Chapter 6-Social Structure Theory

Question 1

Stratified Society

Answer 1

People grouped according to economic or social class.

Question 2

Social class

Answer 2

Segment of the population whose members are at relatively similar economic level and who share attitudes, values, norms, and an identifiable lifestyle.

Question 3

culture of poverty

Answer 3

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.

Question 4

underclass

Answer 4

The lowest social stratum in any country, whose members lack the education and skills needed to function successfully in modern society.

Question 5

social structure theory

Answer 5

The view that disadvantaged economic class position is a primary cause of crime.

Question 6

social disorganization theory

Answer 6

Branch of social structure theory that focuses on the breakdown in inner-city neighborhoods of institutions such as family, school, and employment.

Question 7

Strain Theory

Answer 7

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.

Question 8

strain

Answer 8

The anger, frustration, and resentment experienced by people who believe thay cannot achieve their goals through legitimate means.

Question 9

cultural deviance theory

Answer 9

Branch of social structure theory that see strain and social disorganization together resulting in a unique lower-class culture that conflicts with conventional social norms.

Question 10

subculture

Answer 10

A set of values, beliefs, and traditions unique to a particular social class or group within a larger society.

Question 11

cultural transmission

Answer 11

Process whereby values, beliefs, and traditions are handed down from one generation to the next.

Question 12

transitional neighborhood

Answer 12

An area undergoing a shift in population and structure, usually from middle-class residential to lower-class mixed-use.

Question 13

concentration effect

Answer 13

As working and middle-class families flee inner-city poverty-ridden ares, the most disadvantaged population is consolidated in urban ghettos.

Question 14

collective efficacy

Answer 14

Social control exerted by cohesive communities and based on mutual trust, including intervention in the supervision of children and maintenance of public order.

Question 15

anomie theory

Answer 15

The view that anomie results when socially defined goals are universally mandated but access to legitimate mean is stratified by class and status.

Question 16

institutional anomie theory

Answer 16

The view that anomie pervades U.S. culture because the drive for material wealth dominates and undermines social and community values.

Question 17

American Dream

Answer 17

The goal of accumulating material goods and wealth through individual competition; the process of being socialized to pursue material success and to believe it is achievable.

Question 18

relative deprivation

Answer 18

Envy, mistrust, and aggression resulting from perceptions of economic and social inequality.

Question 19

General strain theory (GST)

Answer 19

The view that multiple sources of strain interact with an individual’s emotional traits and responses to produce criminality.

Question 20

negative affective states

Answer 20

Anger, frustration, and adverse emotions produced by a variety of sources of strain.

Question 21

focal concerns

Answer 21

Values, such as toughness and street smarts, that have evolved specifically to fit conditions in lower-class environments.

Question 22

delinquent subculture

Answer 22

A value system adopted by lower-class youths that is directly opposed to that of the larger society.

Question 23

status frustration

Answer 23

A form of culture conflict experienced by lower-class youths because social conditions prevent them from achieving success as defined by the larger society.

Question 24

middle-class measuring rods

Answer 24

The standards by which authority figures, such as teachers and employers, evaluate lower-class youngsters and often prejudge the negatively.

Question 25

reaction formation

Answer 25

Irrational hostility evidenced by young delinquents, who adopt norm directly opposed to middle-class goals and standards that seem impossible to achieve.

Question 26

differential opportunity

Answer 26

The view that lower-class youths, whose legitimate opportunities are limited, join gangs and pursue criminal careers as alternative means to achieve universal success goals.

Question 27

Shaw and Mckay

Answer 27

Transitional Neighborhoods.

Question 28

Durkheim

Answer 28

Influenced the Theory of Anomie.

Question 29

Robert Merton

Answer 29

Social Adaptations

Question 30

Social Adaptations

Answer 30

• conformity
• innovations
• ritualism
• retreatism
• rebellion

Question 31

Robert Agnew

Answer 31

General Strain Theory (GST)