Social Theory Exam 3

What is the fundamental assumption of situational-opportunity theories of crime?

Opportunity makes the crime.

What question do opportunity theories ask about crime opportunities?

Whether crime opportunities are objective factors or perceptual.

How are criminal events distributed in the built environment?

Unevenly.

What do situational-opportunity theories explain?

Why criminals commit crimes where they commit them.

What do socio-spatial characteristics of places influence?

Offender decision-making and victim vulnerability.

What does crime incident analysis try to identify?

Crime risks, opportunities, incentives, and deterrents.

What are the main situational-opportunity theories listed in the slideshow?

Crime Pattern Theory, Crime Generators, Crime Attractors, Environmental Design Theory, Routine Activity Theory, and Place Management Theory.

How can places provide crime opportunities?

They can tempt people and provide motivations to commit crime.

What are examples of places that may provide incentives to offend?

Places dealing in cash, some bars, taverns, and nightclubs.

What are examples of places that may provide deterrents to offend?

Places with visible security officers, police, or video surveillance cameras.

How can places influence crime?

They can influence the risk level of different types of crimes.

What type of crime might college campuses have more of?

Theft or nuisance crimes.

What type of crime might college campuses have less of?

Stranger-on-stranger violent crime.

What places may have high vulnerability to stranger violent crime like robbery?

Convenience stores and gas stations.

What places may have fewer acquaintance-based sexual assault crimes?

Convenience stores and gas stations.

What are examples of crime generators?

Sports stadiums, shopping malls, transit stations, nightclubs, bars, taverns, festivals, and Mardi Gras parades.

Why can crime generators produce crime opportunities?

They bring offenders and targets together in the same time and place.

What is convergence opportunity?

When offenders and targets come together in time and place.

What are crime attractors?

Places with criminal opportunities that are well known to offenders.

What are examples of crime attractors?

Blighted housing, abandoned businesses, fighting bars, drug areas, some gas stations, and some convenience stores.

How can a place become a crime attractor?

Through its crime reputation.

What is an example of a convenience store becoming a crime attractor?

A convenience store that allows loitering may become a place for fighting and drug dealing.

What is a suitable target?

A person or object that is vulnerable or attractive to crime.

What are the three parts of target suitability?

Value, visibility, and accessibility.

What is the absence of capable guardians?

A situation where no person is present or able to prevent the crime.

What are routine activities?

Everyday activities or schedules.

What does it mean that illegal activities feed upon legal activities of everyday life?

Crime opportunities often arise from ordinary daily routines.

What is guardianship in Routine Activity Theory?

A process where people deter opportunistic crimes.

Are guardians technologies like video cameras?

No. Guardians are people.

What is the function of guardianship?

To deter opportunistic crimes.

Why is deterrence a perception issue?

Because deterrence depends on whether offenders perceive a risk of being stopped or caught.

Is the presence of police always a crime deterrent?

No. It depends on context, situation, and circumstance.

What is a secret?

Information that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.

What is secrecy?

A condition where one person, group, or organization intends to hide something while another seeks to reveal it.

Which theorist inspired the sociology of secrets and secrecy?

Georg Simmel.

Why is secrecy important in society?

It is an integral part of social relationships and a central means of information control.

Do all relationships, groups, and organizations have secrets?

Yes

What is a lie?

A form of interaction where the liar intentionally hides the truth from others.

What happens to others during lying?

They are left with a false conception.

Does keeping a secret always mean someone is lying?

No.

What do the impacts of lying depend on?

Social distance.

Is deception always immoral or socially destructive?

No.

What example does the slideshow give of socially beneficial deception?

The polio vaccine.

How does the polio vaccine “deceive” the body?

It introduces an inactive or weakened virus, tricking the immune system into responding.

What does successful vaccine deception depend on?

Trust in expert systems and institutions such as medicine, science, and public health.

What did Simmel argue about lies and deception?

They are normal and constitutive features of social life.

Do all forms of deception undermine social order?

No. Some forms stabilize social order.

What is the key sociological question about deception?

How deception is socially organized.

What is the harmful pathway of deception described in the slideshow?

Lie → deception → exploitation, maliciousness, harm, and damage.

What is an example of harmful deception?

Ponzi scams.

What is the positive pathway of deception described in the slideshow?

Lie → deception → nurturing, bonding, protection, and solidarity.

Why is modern society dependent on trust and honesty?

Modern systems rely on people and institutions we often do not know personally

What are two examples of modern systems dependent on trust?

The global economic system and modern science.

Why is the global economic system dependent on trust?

Credit, loans, and financial exchange depend on people repaying what they owe

Why are people financially dependent on the honesty of others?

Because credit systems require trust that participants will act honestly.

Why is modern science dependent on honesty?

Researchers depend on studies produced by many other scientists they may not know personally.

What would happen if trust were widely violated in modern economic life?

The court system and economy could become overwhelmed or immobilized.

Why is the sociology of fraud connected to the sociology of trust?

Fraud usually comes from a relationship of perceived trust, honesty, and confidence.

Why must fraud be hard to recognize?

Because fraud succeeds when it is mistaken for routine business practice.

What is the sociological definition of fraud?

The calculated use of dishonesty to gain an unfair advantage.

What does fraud involve?

Deception, cheating, corruption, conspiracy, rule violations, and disinformation.

What does the sociology of fraud focus on?

How rational organizations can produce irrational consequences and generate economic ruin.

What kinds of organizational actions does fraud involve?

Actions that harm the public and create extensive societal costs.

What is wire fraud?

Financial fraud involving telecommunications or information technology.

What is securities fraud?

A crime that disguises a fraudulent scheme to gain money from investors.

What is an example connected to securities fraud?

Cryptocurrency fraud.

What is occupational fraud?

Fraud committed by an organization’s employees.

What are the three categories of occupational fraud?

Asset misappropriation, corruption, and financial statement fraud.

What is bankruptcy fraud?

Fraud involving the bankruptcy process.

What is tax fraud also called?

Tax evasion.

What are other common types of fraud?

Identity theft, insurance fraud, mail fraud, credit/debit card fraud, telemarketing fraud, and disaster fraud.

What is David Gibson’s article titled?

“Enduring Illusions: The Social Organization of Secrecy and Deception.”

What does Gibson’s article examine?

How secrets are kept and lies are maintained.

Which theorists are part of Gibson’s theoretical background?

Max Weber, Georg Simmel, and Erving Goffman.

What concepts are discussed in Gibson’s article?

Leakage and deception clues.

What are Gibson’s six barriers to knowledge flow and diffusion?

Barriers to knowing, asking, telling, perceiving, believing, and acting.

What article is connected to place management theory?

“Violence in Bars: Exploring the Impact of Place Manager Decision-Making.”

What do Madensen and Eck suggest?

Owners’ place management influences crime at their places.

What question does the article raise about bar management?

What bad management decisions influence crime in and around a bar.

Why might busy businesses have more crime than non-busy businesses?

Because more people create more opportunities for crime.

Why might businesses in high-crime neighborhoods be more exposed to crime?

Because their location places them near more crime risks and opportunities.

What is urbanism?

A way of life characteristic of cities.

What key question do theories of urbanism ask?

Whether residence in cities, suburbs, small towns, or rural areas is associated with different behavior and ways of life.

What are positive attributes associated with urbanism?

Unconventionality, difference, deviance, cultural invention, artistic innovation, hybridization of ideas, and individualization.

What is hybridization of ideas?

The mixing of different ideas to create new cultural forms.

What is individualization in urbanism?

The expression of individuality, such as through fashion.

What are negative attributes associated with urbanism?

Malaise, isolation, loneliness, reserved personality, blasé attitude, social disorder, crime, violence, and gangs.

What does malaise mean?

A general feeling of unhappiness or discomfort.

What does the impersonality of the city foster?

Reserved personality and a blasé attitude.

Which classical theorists emphasized negative aspects of urbanism?

Louis Wirth and Georg Simmel.

According to classical theorists, what are city relationships like?

Impersonal, secondary, transitory, superficial, and self-centered.

What does it mean to be alienated in the city?

To feel disconnected from meaningful social relationships.

What does it mean to be atomized?

To be separated from others and lacking strong social bonds.

What is one criticism of classical theories of urbanism?

They are monolithic and reductionistic.

What does research not show about secondary relationships?

It does not show that secondary relationships are harmful.

What does research not show about urban life and mental health?

It does not show that urban life has a negative impact on mental health.

Who is associated with Compositional Theory of Urbanism?

Herbert Gans.

What does Compositional Theory argue?

Urban unconventionality and urban-rural differences are mainly due to the social characteristics of people.

What social characteristics matter in Compositional Theory?

Social class, education, race/ethnicity, and age.

What does “ways of life do not coincide with settlement types” mean?

People’s lifestyles are not determined simply by whether they live in a city, suburb, small town, or rural area.