Deck 8: Early Theories of Criminology

Question 1

According to the Classical School,which of the following should punishment be commensurate with?

A)the state
B)the crime
C)the Lord
D)the criminal

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following individuals authored "An Essay on Crime and Punishment" which summed up the ideas of the Classical School of criminology?

A)Lombroso
B)Romilly
C)Bentham
D)Beccaria

Answer 2

D

Question 3

In which of the following periods of European history did the classical school emerge and hence was most influenced by?

A)Medieval times
B)the Resistance
C)the Enlightenment
D)the Middle Ages

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following is NOT one of the extenuating circumstances emphasized by Neoclassical theorists as part of their reforms to the offender sentencing?

A)age
B)mental competence
C)mitigating circumstances
D)attire

Question 5

In pre-18th-century Europe,which of the following steps was often taken against individuals perceived as threatening the existing political authority?

A)They were charged with vandalism.
B)They were charged with sedition.
C)They were charged with treason.
D)They were charged with witchcraft.

Question 6

For Beccaria,which two factors are most important for punishment to be effective in deterring crime?

A)the certainty and reliability of punishment
B)the severity and swiftness of punishment
C)the severity and certainty of punishment
D)the certainty and swiftness of punishment

Question 7

According to Marvin Harris's estimate,how many people were burned to death for being witches in Europe between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries?

A)500,000
B)50,000
C)10,000
D)100,000

Question 8

Prior to the 18th century,theories about crime causation included which of the following beliefs?

A)Crime could be reduced if punishments fit the crimes and were well documented because criminals would calculate that they could not profit from their actions.
B)People exercise their free will and choose to act in particular ways,even ways they know to be wrong,because the Devil is tempting them.
C)Crime,like other human behaviour,is the result of natural causes and hence can be altered by applying scientifically derived knowledge.
D)Criminals are throwbacks to an earlier stage of evolution.

Question 9

Which of the following was a principal critique of the classical school of criminology by the neoclassical theorists?

A)Classical theorists' view of free and rational human being ignores the objective realities faced by individuals as they make their choices,such as inequalities and other factors that may influence their decision to commit a crime.
B)Classical theorists' lack of understanding of the statistical sciences,which meant the subjects they used in experiments were not representative of the criminal population as a whole.
C)Classical theorists' over-emphasis on supernatural forces or demonic possession as a cause of criminal behaviour.
D)Classical theorists' lack of emphasis on the importance of punitive sentencing in order to act as a deterrent to would-be criminals.

Question 10

Which of the following concepts best represents the intentions of a judge handing down a sentence of life imprisonment in order to send a message to others who might commit the same crime?

A)rehabilitation
B)deterrence
C)rehabilitation
D)vengeance

Question 11

What was one of the reforms that directly resulted from the ideas of the neoclassical theorists?

A)France's penal code was revised to include more discretion for judges as well as consideration of extenuating circumstances.
B)France's penal code was revised to include less discretion for judges so they could not take into consideration extenuating circumstances.
C)Greater severity in punishment by judges in France in order to better deter would-be criminals
D)Expert court testimony by criminologists who were able to determine whether a defendant was guilty based on his physical characteristics.

Question 12

Which of the following can be considered a limitation of the Classical School?

A)Due process safeguards were never built into the legal system.
B)Although punishments could be rationally determined in theory,their actual application often led to gross injustices.
C)Judicial and legislative functions could not be separated,with the result that politicians often decided who should be executed.
D)Fixed penalties could be set for only minor offences.

Question 13

Which of the following was the focus of Beccaria's "An Essay on Crime and Punishments" published in 1764?

A)the rationales for the death penalty
B)the use of imprisonment as punishment for crime
C)the theoretical and practical underpinnings of rehabilitation
D)the cruelty and inhumanity of the criminal justice system of his time

Question 14

Belief in the power of supernatural forces during the Middle Ages in Western Europe was reflected in all of the following practices,exception one. Which is the exception?

A)the use of trial by battle,trial by ordeal,trial by fire,and trial by water
B)the sentencing of individuals according to the seriousness of the wrongdoing
C)the Inquisition and the witch craze it spawned
D)the employment of threats of eternal damnation to help steel the spines of the faithful

Question 15

Which of the following best represents the contribution of the Neoclassical School of Criminology?

A)It used classical Greek philosophy to inform theories of criminality and criminal justice.
B)It helped usher in greater flexibility in the justice system,especially in sentencing offenders.
C)It introduced the use of statistical data gathering and analysis into criminology.
D)It demonstrated how biological factors can interact with social factors to produce criminals.

Question 16

Which of the following specific reforms did Beccaria call for?

A)reducing due process
B)setting out punishments in law
C)executions for minor offences
D)increasing judges' power

Question 17

Which of the following ideas do NOT reflect the Classical School's theory?

A)Society is based on a social contract.
B)The state can provide protection but cannot violate the rights of citizens.
C)Crime is an irrational and non-utilitarian activity.
D)There should be equal punishment for equal crime.

Question 18

Which of the following categories of people were most likely to be executed for witchcraft in Europe?

A)unwanted wives of powerful men
B)the elderly,the infirm,and children
C)economically independent men
D)economically independent single women

Question 19

Prior to the 18th century,theories about crime causation were largely based on which of the following?

A)superstition and religious beliefs
B)biology and heredity
C)heredity and religious beliefs
D)natural causes and the environment

Question 20

Which of the following most influenced the Classical School of crime?

A)religion
B)feudalism
C)the Enlightenment
D)Classical Greek philosophy

Question 21

According to Goring,which of the following was the most important correlate of criminality?

A)low intelligence
B)social deprivation
C)lack of self-control
D)physique or body type

Question 22

Despite evidence so convincing that even Goddard disavowed his earlier work,governments in North America responded to their fear of those with low IQs by passing legislation in the first half of the 20th century.Which of the following was an outcome of this legislation?

A)the creation of special remedial schools for those with low IQs
B)imprisonment of those with low IQs
C)severe penalties for those who abused people with low IQs
D)involuntary sterilization of those with low IQs

Question 23

Which of the following best represents Lombroso and colleagues' conclusions regarding criminal behaviour?

A)Crime is caused by biological factors beyond the individual's control.
B)Crime is caused by social factors beyond the individual's control.
C)Crime is caused by supernatural factors beyond the individual's control.
D)Crime is caused by personality factors beyond the individual's control.

Question 24

According to the textbook,which of the following best represents the evidence supporting a link between intellectual deficiencies and criminal behaviour?

A)The evidence is non-existent.
B)The evidence is strong.
C)The evidence is incontrovertible.
D)The evidence is weak.

Question 25

What was Goddard's main research finding into the legitimate and illegitimate offspring of Martin Kallikak?

A)Feeble-mindedness and criminality were inherited.
B)Body type and criminally were inherited.
C)Social factors were highly influential in criminal behaviour.
D)Atavism and criminality was inherited.

Question 26

Which of the following features of the treatment of offenders in the modern criminal justice system were influenced by Lombroso and the positive school of criminology?

A)torture
B)psychiatric  treatment
C)indeterminate sentences
D)banishment to one of the distant colonies

Question 27

Which of the following statements characterizes the work of the Statistical school of crime?

A)They employed geographical analyses,using maps,to determine the relationship between certain factors and crime.
B)They felt that crime was the result of common individual motivations.
C)They noted the chaotic distribution of criminal behaviour over time and across areas.
D)They argued that criminals were the product of genetic defects

Question 28

Cesare Lombroso,Raffaelo Garofolo,and Enrico Ferri were all associated with which of the following criminological schools?

A)the Classical School
B)the Enlightenment School
C)the Statistical School
D)the Positive School

Question 29

Which of the following best represents Sheldon's somatotype theory?

A)Someone's body type could predict criminal behaviour.
B)Someone's intellect could predict criminal behaviour.
C)The shape of someone's head could predict criminal behaviour.
D)The social environment in which one lives could predict criminal behaviour.

Question 30

According to Lombroso,which of these groups would be expected to exhibit the greatest number of stigmata?

A)the criminally insane
B)criminaloids
C)born criminals
D)mesomorphs

Question 31

Which of the following best represents Lombroso's recommendation on how born criminals should be treated by the judicial system?

A)They should be incarcerated but treated humanely as they have no control over their behaviour.
B)Stiff penalties should be imposed so as to deter criminals from future crimes.
C)They should be executed or else they may reproduce genetically inferior offspring.
D)They should be treated at mental institutions to correct any psychological defects.

Question 32

According to the Positive School,punishment should fit which of the following?

A)the criminal
B)the crime
C)the prison
D)the state

Question 33

Which of the following was the first to use scientific methods to study crime and criminality?

A)the Classical School
B)the Neo-classical School
C)the Positive School
D)the Biological School

Question 34

Lombroso used the term "atavism" to characterize what type of criminals?

A)"morons" or people with very low intellectual functioning
B)overly greedy individuals who only seek personal gain
C)throwbacks to an earlier stage of human evolution
D)individuals with little or no self-control

Question 35

According to Sheldon and the Gluecks,which body type is most closely associated with delinquency?

A)the psychomorph
B)the ectomorph
C)the endomorph
D)the mesomorph

Question 36

Which of the following scientific theories had the greatest impact on Lombroso's theories of criminality?

A)Einstein's theory of relativity
B)the Bible's theory of creation
C)Darwin's theory of evolution
D)Beccaria's theory of crime and punishment

Question 37

Which Canadian province was successfully sued for sterilizing an individual mistakenly labelled as mentally retarded?

A)Ontario
B)Alberta
C)British Columbia
D)Quebec

Question 38

Which of the following traits is associated with Sheldon's mesomorph body type?

A)easy-going personality
B)sensitivity to pain
C)introversion
D)aggression

Question 39

Which of the following best represents the assumptions of the Statistical School of crime?

A)People are not always rational beings;their behaviour was influenced by a number of social structural factors.
B)People are highly rational beings;their decisions were influenced solely by their weighing costs and benefits.
C)People are highly impulsive;they could not be deterred even through tough laws.
D)People's behaviour is highly influenced by biological factors,which could not be altered by social factors.

Question 40

The Statistical School of criminology is said to have great influence on a future discipline that itself would greatly influence the study of crime.Which of the following disciplinary approaches to the study of crime was influenced by the Statistical School?

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

Question 41

The Classical School of crime was greatly influenced by the ideas that arose from the Enlightenment.

Question 42

What is a common criticism that has been levelled at theories of criminality that emerged following the Enlightment period?

A)They were based on highly dubious research methods.
B)They were not influenced by broader intellectual movements.
C)They did nothing to advance our understanding of criminal behaviour.
D)They were too complicated to be understood by the courts or the general public.

Question 43

According to the Classical School,crime is considered an irrational behaviour committed by intellectually inferior people.

Question 44

According to Beccaria,the best way to prevent crime in the long run is through the use of the most severe punishment possible.

Question 45

Judeo-Christian beliefs posited that once humans were tempted by the Devil nothing could be done to save them.

Question 46

In the 15th century,charges of witchcraft served to reassert the authority of male leaders.

Question 47

Positive theorists believed that crime was caused largely by social factors,such as poverty.

Question 48

One of the specific reforms that emerged from the Classical school was that judges should be given more unilateral power to ensure justice is carried out.

Question 49

Positive theorists claimed that crime could be controlled if society designed punishments to fit the crime.

Question 50

The Neoclassical school was important because it introduced the idea that punishment should take into consideration the circumstances of individual offenders.

Question 51

The work of Charles Goring refuted Lombroso's idea of a physically distinct type of criminal.

Question 52

Prior to the 18th century,pathology "theories" of criminal behaviour were inspired by religious beliefs and superstition

Question 53

Members of the Statistical School in criminology assumed that human behaviour was solely the result of rational choices made by individuals.

Question 54

Informed by the ideas of the Enlightenment,the social contract between the state and its citizens meant that the government would help keep society safe,but this meant depriving people of most of their rights.

Question 55

Which of the following statements can be applied to theories of criminal behaviour produced by Lombroso,Goring,Hooton,Sheldon,and Goddard?

A)They focused too much of social factors,while ignoring biological factors.
B)They focused too much on biological factors,while ignoring social structural factors.
C)They did not identify any specific correlates of criminal behaviour.
D)They did not identify any specific causes of criminal behaviour.

Question 56

During the medieval period in Europe,many people who were branded as heretics and criminals and punished by the state were often reformers who were challenging the status quo.

Question 57

Prior to the 18th century,pathology in human beings was thought to be due to social factors.

Question 58

According to the Classical theory of crime the most effective and just deterrent was for the punishment to fit the crime.

Question 59

One of the contributions of the Statistical School was the use of maps to plot out crime,which is still used today.

Question 60

These reforms brought about by the Classical school provided the foundation for modern criminal justice system.

Question 61

What are some of the critiques and limitations of the Classical School of crime?

Question 62

What types of people were most likely to be executed for witchcraft in Western Europe during the 15th century? Why?

Question 63

Today,the evidence supporting a link between biological or intellectual deficiencies and criminal behaviour is very strong.

Question 64

Despite the fact that their theories are now refuted,most of the researchers discussed in this chapter employed very rigorous research methods.

Question 65

On the basis of their height and weight,Hooton argued that criminals were biologically superior organisms.

Question 66

Discuss how the Classical theories of crime influenced the modern criminal justice system.What specific reforms were proposed that are still influential in Canada's criminal justice system today?

Question 67

Describe the basic theories of the Lombroso and the Positive School of criminology. Discuss the historical context for these theories of crime and how emergent anthropological theories of the time influenced them.

Question 68

Explain how elites used religious ideas to combat challenges to their power.

Question 69

What inspired the Classical theories of crime in the 18th century? Discuss the historical context in which these theories of crime emerged.What factors helped ferment thinking about crime and other anti-social behaviour during this period?

Question 70

Describe the theories of the Statistical School of crime. How did it differ from the Classical and Neoclassical Schools of thought? What contributions to the study of crime emanated from the Statistical School?

Question 71

Describe the methodology that Lombroso used to test this theory of criminality.Provide a critique of Lombroso's methodology and this overall approach to explaining crime.

Question 72

Explain Lombroso's suggestions on how "born criminals" should be used treated.Draw a link between these suggestions and his theories of crime.To what extent has his suggestions influenced modern-day criminal justice policies and punishment specifically?

Question 73

What inspired theories of crime before the 18th century? Discuss the historical context in which theories of crime emerged prior to the 1900s.What factors helped ferment thinking about criminal and other anti-social behaviour during this period.

Question 74

Biological differences between groups can become a rationale for their differential treatment in society,especially when social structural variables that contribute to anti-social behaviour are ignored.

Question 75

Goddard's research argued that feeble-minded people were more apt to be criminals.

Question 76

Describe the Classical School's view on the nature of people and of society as well as the relation between the two.What were the implications of these ideas for the justice system at the time?

Question 77

Compare and contrast the theories of the Statistical School of crime with Lombroso and the Positive School of crime.To what extent are the differing tents of these two schools relevant today in our attempt to understand the causes of criminal behaviour?

Question 78

Despite evidence criticizing the link between intelligence and crime,thousands of people in North America with intellectual disabilities were institutionalized and even sterilized.

Question 79

How does the Neoclassical School of differ from the Classical School? What specific reforms were proposed by the Neoclassical theorists that can be seen in Canada's criminal justice system today?

Question 80

During the 1950s Sheldon advanced a theory that drew a correlation between personality types and criminal behaviour.