Deck 4: Biological and Psychological Perspectives

Question 1

In the United States, explanations of criminal behavior have been dominated by what type of theories?

A) psychological
B) biological
C) sociological
D) philosophical

Answer 1

sociological

Question 2

_____ develop from two separate eggs, both fertilized at the same time, and they share about half their genes.

A) Dizygotic twins
B) Conjoined twins
C) Monozygotic twins
D) Monoamniotic twins

Answer 2

Dizygotic twins

Question 3

_____, classified as "attention deficit hyperactivity disorder," produces asocial behavioral patterns such as impulsivity, hyperactivity, aggressiveness, low self-esteem, and temper outbursts.

A) Pervasive developmental disorder
B) Neuroticism
C) Psychosis
D) Minimal brain dysfunction

Answer 3

Minimal brain dysfunction

Question 4

The psychoanalytic theory of criminality attributes delinquent and criminal behavior to at least three possible causes. Which of the following is not one of those causes?

A) a conscience so overbearing that it arouses feelings of guilt
B) an overactive superego or conscience
C) a conscience so weak that it cannot control the individual's impulses
D) the need for immediate gratification

Question 5

Freud proposed that the __________ acts as a moral code or conscience.

A) id
B) ego
C) supraego
D) superego

Question 6

According to the moral reasoning theory developed by Kohlberg, individuals who examine customs and social rules according to their own sense of universal human rights, moral principles, and duties are at the _____________ level.

A) preconventional
B) premoral
C) conventional
D) postconventional

Question 7

The moral developmental theory was pioneered by

A) Sigmund Freud.
B) Lawrence Kohlberg.
C) John Bowlby.
D) Sheldon Glueck.

Question 8

The moral developmental theory posits that most delinquents and criminals reason at the ____________ level.

A) preconventional
B) premoral
C) conventional
D) postconventional

Question 9

Which of the following is not one of the features of Bowlby's theory of attachment?

A) specificity
B) duration
C) ontogeny
D) neurological function

Question 10

Which leading proponent of social learning theory introduced the concept of "behavioral modeling"?

A) Emile Durkheim
B) Ronald Akers
C) Albert Bandura
D) Lawrence Kohlberg

Question 11

Albert Bandura named violent or aggressive behaviors observed in others as

A) instructional instigators.
B) modeling instigators.
C) delusional instigators.
D) aversive instigators.

Question 12

Differential association-reinforcement theory suggests that

A) the persistence of criminal behavior depends on whether or not it is rewarded or punished.
B) violence and aggression are learned behaviors, not necessarily expressed until they are elicited.
C) delinquent behavior is learned through the same psychological processes as any other behavior.
D) none of these

Question 13

Hans J. Eysenck claims that all human personality may be seen in three dimensions. What are those dimensions?

A) id, ego, and superego
B) conditioning, cortical arousal, behavior modeling
C) preconventional, conventional, postconventional
D) psychoticism, extroversion, neuroticism

Question 14

Hans J. Eysenck found that differences in conditionability are dependent on certain physiological factors, the most important of which is _____.

A) cortical arousal
B) cardiac output
C) blood glucose levels
D) amygdala activation

Question 15

According to Hans J. Eysenck's conditioning theory, individuals that score high on measures of ___________ are aggressive, egocentric, and impulsive.

A) extroversion
B) psychoticism
C) introversion
D) neuroticism

Question 16

___________________________ is the error in thinking or mistaken belief that occurs when one identifies a cause for criminal behavior and then assumes that any behavior resulting from that cause must be excused by law.

A) Fundamental psycholegal error
B) Fundamental criminal law error
C) Fundamental criminological error
D) Fundamental sociological error

Question 17

Studies on the extra chromosome in people with _____ syndrome have investigated the possible relationship between criminal behavior and chromosomal abnormality.

A) XX
B) XY
C) XXY
D) XYY

Question 18

According to studies of twins,

A) there is no evidence that genetic factors explain criminality.
B) there is some support for the hypothesis that some genetic influences increase the risk of criminality.
C) there is a strong causal relationship between genetics and crime.
D) there has not been enough research comparing monozygotic twins to dizygotic twins to make any conclusions.

Question 19

The results of adoption studies

A) support the claim that the criminality of biological parents has more influence on the child than does that of the adoptive parents.
B) support the claim that the criminality of the adoptive parents has more influence on the child than does the criminality of the biological parents.
C) suggest that neither the criminality of the biological parents nor the criminality of the adoptive parents affects the child.
D) are not reliable, as none of the adoption studies to date have been deemed methodologically sound.

Question 20

After evaluating the existing literature on the relationship between IQ and crime, Travis Hirschi and Michael Hindelang concluded that

A) IQ is not an important factor for predicting crime.
B) IQ is an important factor in predicting crime but is not as important as social class.
C) IQ is an important factor in predicting crime but is not as important as race.
D) IQ is an even more important factor in predicting crime than either social class or race.

Question 21

The idea of "conditioned free will" implies that

A) individuals are conditioned to recognize right from wrong.
B) individuals make choices in regard to a particular action within a range of possibilities that is "preset" yet flexible.
C) individuals weigh the consequences and rewards of committing a criminal act before engaging in illegal behavior.
D) individuals are conditioned to think that they have free will when they actually do not.

Question 22

Which of the following is not a biochemical factor?

A) food allergies
B) hypoglycemia
C) brain lesions
D) hormones

Question 23

Freud posited that an individual's psychological well-being is dependent on a healthy interaction between the ego, id, and super id.

Question 24

Social learning theory maintains that delinquent behavior is learned through the same psychological processes as any other behavior.

Question 25

Differential association-reinforcement theory suggests that delinquent behavior is the result of intra-group personality dynamics.

Question 26

Today, moral insanity is called psychopathy, sociopathy, or antisocial personality.

Question 27

Biocriminology is the study of the psychological aspects of physical disorders.

Question 28

Studies have found that violent and impulsive male offenders had a higher rate of hypoglycemia than noncriminal controls.

Question 29

Discuss the psychoanalytic theory of criminality. Make sure to include a discussion of Freud's contributions to the psychological perspective on criminality.

Question 30

Explain the seven features of John Bowlby's theory of attachment.

Question 31

Discuss the three phases of moral development and which phase is most related to delinquency and criminality according to Lawrence Kohlberg and his colleagues.

Question 32

Discuss the two parts of Eysenck's conditioning theory which defines the relationship between personality and criminality.

Question 33

The concept of "biocriminology"is offensive to many people. Discuss the criticisms of biocriminology.