account for gender differences in crime, but not social class differences.
ANSWER: c

38. According to Chapter 10, strain theory complements which of the following other theories of crime?
a. social learning theory and group conflict theory
b. group conflict theory and control theory
c. differential association theory and social learning theory
d. control theory and differential association theory
ANSWER: d

39. Braithwaite argues that crime is most likely when exposure to illegitimate opportunities is high and exposure
to legitimate opportunities is low. Based on this argument, which of the following initiatives would help to
reduce crime in a low-income neighbourhood?
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a. job creation for young people
b. an increase in community beautification projects
c. an increase in the number of police officers
d. amalgamating schools
ANSWER: a

40. Which of the following does Braithwaite recommend to reduce the strains caused by our coercive criminal
justice system?
a. mutual conversion
b. reintegrative shaming
c. disintegrative shaming
d. early parole
ANSWER: b

41. The conflict and consensus perspectives on the relationship between crime and social structure are
diametrically opposed to one another.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True

42. According to the consensus perspective, the vast majority of a society’s population shares similar values
regarding right and wrong.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True

43. Strain theory fits the general orientation of the conflict perspective.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False

44. According to the Durkheim, crime is an abnormal feature of society since it takes away from the
maintenance of stability.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False

45. According to Durkheim, when social cohesion breaks down and social isolation is great, society loses its
traditional social control mechanisms and eventually suffers from a high rate of crime.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True

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46. Merton argues that crime is a symptom of the gap between culturally prescribed aspirations and the socially
structured means for realizing those aspirations.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True

47. The gap between goals and the means to achieve these goals is constant across all portions of North
American society.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False

48. Microanomie is when entire social groups are in a state of anomie and place more emphasis on their own
self-interest than contributing to the wider society.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False

49. According to Bernard, strain or anomie are properties of social structures, not of individuals.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True

50. Messner and Rosenfeld’s theory of institutional anomie argues that crime is a function of American
society’s emphasis on material wealth, but less emphasis on legitimate means of achieving that success.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True

51. Since there are already weak restraints on the means to achieve monetary success, the inability of watchdog
agencies and our justice system to respond effectively increases the likelihood of white-collar crime.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True

52. Based upon Hackler’s depiction of a morality curve, the textbook suggests that we must overlook frequent
acts of unethical behaviour in commercial activities and instead focus on serious crimes.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False

53. In Japan, one of the reasons the crime rate is lower is that the family appears to rank higher on the hierarchy
of institutions and to be more influential relative to economics, compared to North America.
a. True

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b. False
ANSWER: True

54. Agnew argues that strain is more a feature of individuals than societies or social groups.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True

55. According to Chapter 10, strain is more likely to lead to delinquency if the strain is perceived as unjust by
the individual.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True

56. Cloward’s contribution to strain theory was to recognize that the leap from strain to deviance was contingent
upon the opportunities available to the individual.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True

57. Anderson’s “code of the street” highlights how the opportunity structure on Wall Street contributes to
corporate crime.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False

58. Merton’s strain theory is helpful for explaining the lower crime rates of women.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False

59. According to Braithwaite, crime is unlikely either when legitimate opportunities are high or when
illegitimate opportunities are low.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True

60. According to Braithwaite, belonging to the lower class has more effect on delinquency for youth in lower-
class areas than for youth in middle-class areas.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False

61. Contrast the different assumptions about society made by conflict and consensus perspectives of crime.

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Which do you think is most accurate when applied to Canada?
ANSWER: Answers will vary.

62. Define Durkheim’s concept of anomie and explain the relevance of this concept for understanding crime in
advanced societies.
ANSWER: Answers will vary.

63. Outline the basic assumptions of Merton’s strain theory. Describe how Merton’s original theory was applied
to America to explain crime in that country.
ANSWER: Answers will vary.

64. Explain Bernard’s thesis that strain or anomie are properties of social structures.
ANSWER: Answers will vary.

65. What is meant by the term “subculture of power abuse”? Provide a Canadian and an American illustration
of this term.
ANSWER: Answers will vary.

66. Describe Messner and Rosenfeld’s theory of institutional anomie.

ANSWER: Answers will vary.

67. Describe what Hackler means by “moving the morality curve to the left” as a means of reducing crime in our
society. Provide illustrations.
ANSWER: Answers will vary.

68. Summarize Agnew’s perspective on strain. How does it differ from the theory of Massner and Rosenfeld.
ANSWER: Answers will vary.

69. Summarize Cloward’s contribution to theories about the relationship between individual strain and criminal
behaviour.
ANSWER: Answers will vary.

70. Describe how the criminal subculture, the conflict subculture, and the retreatist subculture described by
Cloward and Ohlin are responses to the goal-means gap associated with Merton.
ANSWER: Answers will vary.

71. Describe how Anderson’s “code of the street” is relevant to strain theories presented in Chapter 10.
ANSWER: Answers will vary.

72. Explain how strain theory converges with other theories of crime.
ANSWER: Answers will vary.

73. Based on the writings of Braithwaite, would an increase in class heterogeneity in neighbourhoods lead to an
increase or decrease in crime? Explain your answer.
ANSWER: Answers will vary.
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74. According to Braithwaite, what causes crime among the upper classes and what can be done to reduce it?
ANSWER: Answers will vary.

75. The policy implications of strain theory have been tested in the real world. Describe programs and projects
that have employed a strain theory rationale, at least in part. What have been the implications of the results of
these programs for strain theory?
ANSWER: Answers will vary.

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