The Sociological Studies of Gangs in the U

question 105

Multiple Choice

The sociological studies of gangs in the U.S. has found that

• A) gang behavior is always extremely deviant.
• B) joining a gang may be an adaptation to conditions of poverty, racism, and sexism.
• C) girls who are given too much freedom to make choices about their lives are more likely to commit acts of deviance, including joining gangs.
• D) family dynamics are unrelated to the decision to join a gang.

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Definitions:

Reinforcers

Stimuli or events that increase the likelihood of the behavior that they follow, used in operant conditioning.

Law Of Effect

Thorndike’s principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely.

Shaping

A behavioral psychology technique of progressively reinforcing behaviors that approximate or lead towards a desired goal behavior.

Conditioned Reinforcement

A process where a stimulus gains the capacity to reinforce desirable behaviors through its association with a primary reinforcer.