Deck 3: Classical, Neoclassical, and Rational-Choice Theories

Question 1

During the Classical era, the '___________ poor' were seen as the responsibility of the more fortunate and would be segregated by their class and condition and given immediate assistance.

A) respectable
B) unrespectable
C) inadequate
D) disreputable

Answer 1

A

Question 2

During the Classical era, the '___________ poor' were seen as the responsibility of the more fortunate and would be segregated by their class and condition and given immediate assistance.

A) respectable
B) unrespectable
C) inadequate
D) disreputable

Answer 2

B

Question 3

During the Classical era, the primary focus of utilitarian philosophers was to transform arbitrary criminal justice into a ___________ system.

A) fair
B) equal
C) humanitarian
D) All of the above

Answer 3

D

Question 4

___________ challenged the prevailing idea that humans are predestined to fill particular social statuses. Instead, he claimed, they are born as free, equal, and rational individuals having both natural rights as well as natural qualities, such as the freedom to reason and the ability to choose actions that are in their own best interests.

A) Cesare Beccaria
B) Jeremy Bentham
C) Karl Marx
D) Emile Durkheim

Question 5

___________ offered the notion of the 'hedonistic, or felicity, calculus' as an explanation for people's actions.

A) Cesare Beccaria
B) Jeremy Bentham
C) Karl Marx
D) Emile Durkheim

Question 6

Cesare Beccaria believed that government was not the automatic right of the rich. Rather, it was created through a ____________ in which free, rational individuals sacrificed part of their freedom to the state to maintain peace and security on behalf of the common good.

A) community pact
B) collective deal
C) social contract
D) group treaty

Question 7

According to Cesare Beccaria, the principle of ____________ means that individual rights have priority over the interests of society or the state.

A) personal control
B) exclusive rule
C) private dominion
D) individual sovereignty

Question 8

Cesare Beccaria argued that the law, the courts, and especially judges have a responsibility to protect the innocent from conviction and to convict the guilty, but to do so without regard to their status, wealth, or power. Therefore, the only basis for conviction was the facts of the case. This led to the principle of 'the presumption of ____________,' designed to protect individual rights against excessive state power or corrupt officials.

A) innocence
B) guilt
C) fault
D) culpability

Question 9

According to Cesare Beccaria, the term '___________ deterrence' means using the punishment of one individual to discourage others from committing crime.

A) general
B) specific
C) vague
D) explicit

Question 10

According to Cesare Beccaria, '___________ deterrence' encourages each individual to calculate the costs of committing the crime.

A) general
B) specific
C) vague
D) explicit

Question 11

According to Jeremy Bentham, the ___________ refers to the idea that the greatest good should be sought for the greatest number of people.

A) efficacy standard
B) value code
C) utility principle
D) function notion

Question 12

Jeremy Bentham offered the notion of the '__________, or felicity, calculus' as an explanation for people's actions. This calculus states that people act to increase positive results through their pursuit of pleasure and to reduce negative outcomes through the avoidance of pain.

A) riotous
B) hedonistic
C) wild
D) self-indulgent

Question 13

Jeremy Bentham's conception of pain and pleasure involved not just physical sensations but also ____________ dimensions, each of which varied in intensity, duration, certainty, and proximity.

A) political
B) moral
C) religious
D) All of the above

Question 14

Saw ___________ purpose as increasing the total happiness of the community by excluding 'mischief' and promoting pleasure and security.

A) crime's
B) deviance's
C) law's
D) criminal justice's

Question 15

Jeremy Bentham was responsible for designing the ultimate disciplinary prison, the ____________, designed to control not only the freedom of movement of those confined but their minds as well.

A) Supermax prison
B) Panopticon
C) Reformatory
D) Jail

Question 16

The justice model contained the following element(s):

A) Limited discretion at all procedural stages of the criminal justice system as well as greater openness and accountability
B) Punishment justified by the last crime or series of crimes
C) Punishment commensurate with the seriousness of the crime, based on actual harm done and the offender's culpability
D) All of the above

Question 17

___________ theories explain how some people consciously and rationally choose to commit criminal acts.

A) Rational choice
B) Routine activities
C) Differential association
D) Feminist

Question 18

According to ____________ theory, crime is the outcome of choices and decisions made within a context of situational constraints and opportunities.

A) rational choice
B) routine activities
C) differential association
D) feminist

Question 19

According to rational choice theory, potential offenders use free will and weigh the perceived costs against the potential benefits from committing crimes. This weighing is called _____________.

A) choice structuring
B) option arranging
C) selection configuring
D) alternative composition

Question 20

According to rational choice theory, offenders choose to engage in criminal acts if their rough calculations suggest the actions might result in net gains. _____________ affect their decision, since these are factors to be considered when calculating the cost-benefit estimations of risk.

A) Circumstances
B) Situation
C) Opportunities
D) All of the above

Question 21

During the Classical era, the primary focus of utilitarian philosophers was to transform arbitrary criminal justice into a fair, equal, and humanitarian system.

Question 22

In the Classical era, the 'respectable poor,' which included vagabonds, tramps, rogues, and dissolute women, were described as worthless, and were to be punished with imprisonment and whipping before being trained for honest work.

Question 23

In the Classical era, the 'unrespectable poor' were seen as the responsibility of the more fortunate and would be segregated by their class and condition and given immediate assistance, including shelter, treatment, adequate maintenance, and, in the case of the children, education and training, in a variety of houses and hospitals around the country.

Question 24

Classical theory did not strive to explain why people commit crime. Rather, it was a strategy for administering justice according to rational principles.

Question 25

According to Cesare Beccaria, the principle of utility refers to the belief that individual rights have priority over the interests of society or the state.

Question 26

Cesare Beccaria believed that crimes offended society because they broke the social contract, resulting in an infringement on others' freedom.

Question 27

Cesare Beccaria's principle of the presumption of innocence was designed to protect individual rights against excessive state power or corrupt officials.

Question 28

Cesare Beccaria believed that government was not the automatic right of the rich. Rather, it was created through a social contract in which free, rational individuals sacrificed part of their freedom to the state to maintain peace and security on behalf of the common good.

Question 29

The principle of just deserts means that convicted offenders deserve punishment that is proportionate to the seriousness of the harm they caused.

Question 30

The term general deterrence refers to the encouragement of each individual to calculate the costs of committing the crime.

Question 31

Cesare Beccaria argued that if punishments are to be an effective deterrent in individual calculations, they must be severe, which refers to a high chance of apprehension and punishment.

Question 32

According to Cesare Beccaria, for punishment to appear as a deterrent to potential off enders in relation to the offense committed, then it must also occur swiftly after apprehension, that is, with celerity.

Question 33

The term specific deterrence means using the punishment of one individual to discourage others from committing crime.

Question 34

Jeremy Bentham saw law's purpose as increasing the total happiness of the community by excluding 'mischief ' and promoting pleasure and security.

Question 35

Jeremy Bentham offered the notion of the hedonistic, or felicity, calculus as an explanation for people's actions. This calculus states that people act to increase positive results through their pursuit of pleasure and to reduce negative outcomes through the avoidance of pain.

Question 36

The first 'house of correction,' London's ____________, was established in 1556 and was designed to train the poor to work through discipline.

Question 37

Cesare Beccaria believed that government was not the automatic right of the rich. Rather, it was created through a _____________ in which free, rational individuals sacrificed part of their freedom to the state to maintain peace and security on behalf of the common good.

Question 38

According to Cesare Beccaria, the principle of ___________ refers to the belief that individual rights have priority over the interests of society or the state.

Question 39

Cesare Beccaria believed that ___________ offended society because they broke the social contract, resulting in an infringement on others' freedom.

Question 40

Cesare Beccaria's principle of the presumption of ____________, designed to protect individual rights against excessive state power or corrupt officials.

Question 41

The term _____________ means using the punishment of one individual to discourage others from committing crime.

Question 42

The principle of '____________' means that convicted offenders deserve punishment that is proportionate to the seriousness of the harm they caused.

Question 43

According to Cesare Beccaria, for punishment to appear as a deterrent to potential off enders in relation to the offense committed, then it must also occur swiftly after apprehension, that is, with ___________.

Question 44

Cesare Beccaria argued that if punishments are to be an effective deterrent in individual calculations, they must be ____________, which refers to a high chance of apprehension and punishment.

Question 45

Jeremy Bentham was responsible for designing the ultimate disciplinary prison. This ___________ was a circular structure organized so that a guard in the center could see into each cell without being seen by the prisoner.

Question 46

Please compare and contrast the respectable poor and the unrespectable poor in the Classical era. What were any similarities and/or differences between these groups?

Question 47

Please list some of the original classical concepts and principles presented by social philosophers Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham. How did these classical concepts lay the bases for the modern U.S. legal system?

Question 48

Cesare Beccaria's principle of the presumption of innocence was designed to protect individual rights against excessive state power or corrupt officials. What were the procedural elements deemed necessary for a system of justice to ensure this protection?

Question 49

Why did Cesare Beccaria not believe that the best way to reduce crime was to increase laws or increase the severity of punishment?

Question 50

According to Cesare Beccaria, in order for deterrence to work, three things must occur: certainty, severity, and celerity. Please compare and contrast each of these concepts.