Deck 4: The Classical and Positivist Schools of Criminology

Question 1

These explanations of crime seek explanations for crime that lie beyond the physical world.

A) classical
B) positivist
C) supernatural
D) neo-classical

Answer 1

C

Question 2

This school looks for external explanations for crime.

A) supernatural
B) classical
C) neoclassical
D) positivist

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Prior to the Enlightenment, societies based their standards of behavior, including their laws, on this.

A) religious doctrine
B) social forces
C) statutory codes
D) government regulations

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which best describes demonology?

A) neoclassical
B) modern
C) post-Enlightenment
D) pre-Enlightenment

Question 5

What does demonology assume?

A) Individuals have free will and choose to break the law.
B) Crime is motivated by impure thoughts and poor religious instruction.
C) Social conditions affect crime.
D) Soft determinism is the best explanation of crime.

Question 6

This refers to the view that individuals are subject to antisocial behavior at the instigation of demonic forces.

A) soft determinism
B) free will
C) temptation
D) possession

Question 7

Scholars who seek to typify evil have stated that this type of evil involves reason without passion.

A) sadistic
B) banal
C) demonic
D) semiotic

Question 8

This is the process of acquiring a personal identity and learning how to live within the culture of one's society.

A) socialization
B) demonization
C) realization
D) substantiation

Question 9

Which best describes classical thought?

A) All punishments should be severe to deter offenders.
B) Criminal offenders are affected by biological and psychological factors beyond their control.
C) Criminal offenders freely choose to break the law.
D) The key purpose of punishment is rehabilitation

Question 10

This fostered a new age of reason that sought to replace religious dogma with intellectual reasoning.

A) Evolution
B) Enlightenment
C) Reformation
D) Inquisition

Question 11

Which did classical school thinkers do?

A) They participated in research studies
B) They interviewed offenders and victims.
C) They observed the legal systems of their countries
D) They collaborated with local law enforcement agencies.

Question 12

According to this thinker, in exchange for safety and uniform enactment and enforcement of laws, individuals give up certain liberties and freedoms to a sovereign with almost universal and complete power over his subjects.

A) Thomas Hobbes
B) John Locke
C) Jean-Jacques Rousseau
D) Michel Foucault

Question 13

This thinker believed that an individual's opportunities and rights were determined by social class.

A) Jean-Jacques Rousseau
B) Michel Foucault
C) John Locke
D) Thomas Hobbes

Question 14

According to Rousseau, this law is a product of individuals deciding among themselves how their affairs ought to be governed.

A) natural
B) social
C) human-made
D) absolute

Question 15

The idea that individuals act to maximize pleasure and minimize pain is one of the key aspects of the ideas of this thinker.

A) Jean-Jacques Rousseau
B) Jeremy Bentham
C) Thomas Hobbes
D) Cesare Beccaria

Question 16

According to Beccaria, what is the object of social control?

A) retribution
B) deterrence
C) rehabilitation
D) incapacitation

Question 17

According to classical criminology, what should the law focus on?

A) the offender's social status
B) the offender's level of intelligence
C) the offender's behavior
D) the offender's motivation

Question 18

Bentham suggested that the legislature should set penalties for each offense at a level designed to deter the unlawful behavior. What is this idea called?

A) proportionality
B) lex talionis
C) hedonistic calculus
D) utilitarianism

Question 19

What are sentencing schedules designed to do?

A) ensure the offender's right to a speedy trial and sentencing hearing
B) ensure sentencing uniformity
C) allow judges the freedom to determine sentences
D) ensure soft determinism

Question 20

Bentham designed this prison, which was based on surveillance.

A) Eastern State Penitentiary
B) Walnut Street Jail
C) Panopticon
D) Auburn Prison

Question 21

Which of the following is not one of the main principles that can be traced to the classical school?

A) a view of human nature based on hedonism
B) the concept that the government must respect the citizens' rights, at least to a degree consistent with public safety
C) an emphasis on due-process procedures in the criminal justice system
D) the idea that determinism outweighs free will

Question 22

Which of the following is not one of the main assumptions of the positivist school of criminology?

A) The offender matters more than the offense.
B) Science trumps philosophy.
C) Offenders make rational choices.
D) Indeterminate sentencing is more effective than determinate sentencing.

Question 23

This is a process of investigation in which phenomena are observed; ideas are tested, and conclusions are drawn.

A) scientific method
B) determinism
C) deterrence
D) hedonistic calculus

Question 24

Which of the following is most representative of a positivist viewpoint?

A) A focus on the penalties for committing an offense
B) A focus on identifying social forces that influence offenders
C) A focus on ensuring timely punishment
D) A belief that offenders have free will

Question 25

What is the classical school concerned with?

A) the rehabilitation of offenders
B) the causes of crime
C) punishment
D) offender treatment

Question 26

The orphan train movement was based on this school of criminology.

A) classical
B) positivist
C) neoclassical
D) conflict

Question 27

Which of the following is a classical school viewpoint?

A) an acceptance of the legitimacy of the criminal justice system and its place in the social system
B) encouraging a focus on the internal and external forces that influence behavior
C) a view of offenders as sick or damaged and in need of treatment
D) a concept of offender free will

Question 28

This concept allows neoclassical criminology to downplay social forces affecting behavior and reassert some classical ideas.

A) hard determinism
B) free will
C) soft determinism
D) socialism

Question 29

In reference to crime, this is the planning of a criminal act.

A) premeditation
B) determinism
C) calculus
D) conspiracy

Question 30

Which is not one of the three limiting factors that positivism contributed to the neoclassical idea of free will?

A) hard determinism
B) premeditation
C) mitigating circumstances
D) insanity

Question 31

This may inhibit an individual's exercise of free will according to neoclassical criminology.

A) premeditation
B) hard determinism
C) mitigating circumstances
D) deterrence

Question 32

Long a mainstay of this school of criminology, deterrence theory is the concept that punishment prevents more crime from occurring.

A) positivist
B) classical
C) supernatural
D) conflict

Question 33

This form of deterrence occurs when an offender is caught and punished and decides not to break the law any more.

A) general
B) special
C) specific
D) open

Question 34

Situational crime prevention is an extension of this.

A) deterrence theory
B) critical theory
C) routine activities theory
D) rational choice theory

Question 35

According to rational choice theory, this process occurs when an offender sees that a target is protected and searches for a more vulnerable one.

A) displacement
B) target hardening
C) recidivism
D) rationality

Question 36

Which of the following is not consistent with situational crime prevention concepts?

A) improving the technology designed to prevent drunk driving
B) developing a treatment program to reduce recidivism among convicted burglars
C) requiring airline passengers to present photo identification before boarding the plane
D) reducing the number of guns available

Question 37

Which type of concept best describes routine activities theory?

A) classical
B) neoclassical
C) positivist
D) conflict

Question 38

Which of the following is not one of the three elements that routine activities suggests must converge for an offense to occur?

A) a motivated offender
B) an attractive target
C) the absence of capable guardians
D) target hardening

Question 39

Technology that allows parents to surreptitiously monitor their children's use of the Internet is an example of which principle of routine activities theory?

A) target hardening
B) motivated offender
C) capable guardians
D) suitable target

Question 40

List and explain the three elements that routine activities theory suggests must converge for an offense to occur.

Question 41

Compare and contrast the classical and neoclassical schools of criminology. How are they similar? What are the key differences?

Question 42

Explain the concept of a social contract. How has this concept influenced criminology?

Question 43

List and explain Beccaria's six key principles.

Question 44

Explain the purposes of sentencing schedules and discuss their pros and cons. Do you think these schedules should limit judicial discretion? Why or why not?