Chapter 1: An Overview of Crime and Criminology · Web viewLearning Objective: 1.3 Understand the...

Instructor ResourceWalsh/Jorgensen, Criminology: The Essentials, 3e

SAGE Publishing 2018

Test Bank

Chapter 1: An Overview of Crime and Criminology

Multiple Choice

1. ______ is an interdisciplinary science that gathers and analyzes data on crime and criminal behavior.

a. criminology

b. theory

c. sociology

d. law

Ans: a

Learning Objective: 1.1 Be able to describe the difficulties attached to defining crime and the difference

between crime and criminality

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: What Is Criminology?

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. Criminologists use what is known as the ______ to try to answer the questions they ask rather than

simply speculate about the questions.

a. scientific procedure

b. scientific method

c. technique of natural science

d. observational analysis

Ans: b






3. Universally condemned crimes are known as ______.

a. mala in se


SAGE Publishing 2018b. mala prohibita

c. actus reus

d. mens rea

Ans: a

Learning Objective: 1.2 Explain the difference between mala in se and mala prohibita crimes


Answer Location: Beyond Social Construction: The Stationary Core Crimes


4. Crimes that are time and culture bound are described as ______.

a. mala in se

b. mala prohibita

c. actus reus

d. mens rea

Ans: b

Learning Objective: 1.2 Explain the difference between mala in se and mala prohibita crimes | 1.4

Realize how thinking about crime and criminality is time and culture bound




5. When criminologists study ______, they study individuals who commit harmful acts, regardless of the

legal status of those acts.

a. crime

b. criminology

c. criminality

d. law

Ans: c

Learning Objective: 1.3 Understand the legal process required to “officially” become criminal | 1.4



Answer Location: Criminality




6. A(n) ______ is a set of logically interconnected propositions explaining how phenomena are related.

a. theory

b. hypothesis

c. ideology

d. policy

Ans: a

Learning Objective: 1.5 Understand what theory is, how it is formulated, and how theory functions in

science




7. ______ are specific statements about the relationships that we expect to find between and among

factors.

a. theories

b. hypotheses

c. educated guesses

d. formulations

Ans: b

Learning Objective: 1.7 Understand the relationship between theory and policy in criminology


Answer Location: What Is Theory?


8. ______ is a way of looking at the world, a general emotional picture of how things should be.

a. theory

b. ideology

c. vision

d. analysis

Ans: b

Learning Objective: 1.6 Be aware of the role of ideology in criminology



SAGE Publishing 2018Answer Location: Ideology in Criminological Theory


9. During the Progressive Era (from about 1890 to 1920), ______ became the primary disciplinary home

of criminology.

a. biology

b. psychology

c. sociology

d. theology

Ans: c




Answer Location: The Progressive Era


10. Driving 26 miles per hour in an area where the speed limit is 25 miles per hour would best be

described as an act

a. mala in se

b. mala prohibita

c. of overcriminalization

d. of felonious proportions

Ans: b





11. Socially harmful acts

a. are deemed to be in need of regulation but not by the criminal law except under exceptional

circumstances

b. are socially harmful, but not sufficiently so to require the heavy hand of the criminal law

c. are considered so socially harmful that they come under the purview of the criminal justice system


SAGE Publishing 2018d. include reneging on a contract

Ans: a

Learning Objective: 1.4 Realize how thinking about crime and criminality is time and culture bound


Answer Location: Crime as a Subcategory of Social Harms


12. The ______ school of thought emphasizes human rationality and free will in its explanations of

criminal behavior.

a. biosocial

b. classical

c. positivist

d. psychological

Ans: b




Answer Location: The Enlightenment


13. Lombroso’s theory of the born criminal was aligned with which school of thought?

a. biosocial

b. classical

c. positivist

d. psychological

Ans: c


science


Answer Location: The Industrial Revolution and the Age of Science


14. Renaissance


SAGE Publishing 2018a. was a period between approximately 1450 and 1600

b. is associated with advances in art, literature, music, and philosophy

c. means rebirth, and refers to the rediscovery of the thinking traditions of the ancient Greeks

d. all of these

Ans: d



Answer Location: The Renaissance


15. When two factors are correlates, it means that

a. One of the factors causes changes to the other.

b. The two factors vary together.

c. They compose a theory of crime.

d. They have been socially constructed.

Ans: b


science


Answer Location: The Role of Theory in Criminology


16. According to Thomas Sowell’s typology, those who have a/an ______ believe that human activities

are restricted by an innate human nature that is self-centered and largely unalterable.

a. classical vision

b. constrained vision

c. phrenological vision

d. unconstrained vision

Ans: b



Answer Location: Ideology in Criminological Theory




17. According to Thomas Sowell’s typology, those who have a/an ______ vision deny an innate human

nature, viewing human activities as formed anew in each different culture.

a. classical vision

b. constrained vision

c. phrenological vision

d. unconstrained vision

Ans: d





18. According to John Hagan, which of the following criteria helps us differentiate between real crimes

and those which are arbitrary and socially constructed?

a. consensus

b. harm

c. severity

d. all of these

Ans: d






19. The belief that science can provide answers for everything is most characteristic of the ______

school of thought.

a. ideological

b. positivist

c. progressive

d. renaissance

Ans: b


SAGE Publishing 2018Learning Objective: 1.4 Realize how thinking about crime and criminality is time and culture bound




20. Which of the following is an example of an indirect cost of crime?

a. maintenance costs of jails and prisons

b. salaries of law enforcement personnel

c. the purchase of police cars

d. the expense of private surveillance and security devices

Ans: d






21. _____ criminologists tend to believe that the only real cause of crime is capitalism.

a. atavist

b. Marxist

c. positivist

d. classical

Ans: b




Answer Location: The Critical Period


22. Policy

a. is a set of logically interconnected propositions explaining how phenomena are related, and from

which a number of hypotheses can be derived and tested

b. is the segment of the phenomenon of interest that is measured and analyzed


SAGE Publishing 2018c. is a course of action designed to solve some problem that has been selected from among alternative

courses of action

d. is an interdisciplinary science that gathers and analyzes data on crime and criminal behavior

Ans: c


between crime and criminality | 1.5 Understand what theory is, how it is formulated, and how theory

functions in science | 1.7 Understand the relationship between theory and policy

in criminology


Answer Location: Connecting Criminological Theory and Social Policy


23. In the eyes of the law, a person reneging on a contract is handled as a ______.

a. criminal violation

b. private wrong

c. social construction

d. socially harmful act

Ans: b






24. Which of the following is an intentional act in violation of the criminal law committed without

defense or excuse and penalized by the state?

a. criminality

b. crime

c. criminology

d. deviance

Ans: b




SAGE Publishing 2018Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: What Is Crime?


25. Cesare Lombroso’s concept of the born criminal is also known as his theory of ______.

a. atavism

b. ideal types

c. phrenology

d. somatotypes

Ans: a


science




26. In which case did the Supreme Court invalidate anti-flag burning statutes as unconstitutional?

a. Texas v. Johnson

b. Lawrence v. Texas

c. Bowers v. Hardwick

d. Mapp v. Ohio

Ans: a




Answer Location: Crime As a Moving Target


27. Which of the following is an example of a direct cost of crime?

a. protective devices

b. insurance costs

c. surveillance and security devices

d. salaries and benefits of personnel


SAGE Publishing 2018Ans: d



Cognitive Domain: Evaluate



28. Harms outside the purview of the criminal justice system include:

a. core offenses

b. all social harms

c. all crimes

d. all of these

Ans: b






29. The first step in detecting causes of crime is

a. deriving a theory

b. testing a hypothesis

c. discovering correlates

d. determining the level of analysis

Ans: c


between crime and criminality | 1.5 Understand what theory is, how it is formulated, and how theory

functions in science

Cognitive Domain: Apply

Answer Location: The Role of Theory


30. Predictive scope


SAGE Publishing 2018a. maintains that a theory has merit and is useful to the extent that it accurately predicts what is

observed

b. maintains that if two competing theories are essentially equal in terms of the first two criteria, then

the less complicated one is considered more “elegant”

c. asserts that a theory must have the quality of being falsifiable or disprovable

d. refers to the scope or range of the theory and thus the scope or range of the hypotheses that can be

derived from it

Ans: d


science


Answer Location: What Is a Good Theory?


True/False31. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field.

Ans: T






32. What constitutes a crime can be defined in and out of existence by courts and legislators.

Ans: T






33. Criminality is an identifiable trait that some people possess, and others do not.


SAGE Publishing 2018Ans: F





34. The Enlightenment is associated with advances in mathematics, science, and the dignity and worth

of the individual as exemplified by a concern for human rights.

Ans: T





35. The unconstrained vision denies the existence of an innate human nature, instead holding that

human nature is formed anew in each different culture.

Ans: T





36. Prostitution is an act that would be considered mala in se.

Ans: F





37. Questions of cause and effect should be answered at the same level of analysis at which they were

posed.

Ans: T


SAGE Publishing 2018Learning Objective: 1.5 Understand what theory is, how it is formulated, and how theory functions in

science


Answer Location: How to Think About Theories


38. A hypothesis is best described as a set of interconnected propositions that explain how phenomena

are related.

Ans: F


science


Answer Location: What Is Theory?


39. Criminality is a legal term.

Ans: F

Learning Objective: 1.3 Understand the legal process required to “officially” become criminal | 1.4





40. Mala in se crimes tend to arouse the most intense emotional responses, because they trigger a

sense of threat to our survival.

Ans: T





41. Criminality is the scientific study of crime and criminals.

Ans: F


SAGE Publishing 2018Learning Objective: 1.1 Be able to describe the difficulties attached to defining crime and the difference

between crime and criminality | 1.4 Realize how thinking about crime and criminality is time and culture

bound




42. The 1990s and early 2000s witnessed a strong resurgence of biosocial theories, which view behavior

as the result of biological factors interacting with the environments of the actors involved.

Ans: T



Answer Location: The Modern Period


43. The emotional pain and suffering experienced by crime victims is easy to quantify.

Ans: F






44. The criteria for judging the merits of a theory include predictive accuracy, predictive scope,

simplicity, and falsifiability.

Ans: T


science


Answer Location: What Is Good Theory?



SAGE Publishing 201845. The role of human judgment in determining what is categorized as crime renders the category

arbitrary.

Ans: F






46. The basic idea behind phrenology was that cognitive functions are localized in the brain, and that the

parts regulating the most dominant functions were bigger than parts regulating the less dominant ones.

Ans: T





47. A correlate is that segment of the phenomenon of interest that is measured and analyzed.

Ans: F


science




48. The constrained vision maintains that there is an innate human nature that is self-centered and

largely unalterable.

Ans: T






SAGE Publishing 201849. The definition of crime is problematic because acts that are defined as criminal vary across time and

culture.

Ans: T


between crime and criminality; 1.4 Realize how thinking about crime and criminality is time and culture

bound


Answer Location: Summary


50. The Industrial Revolution brought with it more secular thinking regarding crime and criminality.

Ans: F






Essay51. Explain the difference between mala in se and mala prohibita.

Ans: Mala in se crimes are consideredinherently bad, while mala prohibita refers to crimes that are time

and culture bound.

Learning Objective: 1.2 Explain the difference between mala in se and mala prohibita crimes; 1.4 Realize

how thinking about crime and criminality is time and culture bound

Cognitive Domain: Comprehend



52. Briefly explain how the concept of criminality differs from legal definitions of who is criminal.

Ans: Criminality is a clinical or scientific term that can be defined independently of legal definitions; it is

essentially a trait that varies on a continuum. By contrast, the population of criminals is legally defined.


SAGE Publishing 2018Learning Objective: 1.3 Understand the legal process required to “officially” become criminal; 1.4 Realize

how thinking about crime and criminality is time and culture bound



Difficulty Level: Hard

53. Briefly contrast the constrained vision of human nature with the unconstrained vision of human

nature.

Ans: Those with a constrained vision of human nature see human activities as constrained by an innate

human nature that is self-centered and largely unalterable. Those with an unconstrained vision view

human nature as being formed anew in each different culture, and perceive human nature to be

perfectible.


Cognitive Domain: Evaluate



54. Provide two examples of acts that would be considered mala in se.

Possible Answers: murder, rape, robbery.

Learning Objective: 1.2 Explain the difference between mala in se and mala

prohibita crimes




55. Provide two examples of acts that would be considered mala prohibita.

Possible Answers: prostitution, drug dealing

Learning Objective: 1.2 Explain the difference between mala in se and mala

prohibita crimes





SAGE Publishing 201856. Briefly explain the concept of correlation. How do we know if two factors are correlates?

Ans: Correlates are factors that co-vary‚ when one variable changes, the other does as well. Correlation

does not necessarily indicate causation.


science




57. Define ideology.

Ans: A way of looking at the world; a general emotional picture of how things should be.





58. Define theory.

Ans: A set of logically interconnected propositions explaining how phenomena are related and from

which a number of hypotheses can be derived and tested. Theories help us make sense of seemingly

unrelated facts and propositions.


science




59. Briefly explain the difference between the Renaissance and Enlightenment in regards to crime and

criminality.

Ans: Whereas the Renaissance is associated with advances in art, literature, music, and philosophy, the

Enlightenment is associated with advances in mathematics, science, and the dignity and worth of the

individual as exemplified by a concern for human rights.




SAGE Publishing 2018Cognitive Domain: Comprehend

Answer Location: The Renaissance/The Enlightenment


60. Briefly explain the difference between socially harmful acts and private wrongs.

Ans: Socially harmful acts are acts deemed to be in need of regulation, but not by the criminal law

except under exceptional circumstance. Private wrongs are socially harmful, but not sufficiently so to

require the heavy hand of the criminal law.






61. Provide two examples of direct and indirect costs of crime.

Ans: Direct costs include costs of running the criminal justice system (salaries and benefits of personnel,

and the maintenance costs of buildings and equipment) and the costs associated with each crime.

Indirect costs include all manner of surveillance and security devices, protective devices (guns, alarms,

security guards) and insurance costs, medical services, and the productivity and taxes lost of

incarcerated individuals.



Cognitive Domain: Apply



62. Briefly explain the views of the classical school of criminology in regard to explaining criminal

behavior.

Ans: The classical school emphasized human rationality and free will in its explanations for criminal

behavior.





SAGE Publishing 2018Difficulty Level: Hard

63. Define level of analysis.

Ans: Segment of the phenomenon of interest that is measured and analyzed; that is, individuals,

families, neighborhoods, states, etc.


science


Answer Location: How to Think About Theories


64. Describe the role of ideology in criminology. How do constrained and unconstrained visionaries

differ in their views of human nature and crime?





65. Provide an overview of some of the major historical developments of criminological theory. Be sure

to identify and describe at least three of the main eras or schools of thought from the history of

criminology.


Cognitive Domain: Knowledge/Comprehend/Apply

Answer Location: A Short History of Criminology


66. In criminological/sociological study, what are some of the limitations to defining as only those

actions in violation of criminal law? Do you feel that criminologists should limit their study in this way?

Support your response.






SAGE Publishing 2018Difficulty Level: Hard

67. Discuss the significance of criminological theory in shaping criminal justice policies.


science | 1.7 Understand the relationship between theory and policy in criminology


Answer Location: Connecting Criminological Theory and Social Policy


68. Define criminology and discuss the common questions asked in pursuit of better understanding this

interdisciplinary science.



Cognitive Domain: Knowledge/Comprehend



69. Discuss the role of theory in criminology. What is a theory? What are the criteria for judging a

theory? How do levels of analysis relate to how to think about theories?


science




70. Discuss crime as a moving target. Are laws stable across time and culture? Support your response.


between crime and criminality | 1.4 Realize how thinking about crime and criminality is time and culture

bound


Answer Location: Crime as a Moving Target



SAGE Publishing 201871. Explain the continuum of harmful acts. How do socially harmful acts compare to private wrongs?






72. Define mala in se and mala prohibita. Discuss the differences between these two types of acts and

give examples of each.


Cognitive Domain: Knowledge | Comprehend



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