Chapter 7

Question 1

Functionalist view of crime

Answer 1

crime occurs when aspirations of individuals in a group are more than the available opportunities

Question 2

Durkheim and Merton theory of crime

Answer 2

deviant behavior is the result of the struture of modern societies. The structure is undermined by anomie, which causes people to feel disoriented and anxious. Crime and deviance is a necessary and inevitable element of societies. More freedom in modern societies gives more room for nonconformity. People will never come to a consensus on norms

Question 3

Durkheim theory of deviance

Answer 3

Deviance is necessary for society, and brings change/adaptation. It also promotes a boundary between good and bad behavior.

Question 4

Merton theory of deviance

Answer 4

deviance is a by-product of societal/economic inequalities. He split people into 5 groups based on their response to opportunities and the limited ways to achieve opportunity.

1. conformists-most people
2. innovators-use illegal means to enter society for an acceptable life
3. Ritualists-conform to social standards but have lost sight of their meaning
4. Retreatists-abandoned societal values and means of achieving them
5. Rebels-Same as retreatists but work to push their views into society

Question 5

relative deprivation

Answer 5

deprivation a person feels by comparing themselves to their peers, used by Merton to explain rising crime in societies even as the became more affluent

Question 6

Cohen theory of crime

Answer 6

similar to Merton’s view but emphasized the influence of subcultures

Question 7

functionalist theorists of crime/deviance

Answer 7

Durkheim, Merton, Cohen, Ohlin

Question 8

interactional theory of crime/deviance

Answer 8

deviance is a socially constructed phenomenon, looks at why behaviors and groups get labeled as deivant

Question 9

differential association

Answer 9

Edwin H. Sutherland’s link to crime, argues that we learn about deviant behavior the some way we learn about conventional behavior: from primary groups. Differentila refers to the ratio of conventional to deviant contacts. Deviant behavior is learned through exposure

Question 10

labeling theory

Answer 10

an approach to stuyding deviance that claims that people become deviant when labeled as deviant by others

Question 11

primary deviation

Answer 11

termed by Edwin Lemert, these are the actions that cause others to label one as deviant

Question 12

secondary deviation

Answer 12

termed by Edwin Lemert, follows primary deviation, occurs when someone accepts the term as deviant and acts accordingly

Question 13

labeling theory criticisms

Answer 13

labeling theorists neglect what leads to deviant actions, the labeling aspect is not proven to cause an increase after conviction as opposed to other factors

Question 14

conflict theory

Answer 14

deviance is deliberately chosen and often political in nature. argues that laws maintain power of ruling group.

Question 15

control theory

Answer 15

argues that crime results from an imbalance of impulses toward criminal activity and factors that prevent it(benefits outweigh risks). People are rational that act to maximize their own reward unless other factors prevent them from doing so

Question 16

theory of broken windows

Answer 16

originated from a study where abandoned cars were placed in wealthy and poor neighborhoods with one broken window, resulting in an increase of breaking windows and crime afterward. This shows that one act of deviance anywhere results in a spiral of additional acts

Question 17

white collar crime

Answer 17

crimes that mostly affluent people commit including tax fraud, embezzlement, etc.

Question 18

community policing

Answer 18

emphasis on crime prevention rather than law enforcement to reintegrate policing within a community

Question 19

stigmatizing shaming

Answer 19

related to labeling theory, criminal is labeled as a threat to society and treated as an outcast

Question 20

reintegrative shaming

Answer 20

the criminals primary community comes to court to condemn them and reintegrate them back into the community