Read the Vignette and Answer the Questions That Follow

question 12

Multiple Choice

Read the vignette and answer the questions that follow.
After being rounded up by the cops last Saturday night,three men sit in jail pondering their condition and how they ended up incarcerated.All of them are in jail for different reasons and have different backgrounds.All of them are fairly young,in their teenage years,and very poor.John and Franky have been arrested for the first time;Arny has been in and out of the justice system since he was a child.John has been arrested for stealing an engagement ring.He had no money to buy the ring.Franky and Arny have both been arrested for assault.The only other background information we have about the three men is that Franky is a member of the Bloods,a violent gang located in the surrounding area and that Arny has been in jail for assault many times in the past.

-Given the information in this vignette,which theory best explains Arny's decision to commit a crime?

• A)labeling theory
• B)strain theory
• C)social control theory
• D)theory of differential association

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Definitions:

Fear

Conditioned response to stimuli associated with painful events; motivates avoidance of aversive events.

Pain

An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage.

Escape

A type of behavior where an individual learns to perform an action to terminate an ongoing, unpleasant stimulus or situation.

Punisher

A stimulus that reduces the likelihood of the behavior that it follows.