MVCC Strain and Cultural Deviance Theories Questionnaire

AFTER ACTIONS REPORT – Chapter 05

1. Explain the inter-connectedness of sociological theories
2. Describe 3 sources of socialization. Give examples how these sources shaped who you are as a person and your subsequent values.
3. Explain the concept of social class and how it may shape an individual’s development. How do you believe your class influenced your development as an individual?
4. Explain the concept of anomie
5. Contrast among the various adaptations of strain theory. Why does strain theory imply that crime caused more than just poverty?
6. Explain how strain is modernized to not solely refer to economic stress. Provide an example of non-economic strain in your personal experience.
7. Contrast between social disorganization theory, differential association theory, and culture conflict theory. Which theory do you believe has the biggest significance in explaining crime?
8. Decide what you think about young people playing video games, what would differential association theory argue? What do you think?
9. Explain the legacy of Chicago in understanding social disorganization. Is this model of understanding neighborhoods still valid today, in your opinion.

AFTER ACTIONS REPORT – Chapter 06

1. Define a subculture, explain a subculture in which you participate.
2. Contrast among the four major subcultural theories of deviance by Cohen, Cloward and Ohlin, Wolfgang and Ferracuti, and Miller
3. Distinguish between the corner boy, the college boy, and the delinquent boy.
4. Explain the concept of a middle class measuring rod. How does this relate to schools, professional development, and crime? How has the middle class measuring rod influenced your development?
5. Compare and contrast the theory of criminal, conflict, and retreatist gangs. Research a local criminal gang, where are they located, how are they identified, what behavior have they been associated with recently?
6. Discuss middle-class delinquency and its relation to gangs. What theory best explains middle class criminal behavior?
7. Explain gang activity within the understanding of the subculture of violence.
8. What do we know about female subcultural delinquency? Find an example of a female gang, what are major similarities and differences from male gangs?
9. What theory is most influential in explaining gang behavior? What are the strengths and weaknesses of this theory?

AFTER ACTIONS REPORT – Chapter 07

1. Explain social control theory. What forces are most influential in your life keeping you out of criminal behavior?
2. Discuss the four social bonds that Hirschi posited that promote socialization and conformity. How have these bond’s influenced your own decision making regarding your goals and behavior.
3. Explain Matza’s concept of drift. How does drift explain some of your own behavior?
4. How do individuals justify or neutralize their bad behavior? What neutralization technique do you believe to be most common?
5. Compare the inner and outer containment mechanisms as set forth in Reckless’ containment theory
6. Explain the evolving forms and roles of social control in developmental theory, which do you believe to be most promising?

AFTER ACTIONS REPORT – Chapter 08

1. Discuss the basic assumptions of labeling theory. Have you been labeled? How did it influence you, personally?
2. Explain why labeling theorists would argue that the Criminal Justice system creates more crime
3. Compare the consensus and conflict models of criminal lawbreaking (hmm, I think I remember this question from an earlier exam!) 😉
4. Discuss a crime that many people would have consensus that should be illegal. Now contrast with a behavior that is considered illegal due to conflict theory.
5. Explain the difference between primary and secondary deviance.
6. Discuss the relationship between conflict theory and crime.
7. Explain the origin of radical criminology, why might it have been considered controversial?
8. Discuss some of the critical perspectives that have emerged over the past decade, including radical feminist theory, left realism, abolitionist and anarchist criminology, and peacemaking criminology
9. What does feminist criminology mean to you, how does it relate to understanding crime?