Deck 1: Introduction and Overview of Crime and Criminology

Question 1

_____ 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

Answer 1

B

Question 2

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

Answer 2

B

Question 3

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.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

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

A) Theories
B) Hypotheses
C) Educated guesses
D) Formulations

Question 5

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

Question 6

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

Question 7

Lombroso's theory of the "born criminal" was aligned with which school of thought?

A) Biosocial
B) Classical
C) Positivist
D) Psychological

Question 8

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

Question 9

Universally condemned crimes are known as _____.

A) Mala in se
B) Mala prohibita
C) Actus reus
D) Mens rea

Question 10

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

Question 11

Laws tend to:

A) Remain relatively stable across cultures and through time.
B) Be stable across cultures, but fluctuate over time.
C) Vary across cultures, but within a particular society tend to be stable over time.
D) Vary by time and across different cultures.

Question 12

During the Progressive Era (from about 1890 to 1920),_____ became the primary disciplinary home of criminology.

A) Biology
B) Psychology
C) Sociology
D) Theology

Question 13

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

A) Theory
B) Hypothesis
C) Ideology
D) Policy

Question 14

Sociology became the "home discipline" for criminology during the _____ era.

A) Civil Rights
B) Industrial
C) Progressive
D) Renaissance

Question 15

Crimes that are time and culture bound are described as _____.

A) Mala in se
B) Mala prohibita
C) Actus reus
D) Mens rea

Question 16

Driving twenty-six (26)miles per hour in an area where the speed limit is twenty-five (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.

Question 17

The _____ school of thought emphasizes human rationality and free will in its explanations of criminal behavior.

A) Biosocial
B) Classical
C) Positivist
D) Psychological

Question 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 the Above

Question 19

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

Question 20

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

A) Criminology
B) Theory
C) Sociology
D) Law

Question 21

Criminality is a trait that is displayed by some individuals,but not by others.

Question 22

The harm caused by crime has proven easy to quantify.

Question 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.

Question 24

The unconstrained vision denies the existence of an innate human nature,instead holding that human nature is formed anew in each different culture.

Question 25

"Criminality" is a legal term.

Question 26

In assessing the merits of a theory,the most important criterion is _____ .

A) Predictive accuracy
B) Predictive scope
C) Simplicity
D) Falsifiability

Question 27

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

Question 28

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

Question 29

Cesare Lombroso's concept of the "born criminal" is also known as his theory of _____ .

A) Atavism
B) Ideal types
C) Phrenology
D) Somatotypes

Question 30

The analysis of brain scans and DNA in order to better understand crime is the most representative of the _____ approach to criminology.

A) Biosocial
B) Classical
C) Positivist
D) Psychological

Question 31

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

A) Atavist
B) Marxist
C) Positivist
D) Classical

Question 32

A theory is never entirely proven true,but it must have the quality of:

A) Predictive accuracy.
B) Predictive scope.
C) Simplicity.
D) Falsifiability.

Question 33

Mala in se crimes tend to arouse the most intense emotional responses,because they trigger a sense of threat to our survival.

Question 34

Criminology is an interdisciplinary field.

Question 35

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

Question 36

A theory's _____ is assessed by how much of the empirical world falls under its explanatory umbrella relative to other theories.

A) Predictive accuracy
B) Predictive scope
C) Simplicity
D) Falsifiability

Question 37

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

Question 38

While theories are interesting to consider,they are often impractical,as they tend to be used to explain phenomena in the absence of any solid,practical evidence.

Question 39

The classical school emphasizes the ability of science to provide answers for everything.

Question 40

The 1990s and early 2000s witnessed a strong resurgence of critical theories of criminology,such as Marxism.

Question 41

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

Question 42

Define "theory."

Question 43

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

Question 44

Explain the difference between mala in se and mala prohibita.

Question 45

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

Question 46

The role of human judgment in determining what is categorized as "crime" renders the category arbitrary.

Question 47

Explain the role that ideology plays in shaping criminological theory.Is it possible to formulate or evaluate theories without ideology playing a role? Defend your response.

Question 48

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

Question 49

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

Question 50

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.

Question 51

The vast majority of socially harmful acts are regulated by criminal law.

Question 52

In criminological/sociological study,what are some of the limitations to defining "crime" as only those actions in violation of criminal law? Do you feel that criminologists should limit their study in this way? Support your response.

Question 53

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

Question 54

Define "ideology."