Deck 2: Causes of Crime

Question 1

Which of the following is a proposition that can be tested by researchers or observers to determine if it is valid?

A) theory
B) corroboration
C) hypothesis
D) verification

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following are used to determinate the nature of the relationship between
Genetics and criminal behavior?

A) Frontal lobe
B) Twin studies
C) Neurotransmitter studies
D) Neurophysiology studies

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following is the hormone that is primarily associated with criminal offending?

A) estrogen
B) testosterone
C) serotonin
D) endocrine

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Cesare Beccaria criticized existing systems of criminal law as irrational and argued that criminal laws, to be just, should reflect three truths; which of the following is not one of the three truths discussed in the book?

A) All decisions, including the decision to commit a crime, are the result of rational choice.
B) Fear of punishment can have a deterrent effect on the choice to commit crime.
C) The more swift and certain punishment is, the more effective it will be in controlling crime.
D) Laws should be shared through word of mouth.

Question 5

The updated version of classical criminology, that holds that at any given moment, a person can choose between committing a crime and not committing it, is known as?

A) biological theory
B) rational choice theory
C) strain theory
D) control theory

Question 6

Who is known as the "father of criminology?"

A) Cesare Lombroso
B) Jeremy Bentham
C) James Q. Wilson
D) Cesare Beccaria

Question 7

Which of the following is NOT a neurotransmitter that has been linked to crime?

A) testosterone
B) norepinephrine
C) serotonin
D) dopamine

Question 8

According to the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, most drug users:

A) use marijuana only
B) use a drug other than marijuana
C) use marijuana and some other drug
D) use marijuana and injectable drugs

Question 9

The study of crime as it is related to social structure is NOT tied to which of the following theory?

A) labeling theory
B) cultural deviance theory
C) social disorganization theory
D) strain theory

Question 10

The scientific study of mental processes and behavior is called __________.

A) genetics
B) biology
C) psychology
D) anomie

Question 11

According to the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, __________ make up the largest racial and
Ethnic group of a category of illegal drug users.

A) Whites
B) African Americans
C) American Indians
D) Hispanics

Question 12

__________ is the science of living organisms, including their structure, function,
Growth, and origin.

A) Biology
B) Psychology
C) Criminology
D) Genetics

Question 13

According to the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, most drug users fall in which age category?

A) 12-17
B) 18-25
C) 26-29
D) 30 and older

Question 14

The school of criminology that considers criminal behavior to be the predictable result of a person's interaction with his or her environment is called __________.

A) strain theory
B) social disorganization theory
C) social process theory
D) the Chicago School

Question 15

In research conducted by Wolfgang, Figlio, and Sellin in Delinquency in a Birth Cohort, what percent of juveniles did the researchers find to be chronic offenders, or career criminals, responsible for a disproportionate amount of the violent crime?

A) 1
B) 4
C) 6
D) 10

Question 16

A school of criminology that holds that wrongdoers act as if they weigh the possible benefits of criminal or delinquent activity against the expected costs of being apprehended is called __________.

A) classical criminology
B) utilitarianism
C) positivism
D) social process theory

Question 17

Which of the following is a process through which researchers test the accuracy of a
Hypothesis?

A) theory
B) pontificating
C) prediction
D) scientific method

Question 18

According to Freud, the abstract system that interacts in the brain to "learn" the expectations of family and society and also acts as the conscience for an individual is called the:

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

Question 19

__________ between two variables is when they tend to vary together; where _________, in contrast, means that one variable is responsible for the change in another variable.

A) correlation; theory
B) correlation; causation
C) causation; correlation
D) causation; hypothesizing

Question 20

Which of the following elements is NOT discussed as an important component of social disorganization theory?

A) Disorganized zones exhibit higher rates of crime.
B) Those who are labeled as criminals will exhibit more criminal behavior.
C) The value of role models with hope for the future.
D) Crime is largely a product of unfavorable conditions in certain communities.

Question 21

A theory is an explanation of a happening or circumstance that is based on observation,
experimentation, and reasoning.

Question 22

Causation between two variables means that they tend to vary together.

Question 23

The __________ theory holds that criminal laws are designed by those in power (the rich) to help them keep power at the expense of those who do not have power (the poor).

A) psychoanalytic
B) social structural
C) social conflict
D) social reality of crime

Question 24

__________ is the scientific study of crime and the causes of criminal behavior.

Question 25

Psychologists at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research released data in 2003 showing that exposure to high levels of televised violence erodes a natural aversion to violence and increases aggressive behavior among young children; this is a type of _________ theory.

A) learning
B) labeling
C) control
D) conflict

Question 26

Research has shown that a small group of juvenile offenders was responsible for a
disproportionate amount of crime attributed to a large group of young males.

Question 27

A series of theories that assume that all individuals have the potential for criminalbehavior, but are restrained by the damage that such actions would do to theirrelationships with family, friends, and members of the community are called:

A) learning theories
B) labeling theories
C) control theories
D) conflict theories

Question 28

According to the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, most drug users are male?

Question 29

Which of the following is NOT one of the criticisms of the use of criminology in the criminal justice system?

A) Criminology has not done enough to make our country a safer place.
B) Researchers know less today about "what works" in criminology than at any other time in our nation's history.
C) That some are trying to understand crime rather than trying to reduce it.
D) Some practitioners argue that too much of the research done by criminologists is inaccessible to them.

Question 30

__________ is when a relationship in which a change in one measurement or behavior
creates a recognizable change in another measurement or behavior

Question 31

Labeling theory suggests the hypothesis that delinquents and criminals must be taught both the practical and emotional skills necessary to participate in illegal activity.

Question 32

Strain theory has its roots in the concept of _________, which results when social change throws behavioral norms into flux, leading to a weakening of social controls and
an increase in deviant behavior.

Question 33

Freud believed that, on an unconscious level, all humans have criminal tendencies and
that each of us is continually struggling against these tendencies.

Question 34

Some adoption studies show that fraternal twins are considerably more likely to exhibit
similar criminal behavior than identical twins.

Question 35

__________ psychology is a branch of psychology that studies how people's thoughts and behaviors are influenced by the presence of others.

Question 36

A sound theory supported by the scientific method proves that a prediction will be
correct.

Question 37

Social conflict theories are a school of criminology that views criminal behavior as the result of class conflict.

Question 38

A __________ is a possible explanation for an observed occurrence that can be tested by
further investigation.

Question 39

An approach to drug addiction that treats drug abuse as a mental illness is called the __________ model of addiction.

A) medical
B) biological
C) criminal
D) psychological

Question 40

Classical criminology is a school of thought that sees criminal and delinquent behavior as the result of biological, psychological, and social forces.

Question 41

__________ is when the relationship between two measurements or behaviors tend to move in the same direction.

Question 42

Contrast the medical model of addiction with the criminal model of addiction.

Question 43

__________ is the study of how certain traits or qualities are transmitted from parents to their offspring.

Question 44

Identify and explain the three neurotransmitters that seem to be particularly related to aggressive behavior and how they interact with the brain to result in aggression.

Question 45

Contrast positivism with classical criminology and give an example of a theory that exists in each category.

Question 46

Briefly list and explain the three branches of social process theories. Explain how one of the theories might be used to explain the crime of theft.

Question 47

An approach to ethical reasoning in which the "correct" decision is the one that results in the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people affected by that decision is called __________.

Question 48

_________ drugs have chemicals that affect the brain, causing changes in emotions, perceptions, and behavior.

Question 49

__________ are chemical substances that control certain cellular and bodily functionssuch as growth and reproduction.