Deck 5: Classical and Neoclassical Perspectives

Question 1

Which of the following statements fits neoclassical thinking?

A) Crime is the result of genetic predisposition.
B) Criminals act with free will.
C) Crime is the result of one's social ecology.
D) Criminals act due to demonic possession.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Why was Joan of Arc burned at the stake?

A) She was convicted of murder.
B) She refused to recognize the king of France.
C) She converted from Christianity to Islam.
D) She was thought to be a witch.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Rational choice suggests:

A) Individuals increase their chances of victimization when they act irrationally
B) Individuals who are rational will not commit crime
C) Offenders commit crime whenever a victim is present
D) Offenders commit crime because of the benefits it brings them

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Regarding deterrence theory,various kinds of evidence suggest that ____ especially has little or no deterrent effect.

A) Drug rehabilitation programs
B) Work-release programs
C) Severe punishment
D) Uncertain punishment

Question 5

Neoclassical explanations of crime are rooted in _____.

A) Economic thinking
B) Biology
C) Religion
D) Anthropology

Question 6

Which of the following types of crimes is considered more deterrable?

A) Terminal offenses
B) Instrumental offenses
C) Expressive offenses
D) Penal offenses

Question 7

Which type of crime offense is committed for material gain with some degree of planning?

A) Terminal
B) Instrumental
C) Expressive
D) Penal

Question 8

What was the dominant source of knowledge in the Western world through the middle ages?

A) Religion
B) The Koran
C) Ancient Greek philosophers
D) The nobility

Question 9

Which of the following best reflects the Age of Reason,or the Enlightenment?

A) A time when religious views began to give way to scientific explanations
B) An era when the Christian majority began to adopt Islamic ideas about behavior
C) A period when psychology began to develop scientific explanations for crime
D) A century when Marxists explanations for behavior began to emerge

Question 10

During the Enlightenment period,because laws were vague and different judges handed out different sentences,justice could be described as _____.

A) Balanced
B) Facetious
C) Impartial
D) Arbitrary

Question 11

Which of the following has become so common in the US,especially among young males in large cities,that scholars think they have lost the stigma they once held?

A) Use of the death penalty and boot camps
B) Half-way houses and chain gangs
C) Truancy citations and fines
D) Arrest and imprisonment

Question 12

The idea that potential and actual legal punishment can deter crime is a synopsis of _____.

A) Routine Activities Theory
B) Deterrence Theory
C) Corporal Theory
D) Penal Theory

Question 13

Which of the following reflects what routine activities theory suggests is a lack of guardianship?

A) Wearing an expensive watch in a low-income neighborhood
B) A child playing in a park alone
C) A drug addict in need of money for a fix
D) The opening of a half-way house in a low crime neighborhood

Question 14

The effect of increasing severity,certainty and/or swiftness of legal punishment is called _____.

A) General deterrence
B) Marginal deterrence
C) Positive deterrence
D) Negative deterrence

Question 15

Contemporary rational choice suggests that:

A) Offenders commit crimes only for monetary gains
B) Offenders sometimes commit crimes for excitement or prestige
C) Offenders never commit crime unless provoked
D) Offenders carefully plan all crimes they commit

Question 16

Rational choice perspective emphasizes two related concepts:

A) Low IQ and utilitarianism
B) Situational factors and opportunity
C) Utilitarianism and positivism
D) Opportunity and genetics

Question 17

Who pioneered the classical school of criminology?

A) Freud
B) Sutherland
C) Beccaria
D) Hirschi

Question 18

Which type of criminal offense is committed for emotional reasons and with little or no planning?

A) Terminal
B) Instrumental
C) Expressive
D) Penal

Question 19

Which of the following best describes Beccaria's position regarding punishment as a deterrent to crime?

A) It must include rehabilitation
B) It must be religion-based
C) It must be certain and swift
D) It must be disproportionate to the crime

Question 20

Positivism suggest that:

A) Offenders commit crime solely because of the benefits it brings them
B) Evil forces such as demons can affect criminal behavior
C) Individuals are less likely to be victims if they have positive attitudes
D) Forces both outside and inside an individual might affect his/her likelihood of breaking the law

Question 21

Beccaria believed punishment should be certain and swift.

Question 22

Classical theory is grounded in utopianism.

Question 23

People in ancient times often thought crime was caused by possession.

Question 24

The United States utilizes mandatory sentences more than any other Western nation.

Question 25

Which of the following countries has enacted the most mandatory penalty laws?

A) Canada
B) Australia
C) England
D) United States

Question 26

The idea that areas with high crime rates have lower arrest rates because their police are "extra" busy,and their police also realize that too many arrests would overburden the criminal justice system is known as the _____ argument.

A) Minority income
B) System capacity
C) Conviction discretion
D) Police nullification

Question 27

Neoclassical theorists assume criminals act with free will.

Question 28

Positivism believes that criminal behavior is normal.

Question 29

Which of the following is an example of situational crime prevention?

A) Community paroling
B) Hot-spot policing
C) Teen courts
D) Cold case corrections

Question 30

Which of the following best reflects the beliefs of classical school philosophers such as Beccaria and Bentham?

A) They believed that people acted to maximize pleasure and reduce pain
B) They believed that people are inherently good but turned evil when possessed
C) They believed that most crime was the result of psychological problems
D) They believed that criminality could be predicted by examining body-type

Question 31

Religion was the dominant source of knowledge through the Middle Ages.

Question 32

"Three Strikes" laws reflect a sociological approach to combatting crime.

Question 33

Neoclassical explanations stress biology as the root cause of crime.

Question 34

General deterrence is when someone does not offend because of fear of punishment.

Question 35

Criminals always act rationally.

Question 36

Positivism stresses free will as the main reason for criminal behavior.

Question 37

Hot-spot policing involves intensive police patrols of high crime areas.

Question 38

During the Age of Reason,science began to weaken religions influence.

Question 39

Psychological solutions focus on the individual.

Question 40

Which of the following best expresses situational crime prevention?

A) Efforts that aim to reduce exposure to motivated offenders
B) Efforts that encourage victims to contact the police
C) Efforts that encourage legislators to pass tougher sentencing laws
D) Efforts that aim to increase rehabilitation programs

Question 41

Your police department has tripled the number of patrols in a high crime area.This is an example of ___ spot policing.

Question 42

Subjective deterrence refers to the impact of people's _____ of the certainty and severity of legal punishment.

Question 43

Crimes committed for material gain with some degree of planning are called _____ offenses.

Question 44

_____ offenses are those committed for emotional reasons and with little or no planning.

Question 45

Discuss the basic philosophy of the classical theory and how it differs from a positivist approach.

Question 46

_____ deterrence refers to the effect of having some legal punishment (arrest,incarceration,and so forth)versus the effect of having no legal punishment.

Question 47

Routine activities theory is also known as _____ theory or neoclassical theory.

Question 48

Most deterrence research has focused on the _____ of punishment (the likelihood of being arrested).

Question 49

_____ deterrence refers to the effect of increasing the severity,certainty,and/or swiftness of legal punishment.

Question 50

Identify the three major components of routine activities theory.

Question 51

_____ deterrence occurs when members of the public decide not to break the law because they fear legal punishment.

Question 52

Discuss the stages involved in the rational choice theory.Conclude with some critiques of the theory.

Question 53

Assume college officials at your school have asked you for advice on "situational crime prevention".What recommendations would you give them?

Question 54

The Age of _____ eventually led to more scientific explanations,especially those grounded in positivism,which attributes behavior to forces inside and outside the individual.

Question 55

What are the different types of deterrence?