SOC 2700 Study Guide with Solved
Solutions 2026.
What is the Chicago School of crime? - Answer Created idea of the sociology of crime.
What are some areas of study for the Chicago school? - Answer Social issues (immigration,
segregation, poverty, culture, etc)
Societal development causes change in norms
Focus on gangs
Norms dictate human behaviour
What is normative disorganization? - Answer Conflict of norms. Norms in poor area are often
criminal
What is Merton's Anomie (Strain) Theory? - Answer Crime happens when goals cannot be
legally achieved
What are the 5 modes of adaptation in Merton's Anomie Theory? Explain each. - Answer
Conformists (Accept goals and means, follow traditional path to success)
Innovators (Accept goals, rejects means, for people who want things, but don't have legal
ability)
Ritualists (Reject goals, accept means)
Retreatists (Reject goals and means, deadbeats, no desire for things, still criminal)
Rebels (Reject traditional goals and create their own goals and means)
What is Shaw's Cultural Transmission theory? - Answer How deviant culture is transmitted
from generation to generation.
Deviants are role models to youth - grow up and imitate
What is Sutherland's differential association? - Answer Concerned with how criminals are
made
People learn from people they associate with - others are "different"
, Factors - frequency, duration, priority, intensity
Criminality is a learned process from people around you - anyone can be a criminal
What do Cloward and Ohlin say (Opportunity structure) - Answer Job market is the problem
Lower class have bad jobs - leads to status frustration
What is Cohen's status frustration? - Answer Crime because lower class can't achieve upper
status
Creates deviant subculture (has solutions to issues)
Combination of strain theory and Chicago school
What is Miller's focal concerns theory? What are the 6 focal concerns? - Answer Describes
working-class subculture
FATEST
1 - Fate (Kids think their life can't be changed)
2 - Autonomy (Don't let others tell you what to do)
3 - Trouble (Don't run away from trouble)
4 - Excitement (Look for enjoyment)
5 - Smartness (Look good, act sharp)
6 - Toughness (Be a man)
What is Sykes and Matza's drift theroy/neutralization techniques? - Answer Deviants are like
others, but sometimes give in to selfish values (which is deviant)
Justifications -
denial of responsibility
denial of victim (he deserved it)
denial of harm done
Appeal to higher loyalty (gang)
necessity
What is Bandura's social learning theory? - Answer Imitation - aggression created from
learning
Bobo doll - Children exposed to violence from adults more likely to hit Bobo doll
Solutions 2026.
What is the Chicago School of crime? - Answer Created idea of the sociology of crime.
What are some areas of study for the Chicago school? - Answer Social issues (immigration,
segregation, poverty, culture, etc)
Societal development causes change in norms
Focus on gangs
Norms dictate human behaviour
What is normative disorganization? - Answer Conflict of norms. Norms in poor area are often
criminal
What is Merton's Anomie (Strain) Theory? - Answer Crime happens when goals cannot be
legally achieved
What are the 5 modes of adaptation in Merton's Anomie Theory? Explain each. - Answer
Conformists (Accept goals and means, follow traditional path to success)
Innovators (Accept goals, rejects means, for people who want things, but don't have legal
ability)
Ritualists (Reject goals, accept means)
Retreatists (Reject goals and means, deadbeats, no desire for things, still criminal)
Rebels (Reject traditional goals and create their own goals and means)
What is Shaw's Cultural Transmission theory? - Answer How deviant culture is transmitted
from generation to generation.
Deviants are role models to youth - grow up and imitate
What is Sutherland's differential association? - Answer Concerned with how criminals are
made
People learn from people they associate with - others are "different"
, Factors - frequency, duration, priority, intensity
Criminality is a learned process from people around you - anyone can be a criminal
What do Cloward and Ohlin say (Opportunity structure) - Answer Job market is the problem
Lower class have bad jobs - leads to status frustration
What is Cohen's status frustration? - Answer Crime because lower class can't achieve upper
status
Creates deviant subculture (has solutions to issues)
Combination of strain theory and Chicago school
What is Miller's focal concerns theory? What are the 6 focal concerns? - Answer Describes
working-class subculture
FATEST
1 - Fate (Kids think their life can't be changed)
2 - Autonomy (Don't let others tell you what to do)
3 - Trouble (Don't run away from trouble)
4 - Excitement (Look for enjoyment)
5 - Smartness (Look good, act sharp)
6 - Toughness (Be a man)
What is Sykes and Matza's drift theroy/neutralization techniques? - Answer Deviants are like
others, but sometimes give in to selfish values (which is deviant)
Justifications -
denial of responsibility
denial of victim (he deserved it)
denial of harm done
Appeal to higher loyalty (gang)
necessity
What is Bandura's social learning theory? - Answer Imitation - aggression created from
learning
Bobo doll - Children exposed to violence from adults more likely to hit Bobo doll
