Mid Term Study Set

Which of the following is true of older biological theories of crime?

Older biological theories considered the role of the social environment in producing behavior

How do classical and neoclassical criminology differ in their views of punishment?

Classical thought viewed deterrence as the primary purpose of punishment, while neoclassical thought has expanded the role of punishment to include the concept of retribution

Renn is sentenced to prison for aggravated assault. While in prison, a counselor teaches anger-management techniques to help him control himself. Renn also takes part in group sessions and learns more effective communication skills. Which type of program is Renn participating in?

Cognitive behavioral intervention

Karl Marx

Communist Manifesto

Smoking in public places such as parks was recently criminalized in Newtown. This decision, however, was not put to a vote and was decided purely on the basis of the prevailing social norms of the country. It is most likely that Newtown's law was passed based on the ________ perspective.

Consensus

Which of the following views is based on the belief that an individual's behavior is the result of external forces beyond the individual's control?

positivism

According to Hervey Cleckley, the central defining characteristic of a psychopath is _________.

poverty of affect

Which of the following statements regarding social structure theories is true

Criminality of the middle class is generally seen as less frequent and less dangerous

Which of the following best illustrates a crime that is unlikely to make it into official crime statistics?

Mike is robbed outside his house but does not report it to the police

According to behavior theory, which of the following is an example of negative reinforcement?

Mike, a second-grader, hates making his bed. This week, he is allowed to skip making his bed because last week he set the table every day without complaining

Natalie obtains a Ph.D. in criminology and decides that her passion is not research or teaching, both of which are professions that are usually pursued by those with a Ph.D. She instead pursues a career as a police officer. Which of the following best describes Natalie's occupation?

A criminal justice professional. Criminal justice professionals work in the criminal justice system. As a police officer, Natalie is a criminal justice professional.

At a murder scene, the only evidence left behind that helps identify the murderer is a weapon with fingerprints on it. Which of the following individuals is needed to collect all physical evidence and analyze the weapon?

A criminalist. One example of a criminalist is a fingerprint examiner, who would be needed at this crime scene. A criminalist is a specialist in the collection and examination of the physical evidence of crime.

Which of the following scenarios is based on principles of classical criminology?

After weighing the pros and cons of robbing a local liquor store, Robert decides that he can get away with the crime and demands money from the clerk.

Kara died after driving her car off a dark and deserted road late at night. Which technique might be used to determine whether Kara died as the result of an accident or if she committed suicide?

psychological autopsy

10-year-old Fred gets into frequent fights at school. His mother punishes him by requiring him to help cook dinner every night. However, since Fred actually enjoys cooking, he is secretly pleased with this situation. This scenario exemplifies which of the following criticisms of behavior theory?

Behavior theory ignores the role that cognition plays in behavior

How do modern theorists view the influence of biology on crime?

Biological influences are mediated through the environment to produce behavior.

Which of the following is a valid criticism of classical criminology?

Classical criminology fails to explain how individuals choose whether to engage in criminal activity.

Which of the following is most likely to be a secondary psychopath?

Don was a normal child but developed callous-unemotional traits after being routinely physically and emotionally abused by his parents

Which of the following is a criticism of early biological theories of criminal behavior?

Early biological theories attempt to link specific biological features with potential criminality

Which of the following statements regarding forensic psychiatry is true?

Forensic psychiatry is not a subspecialty of forensic psychology

Official statistics show that crime in the U.S. has decreased during the past two decades. Victor claims that modern neoclassical approaches to crime control are responsible for the decline. Which of the following statements is Victor most likely to make to support his claim

Get tough on crime policies have led to a substantial decrease in official rates of crime over the past 20 years.

Which of the following best describes hedonistic calculus?

Hedonistic calculus emphasizes the worth an action has for the individual undertaking it.

Which of the following best defines heritability?

Heritability is an estimation of the variation in the traits that is attributable to genetic factors

According to critics of biological and biosocial theories, which of the following questions are these approaches MOST likely to be able to answer?

How do genes influence variation in antisocial behavior?

Between the 1960s and 1990s, crime in the U.S. increased dramatically. Which of the following factors may have contributed to this rise in crime?

Increased police professionalization

Which of the following best describes a unicausal theory?

It poses a single identifiable source for all serious deviant and criminal behavior.

Which of the following is considered to be responsible for the recent reemergence of interest in Freudian psychology?

Neuroscientists have been creating a chemical map of the brain that validates the general theory that Freud posited

Which of the following is a key assumption of biological theories of crime?

Observed gender and racial differences in rates and types of criminality may be at least partially the result of biological differences

Which of the following is most likely to be considered deviant behavior?

Lily, a lawyer, prefers to wear casual clothes to work although her firm has a formal dress code. Correct. Deviant behavior is human activity that violates social norms. Lily's behavior is considered deviant because it violates the norms of her firm.

Which of the following scenarios illustrates the work of an individual involved in correctional psychology?

Matt is involved in evaluating the mental health of newly-incarcerated offenders.

Which of the following statements best explains the difference in perspective between psychological and sociological theories?

Psychological theories focus on individual behavior while sociological theories examine the types of behavior likely to be exhibited by a certain group

Which of the following statements best fits with Cesare Beccaria's views regarding crime and punishment?

Punishment should be only severe enough to outweigh the personal benefits obtained from the crime.

Raul, a Latino man, is convicted of murder and sentenced to death. In an attempt to have his sentence overturned, Raul's attorney argues that although only 30% of the state population is made up of racial minorities, nearly 80% of all offenders executed in the state were Latino or black. Based on these facts alone, what is most likely to happen and why?

Raul's sentence will not be overturned because showing the existence of racial discrepancies is not enough to show that there was a constitutional violation

Which of the following best illustrates a challenge to translational criminology?

Research showing a detrimental link between on-screen violence and increased levels of violent behavior among children. Although research strongly supports such a link, such claims are frequently met with "cries of incredulity" and policy makers are reluctant to slow the production of violent media.

Which of the following is an example of delinquent behavior?

Rob is 14 years old. He steals money from his parents to purchase drugs

According to social structure theories, which of the following teenagers is most likely to be involved in serious crime.

Sean lives with his unemployed mother in public housing in a lower-class area of Chicago

Which of the following statements about social pathology is true?

Social pathology compares society to a physical organism and sees criminality as an illness or a disease

Rita regularly parks her car in a parking spot reserved for the disabled because it is so close to her apartment and has already received two tickets for this behavior. After she is caught for the third time, a judge requires her to not only pay the standard fine but to also perform 100 hours of community service with an agency that works with physically disabled individuals. Which of the following concepts best explains the judge's reasoning?

Specific deterrence

Which of the following is an example of altruism?

Strangers intervene to help a victim who is being assaulted

Despite research evidence suggesting that capital punishment does not deter offenders from committing homicide, many death penalty advocates continue to argue that capital punishment can be an effective deterrent. Which of the following statements best supports their claim

The current system of criminal justice does not allow for the swift and certain imposition of capital punishment

According to Lee Ellis and Anthony Walsh, which of the following statements best represents the relationship between genes and behavior?

The effect of genes on behavior is indirect.

A study reveals that the gene responsible for producing healthy offspring also produces violent tendencies in individuals. It is inferred that aggressive displays were developed to protect the biological offspring. This reasoning falls in line with ________.

The evolutionary perspective

Jean is a psychologist in a juvenile detention center. She is working with a group of 15- and 16-year-old girls who have been affiliated with a local criminal gang. Because Jean believes in the criminal mind-set concept developed by Samenow and Yochelson, which of the following statements is she most likely to make about the girls?

The girls have a criminal world view and chose crime because of the way they think, not because of environmental factors

The state government is considering a ban on alcohol consumption in restaurants. A poll of state residents reveals that opinions vary greatly, reflecting the diversity in the state. Which of the following perspectives most likely prevails in this type of society?

The pluralist perspective

Which of the following holds that human beings come into this world like clean slates and acquire almost all of their values, behavioral patterns, and modes of thought through socialization into their surrounding cultures?

The standard social science model

Which of the following is a key principle of classical and neoclassical criminology?

The two central determining factors of human behavior are pain and pleasure. According to classical criminology, pain and pleasure are the two central determining factors of human behavior.

Which of the following statements regarding biosocial and biological theories of criminality is true?

These perspectives claim to understand the causes of criminality but fail to predict it.

While conducting medical check-ups at a local high school, doctors discover a group of teenagers who have low resting heart-rates. Given the research findings regarding the relationship between resting heard rate and crime, which of the following statements regarding this group is most likely to be true?

This group mainly includes boys who engage in antisocial behavior

Which of the following best supports the use of selective incapacitation as a crime-control strategy?

Three-strikes laws focus on incarcerating offenders who are chronic recidivists.

Which of the following best describes an individual with a properly developed superego?

Tim learns that his wife has cheated on him when he finds a letter from her lover, Phil. Tim wants to find Phil and hurt or even kill him, but does not do so because he believes that violence is morally wrong

After a recent increase in juvenile crime, the city council receives a proposal for a new after-school program. Before agreeing to implement the program, the city council hears testimony from a criminologist whose research shows that these activities lead to reduced rates of juvenile delinquency. This connection between research and workable social policy is referred to as

Translational criminology. Translational criminology seeks to translate research findings in the field into workable social policy initiatives. Successfully connecting research and social policy is the heart of translational criminology.

Alfred is sentenced to 10 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter. Although he is a model prisoner, Alfred is required to serve at least eight years before he is eligible for parole. Which of the following is most likely responsible for this?

Truth in sentencing. Truth in sentencing refers to a close correspondence between an imposed sentence of incarceration and the time actually served prior to release from prison.

Richard Quinney

a sociologist that says that the ruling class defines deviant behavior as behavior that threatens their power base.

Karina, who works in a local bakery, has run up large credit card bills that she cannot pay. Although she knows it is wrong, she steals money from the cash register to help pay her debts. Karina has adopted which form of adaptation?

alloplastic adaptation

Psychological profiling is built on the idea that _____.

behavioral clues at a crime scene may reflect the personality of the offender

Ralf Dahrendorf

classes are social conflict groups the determinant of which can be found in the participation in or exclusion from the exercise of authority. conflict is a fundamental part of any society

Molly is convicted for the murder of her husband. Based on this information, the UCR would classify this crime as ____________.

cleared

Austin Turk

crimes keep lower class below elite and powerful

Frank, a criminologist, observes that men commit more serious crimes than women. Frank's research illustrates which of the following concepts?

gender gap

Paulo dreams of living in a beach house and owning a high-end luxury car. However, he is a high-school dropout and cannot find a high-paying job to let him earn the money needed to live his dream. He joins a gang and becomes involved in the local drug trade, where he is able to make more money than he could ever hope to earn at his menial job. Paulo is exhibiting which form of adaptation?

innovation

Dr. Johns, a sociologist, and Dr. Gilmer, a geneticist, have spent many years working with incarcerated offenders to study the impact of early childhood experiences on adult criminality. Working together, they have developed a theory of violent criminal behavior which uses concepts from both fields of study. They have most likely developed a(n) ___________ theory.

integrated

William Chambliss

law, order and power

When Marty was a child, his father routinely beat his mother. In elementary school, Marty hit children on the playground. As an adult, he acts violently towards his romantic partners. Marty's behavior best illustrates the concept of __________.

modeling

According to ________ theory, individuals become criminal when they do not successfully complete their intellectual growth from childhood to adulthood?

moral development

Adrian Raine's research into brain dysfunction has led to the development of an approach known as _________

neurocriminology

Joseph has an accident that leaves him with minor brain trauma resulting in temporary memory loss. His doctor tells him that other parts of his brain, adjacent to the site of the injury, may assume some of the lost functions and he may regain his memory. Joseph's doctor is explaining a phenomenon known as ________.

neuroplasticity

Lucy's parents recently moved to a new state. However, Lucy is unhappy at her new school because her parents cannot afford to buy her the expensive clothes and electronics that other students have. In this scenario, Lucy is experiencing ______.

relative deprivation

Ten years ago, Oak Street was well-known for drug activity and violent crime. However, after a developer purchased all the row homes on the street, remodeled them, and sold them at reasonable prices, residents who had been renting were now able to purchase their own homes. These new homeowners began holding monthly meetings and started a neighborhood watch. Crime and drug activity decreased considerably, and Oak Street is now considered to be one of the safest areas in the city. Which of the following concepts best explains this change?

social cohesion

As a part of a study, Julia assesses the economic conditions certain groups of individuals are affected by, such as poverty and social disorganization, and the impact this has on crime. In this scenario, Julia's study is most likely an illustration of ________.

social structure theories

Juan has a strong, muscular build and frequently displays violent and aggressive tendencies. His doctor attributes both his physical and behavioral characteristics to high levels of the male sex hormone ________.

testosterone

Chris, a criminology Ph.D. student, is doing research on crime in the United States. He wants to include information on crimes that were not reported to the police. Because of this, Chris needs to obtain information from ____________.

the NCVS

Jeremy sets out to determine the complete chemical sequence of the entire set of human DNA. When he has finished, what has Jeremy sequenced?

the human genome

What is the primary unit of analysis in psychological and psychiatric theories of crime causation?

the individual

Annabelle is a repeat arsonist who says that she sets fires because she enjoys the sense of danger and excitement she experiences. Annabelle's crimes are best explained by ______________.

the seductions of crime

Bob belongs to a violent street gang. Although he would like to enroll in college and get an education, Bob is unable to leave the gang because of his strong sense of connection with the other members. This scenario best illustrates the concept of ________.

tribalism