Chapter 4 - Key Terms

Question 1

Subcultures

                     is defined as ?

Answer 1

A culture within a culture. The concept of subculture implies some degree of group self-sufficiency where individuals can interact, find employment, recreation, and friends within the group.

Question 2

Social Structure

                    is defined as?

Answer 2

The patterned and relatively stable arrangement of roles and statuses found within societies and social institutions. Social structures are inseparable from cultural norms and values that also shape status and social interaction.

Question 3

Pathology

             is defined as?

Answer 3

The manifestation of behaviours that are habitual, maladaptive, and compulsive.

Question 4

Norms

      is defined as?

Answer 4

Culturally established rules prescribing appropriate social behaviour.

Question 5

Values

       is defined as?

Answer 5

Relative, general cultural prescriptions of what is right, moral, and desirable. They provide the broad foundations for specific normative regulation of social interaction.

Question 6

Strain Theory

                is defined as?

Answer 6

A theory that assumes society is like an organism or mechanical system. If all parts of the system work together there is harmony. However, if one part of the organism does not work properly, strain occurs on the other parts of the system as well. The system must find ways to adapt to the strain or it will lead to system transformation.

Question 7

Sociology

           is defined as?

Answer 7

A social science that examines the structure, organization, and culture of societies and their processes of social change and social interaction.

Question 8

Consensus

             is defined as?

Answer 8

A commonly agreed upon position, conclusion, or set of values; this term is normally used in reference to public opinion.

Question 9

Division of Labour

                        is defined as ?

Answer 9

The division of roles, tasks, and duties within a household, workplace, or community.

Question 10

Mechanical Solidarity

                             is defined as?

Answer 10

Refers to a state of community bonding or interdependency that rests on a similarity of beliefs and values, shared activities, and ties of kinship and co-operation.

Question 11

Organic Solidarity

                        is defined as?

Answer 11

Refers to the state of interdependency created by the specialization of roles. Individuals and institutions become dependent on others in a complex division of labour.

Question 12

Egoism

        is defined as?

Answer 12

An ethical theory that treats self-interest as the foundation of morality.

In Durkheim’s theory - the desires of the “pre-social self” that society must shape and limit.

Question 13

Anomie

          is defined as?

Answer 13

An absence, a breakdown, confusion, or a conflict in terms of the norms of society.

In Durkheim’s theory - refers to the lack of social regulation in which the unrestricted appetites of the individual conscience are no longer held in check: we have a state of normlessness in which society fails to impose norms that inhibit such behaviour.

Question 14

Chicago School

                  Is defined as?

Answer 14

See ecological model.

Question 15

Ecological model

                    Is defined as?

Answer 15

Also referred to as Chicago school, an approach that emphasizes the characteristics of population groups and the mapped locations of such groups relative to one another. It views the social disorganization that characterizes delinquency areas as a major cause of crime and victimization.

Question 16

Social Disorganization Theory

          is defined as?

Answer 16

The theory that crime and other deviant behaviour is most likely to occur where social institutions are not able to direct and control groups of individuals.

Question 17

Concentric Circles

          is defined as

Answer 17

A term coined by Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay to describe the “naturally” occurring distinct areas that developed in the city of Chicago. Each zone had stable but differing rates of crime.

Question 18

Transition Zones

                  is defined as?

Answer 18

Zones that are characterized by frequent changes in population composition and high levels of social disorganization. Transition zones are typically located in inner cities.

Question 19

Social Ecology

               is defined as ?

Answer 19

An approach to theorizing that attempts to link the structure and organization of any human community interactions to interaction with its localized environment.

Question 20

Environmental Criminological Theory

is defined as?

Answer 20

An emerging perspective that focuses on the importance of geographical location and architectural features as they are associated with the prevalence of criminal victimization.

Question 21

Defensible Space

                   is defined as ?

Answer 21

A concept that emerged from environmental criminology that suggest public spaces should, and can, be designed to create a sense of ownership in residents and users. This philosophy believes that the type of design can make space easier to defend from potential criminal activity.

Question 22

Routine Activities Theory

     Is defined as?

Answer 22

A theory that claims occurrences of personal victimization are dependent on the “routine” of “daily activities” of people and are the outcome of three elements: motivated offenders, suitable targets, and the absence of suitable guardians.