Deck 1: Origins of Victimology

Question 1

Which of the following is not a purpose of the field of victimology?

A) Studying crime victims.
B) Identifying the circumstances surrounding criminal victimization.
C) Studying criminal offenders.
D) Ensuring that victims are provided with services and advocacy.
E) All of the above are purposes of the field of victimology.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

A "risk factor" in victimology is a variable associated with increased risks for _____________.

A) Criminal victimization.
B) Incarceration.
C) Criminal offending.
D) Criminal conviction.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Hans von Hentig defined victim precipitation as victims contributing to _____________.

A) Criminal behavior through encouraging criminal offending.
B) Crime rates by committing criminal offenses.
C) The criminal events that harm them.
D) The criminal justice system by reporting their victimizations to law enforcement.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following characteristics is not an element of von Hentig's victim typology?

A) Biological characteristics.
B) Environmental characteristics.
C) Sociological characteristics.
D) Psychological characteristics.
E) All the above are characteristics of von Hentig's typology.

Question 5

Mendelsohn's typology categorized victims according to the victim's _____________.

A) Degree of provocation.
B) Degree of perspiration.
C) Degree of facilitation.
D) Degree of responsibility.

Question 6

Schafer defined the concept of functional responsibility as victims being responsible for not _____________.

A) Provoking offenders into action and for actively preventing their victimization.
B) Provoking offenders into action and for actively fighting against offenders.
C) Making judgments against offenders and for actively preventing their victimization.
D) Insulting offenders and for reporting their victimization.

Question 7

Which of the following type of victims is not an element of Schafer's typology?

A) Biologically weak victims.
B) Socially weak victims.
C) Mentally weak victims.
D) Precipitative victims.
E) None of the above.

Question 8

Which of the following is one of the factors identified by Wolfgang as common to victim-precipitated homicide?

A) The victim often had a prior criminal record.
B) The offender often had a psychological disorder.
C) The victim and offender were often strangers.
D) The victim often was unarmed.
E) None of the above.

Question 9

Which of the following is not a true statement about victim blaming?

A) Victim blaming was one of the critiques of the first generation of victimology.
B) Grass-roots advocacy groups arose partially in response to victim blaming.
C) Victim blaming was advocated by first-generation victimologists.
D) The focus on the victim's responsibility can lead to charges of victim blaming.

Question 10

The civil rights movement contributed to the field of victimology by highlighting the _____________.

A) Equal treatment of all races within the criminal justice system.
B) Discrimination and unequal treatment suffered by African American crime victims and offenders.
C) Increased rates of victimization and offending among Asian Americans.
D) Discrimination and unequal treatment suffered by Caucasian crime victims and offenders.

Question 11

The women's movement contributed to the field of victimology by focusing attention on _____________.

A) Sexual violence of women.
B) Spousal abuse.
C) Crimes against children.
D) Crimes against minorities.
E) A and C
F) A and B

Question 12

Which of the following was part of the women's movement critique of the criminal justice system?

A) Victims were further victimized by not being believed or taken seriously.
B) Victims were further victimized by the failure to punish offenders appropriately.
C) Victims were further victimized by a focus on the victim's behavior rather than that of the offender.
D) All of the above were part of the women's movement critique.

Question 13

Children were recognized in earnest as a group of crime victims with special needs in the early _______.

A) 1760s.
B) 1960s.
C) 1970s.
D) 1950s.

Question 14

Battered-child syndrome is defined as when a young child suffers repeated serious physical abuse by whom?

A) Parents and other caregivers.
B) Parents and other children.
C) Law enforcement and other caregivers.
D) Parents and their siblings.

Question 15

Which of the following is not an element of the philosophy of crime control?

A) Swift justice.
B) Harsh punishment.
C) Lenient sentencing.
D) Efficiency.

Question 16

The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society is an important aspect of the political origins of victimology because it suggested efforts should be made to compensate victims who suffered _____________.

A) Severe injuries.
B) Financial hardships.
C) Long-term abuse.
D) Police brutality.

Question 17

Which of the following is an element of the cycle theory of violence?

A) Tension-building phase.
B) Acute battering phase.
C) Contrite loving phase.
D) All of the above are elements of the cycle theory of violence.

Question 18

Which of the following influenced the victim's rights movement?

A) The civil rights movement.
B) The women's movement.
C) The children's movement.
D) All of the above influenced the victim's rights movement.

Question 19

The Clery Act mandated Title IV colleges and universities to report their annual ___________ and ___________.

A) Crime statistics; engage in crime-prevention activities.
B) Victimization rates; encourage criminal victimization.
C) Number of enrolled students; evaluate their crime-prevention efforts.
D) Women's soccer team record; average GPA for those majoring in criminal justice.

Question 20

The first-generation victimologists primarily focused on the degree to which victims contributed to _____________.

A) The criminal justice system through precipitation, facilitation, and provocation.
B) Criminal events through victim blaming.
C) Criminal events through precipitation, facilitation, and provocation.
D) Crime prevention through precipitation, facilitation, and provocation.
E) None of the above.

Question 21

Are criminology and victimology related fields of study or two distinct fields? Explain your answer and provide supporting examples.

Question 22

Are von Henig's, Mendelsohn's, or Schafer's typologies useful in describing how and why individuals are criminally victimized? Why or why not? Explain your answer.
Or
What are the strengths and weakness of von Henig's, Mendelsohn's, or Schafer's typologies to describing who crime victims are?

Question 23

Explain how the social movements of the 1960s and 1970s in the United States contributed to the development of the field of victimology.