Lecture 9 – Collective Efficacy

Lecture 9 – Collective Efficacy

Q: What study did Sampson and Groves (1989) conduct?
A: They tested Shaw and McKay’s Social Disorganization Theory using data from the 1982 British Crime Survey (England and Wales).

Q: How many residents and communities were surveyed by Sampson and Groves?
A: Over 10,000 residents across 238 communities.

Q: What structural characteristics did Sampson and Groves examine?
A: Socioeconomic status (SES), ethnic heterogeneity, residential mobility, and family disruption.

Q: How does lower SES impact crime rates?
A: Lower SES leads to fewer resources and opportunities, increasing crime rates.

Q: What is the relationship between ethnic heterogeneity and crime?
A: Diverse neighborhoods experience weaker social cohesion, leading to higher crime.

Q: How does residential mobility affect crime?
A: Frequent movement disrupts social ties and shared values, increasing crime.

Q: What is the effect of family disruption on crime?
A: Divorce, incarceration, or single-parent households weaken informal social controls, contributing to higher crime.

Q: What are the key variables for measuring social disorganization?
A: 1) Local friendship networks
2) Unsupervised teenage peer groups
3) Organizational participation

Q: What is the impact of strong local friendship networks on crime?
A: They reduce crime by increasing social control.

Q: How do unsupervised teenage peer groups relate to crime?
A: Larger unsupervised youth groups indicate weak social control and correlate with higher crime.

Q: What statistical method did Sampson and Groves use to analyze their data?
A: Regression analysis.

Q: What does the Z-score formula measure?
A: It measures how far a raw value is from the mean, adjusted for standard deviation.

Q: What did Sampson and Groves conclude about urban areas?
A: More urbanized areas tend to have weaker friendship networks, contributing to higher crime.

Q: What question did Sampson, Raudenbush, and Earls (1997) explore?
A: Why do some neighborhoods experience more crime than others with similar socioeconomic conditions?

Q: What is the key argument of collective efficacy?
A: Crime is not just due to poverty but also to a lack of collective efficacy—social cohesion and informal social control.

Q: What is collective efficacy?
A: A community’s ability to come together and control undesirable behavior through trust, solidarity, and informal social control.

Q: What two components make up collective efficacy?
A: 1) Social cohesion: Trust and solidarity among neighbors
2) Social control: Ability to maintain order without police intervention

Q: What was the methodology used by Sampson, Raudenbush, and Earls?
A: They surveyed residents to analyze crime at the community level, focusing on neighborhood effects.

Q: What is the role of concentrated disadvantage in collective efficacy?
A: Poverty and family disruption reduce collective efficacy, making crime more likely.

Q: How does collective efficacy affect behavior in strong communities?
A: Residents may take turns caring for children or monitoring public spaces, reducing crime.

Q: What were the findings of Hipp and Wickes (2017) on collective efficacy?
A: Collective efficacy does not have a direct effect on crime but interacts with concentrated disadvantage over time.

Q: What did Hipp and Wickes suggest about building collective efficacy?
A: It takes time to develop and requires long-term efforts to reduce crime.

Q: What did Danielsson (2021) discover about collective efficacy in Finland?
A: Collective efficacy reduced violent crime in private spaces but not in public areas.

Q: How does concentrated disadvantage influence crime in private spaces?
A: Disadvantaged neighborhoods are more prone to violent crime in private spaces, such as homes.

Q: What policy strategies can strengthen collective efficacy?
A: Encourage community involvement, such as neighborhood watches and shared activities.

Q: How can playgrounds and shared spaces help reduce crime?
A: They foster interactions among neighbors, increasing social cohesion and informal social control.

Q: What is the main takeaway regarding collective efficacy from long-term studies?
A: Building collective efficacy is a gradual process, especially in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Q: What is the importance of organizational participation in a community?
A: Higher participation strengthens social control and reduces crime.

Q: Why is individual intervention less effective than collective efficacy?
A: Collective efforts by the community are more sustainable than individual actions.