Deck 2: Perspectives on Crime and Criminal Justice Research

Question 1

Which of the following is a legal definition of crime?

A) certain behaviors that are against the moral code and thus labeled deviant by society
B) an intentional act or omission in violation of criminal law committed without defense or justification and sanctioned by the state as a felony or misdemeanor
C) moral principles that are used to determine right from wrong
D) offenses that are defined as such in order to allow the justice system to dispense with them readily

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Criminal law differs from other forms of law in that it

A) provides boundaries between behaviors and classifications of specific offenses.
B) defines a moral code that society is expected to follow.
C) uses principles of science to measure one's behavior.
D) proscribes specific punishments for offenders who are convicted of violating the criminal law.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The concept of strict liability excludes which legal element of criminality?

A) criminal intent
B) causation
C) concurrence
D) commission of an act

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which type of law is an example of strict liability?

A) status offenses
B) statutory rape
C) mala in se offenses
D) criminal negligence

Question 5

According to Erich Goode, marijuana is a drug, because it

A) affects one's physical and psychological functioning
B) is illegal
C) always has been
D) is labeled a drug by society

Question 6

How has law enforcement changed as offenders' crimes have changed over the years?

A) by expanding the reach of federal law
B) by becoming more localized
C) by enhancing hours of police officer training
D) by restricting citizens' constitutional rights

Question 7

One criticism of social constructionists is that they

A) do not try to change the political and social structure that creates definitions of crime.
B) are too forceful and aggressive in trying to change laws.
C) do not provide sufficient insight into the way that laws are shaped, developed, implemented, and enforced.
D) are too dismissive of their powerful enemies.

Question 8

Which crime violates natural law?

A) murder
B) spanking
C) burglary
D) pollution

Question 9

The term more is best described as a __________ concept.

A) criminal
B) legal
C) sociological
D) psychological

Question 10

Dagmar is a social justice advocate who lives in a high-crime neighborhood. Dagmar is organizing a community group to address the crime program in her neighborhood. Which issue will Dagmar likely focus on at her meeting?

A) the legal code in the state
B) the parenting practices of neighborhood families
C) the difference between right and wrong
D) the high poverty rate in the neighborhood

Question 11

Peter's defense is built around the assertion that he could not have robbed the bank, because he was home with his partner. Peter is likely using a(n) __________ defense.

A) justification
B) alibi
C) consent
D) affirmative

Question 12

What is the concern with restricting the definition of crime to offenses that are felonies and misdemeanors?

A) It minimizes the importance of formal punishment.
B) It disregards violations against the individual.
C) It excludes illegal offenses that are treated by the justice system as illegal.
D) It emphasizes legal offenses and juvenile offenses that are technically illegal.

Question 13

Which phrase means "guilty mind"?

A) mens rea
B) actus reus
C) yoir dire
D) nolo contendre

Question 14

Which of the following is a summary offense?

A) disorderly conduct
B) aggravated assault
C) arson
D) terrorism

Question 15

All of the following are components of the behavioral perspective of crime except:

A) the actions of a particular individual
B) how members of a society define crime
C) the harm caused by an individual's action
D) whether behaviors can be captured within broader conceptualization of crime

Question 16

Which example would most likely be considered criminal in the United States?

A) Shannon injures her partner while sparring in martial arts class
B) Zach hits his wife returning home from a cocktail party
C) Talia slaps her 4-year-old son at the market
D) Steve slams into his neighbor's car while backing out of the driveway

Question 17

Which is of the following an example of a status offense?

A) assault with a deadly weapon
B) child neglect
C) running away
D) failure to pay taxes

Question 18

At age 19, Joe sexually assaulted a woman in a mall parking lot. Legally, Joe is considered a(n)

A) status offender
B) juvenile delinquent
C) criminal
D) deviant

Question 19

Compared to common law, criminal law defines elements of a crime more

A) fairly
B) concisely
C) punitively
D) specifically

Question 20

In which way does the repeal of the Volstead Act suggest that states socially construct their laws based on political and social factors?

A) The repeal supported the fact that society viewed alcohol as a dangerous and harmful drug.
B) The repeal promoted family values by banning alcohol consumption in public places.
C) The repeal encouraged the use of cocaine and heroin, which led to an increase in violent crime.
D) The repeal recognized the social acceptability of alcohol and that taxes on the sale of alcohol could raise needed government funds.

Question 21

Which type of survey would be most helpful when research subjects have varying reading levels?

A) mail surveys
B) face-to-face surveys
C) archival surveys
D) electronic surveys

Question 22

What was the significance to criminal justice of Matt Delisi's study on a pretrial services unit after the Columbine Massacre?

A) It helped us understand the criminal minds of the perpetrators.
B) It exposed the long-term effects of video game violence on the young.
C) It was the first to imply that school massacres are a type of terrorism.
D) It showed that a significant event like Columbine affects the criminal justice system response in a community.

Question 23

Ethics are essentially __________ principles that are used to determine right from wrong.

A) legal
B) sociological
C) moral
D) legitimate

Question 24

According to the social perspective of crime, a violation of norms is synonymous with

A) deviance
B) crime
C) mores
D) ethics

Question 25

Which policing experiment examined the ability of patrol efforts to control crime and changed our understanding of policing?

A) The Kansas City Preventive Patrol Experiment
B) The Stanford Prison Experiment
C) The Pizzaro Police and Homicide Study
D) The Minneapolis Domestic Violence Arrest Experiment

Question 26

All of the following individuals are criminal justice scientists except:

A) your professor
B) the authors of this textbook
C) a researcher who is studying crime in Malaysia
D) a juvenile delinquent

Question 27

Which term best describes the criminal career of Chic Conwell in Edwin Sutherland's case study?

A) professional
B) naïve
C) unsuccessful
D) terminal

Question 28

Which of the following is an example of a telephone survey?

A) The New York Prison Project
B) The Psychopathy Checklist-Revised
C) The Stanford Prison Experiment
D) The National Violence Against Women Survey

Question 29

Dr. Newman's current research involves administering questionnaires to federal inmates. Dr. Newman is conducting __________ research on __________ offenders.

A) archival, at-risk
B) electronic, juvenile
C) experimental, active
D) survey, incarcerated

Question 30

Kira is observing juvenile delinquents at a residential treatment facility as part of her study for her thesis. Which concern should she be particularly aware of?

A) the pseudo patient phenomenon
B) field variables
C) social construction
D) the Hawthorne effect

Question 31

Sarah was raised in a culture where it is unacceptable for a couple to live together before marriage. Sarah and her partner recently moved in together and have no plans to marry. According to the social perspective of crime, Sarah is a __________ who is violating a(n) __________.

A) criminal, law
B) delinquent, folkway
C) deviant, more
D) subject, code

Question 32

Mala in se is to __________ as mala prohibita is to __________.

A) murder, public intoxication
B) public intoxication, murder
C) guilt, innocence
D) innocence, guilt

Question 33

Reviews of police records and judicial decisions are examples of __________ research.

A) legal
B) survey
C) archival
D) experimental

Question 34

In a classic experiment, which group is manipulated?

A) the control group
B) the experimental group
C) the social group
D) the randomly selected group

Question 35

Which type of research is considered the gold standard for testing criminal justice policies and practices?

A) surveys
B) archival research
C) experiments
D) field research

Question 36

Which definition of crime is most closely associated with the concept of sustainable justice?

A) crime as a violation of norms
B) crime as an ethical violation
C) crime as a social construction
D) crime as a social justice issue

Question 37

Legal strategies where the defendant admits to committing the crime but provides either a justification or an excuse are called

A) legal alibis
B) affirmative defenses
C) strict liabilities
D) status offenses

Question 38

The coding schedule used in archival research is similar to that of a

A) survey
B) guilty verdict
C) jury
D) criminal investigation

Question 39

Which individual would most likely be labeled a juvenile delinquent?

A) a 16-year-old who sells drugs in her high school
B) a 19-year-old who skips her criminology class for two weeks in a row
C) a 17-year-old who cheats on his history exam
D) a 22-year-old who sets fire to his neighbor's garage

Question 40

At which stage of criminal justice research do researchers study their notes and observations?

A) analysis
B) getting in
C) departure
D) note taking

Question 41

The two most popular types of criminal justice studies are

A) experiments and case studies
B) field studies and experiments
C) case studies and archival research
D) archival research and surveys

Question 42

Self-report studies of juveniles typically find that crime occurs more frequently than crime statistics suggest.

Question 43

According to social constructionists, society's decision to attach the label of crime to certain behaviors is influenced by social and __________ factors.

Question 44

As a case proceeds through the justice process, the standards of proof for establishing the legal elements of criminality decrease.

Question 45

Individuals can be charged with and convicted of an offense without direct proof of criminal intent.

Question 46

In experimental research, the manipulation is also known as the

Question 47

Most criminal justice studies are experiments.

Question 48

Behavioral perspectives classify crime as either harmful conduct or research definitions.

Question 49

Mail surveys typically require direct, face-to-face contact between the researcher and the respondent.

Question 50

In the past, law enforcement was traditionally done at the __________ level.

Question 51

Calling in sick for work when one isn't really sick is an example of a status offense.

Question 52

Xavier got on the elevator on the ground floor and sang loudly until he reached the 45th floor. Xavier has violated a more.

Question 53

Police records and trial transcripts are examples of materials for use in __________ research.

A) archival
B) survey
C) experimental
D) field

Question 54

Cheating on a test meets the legal definition of crime.

Question 55

Social constructionists assert that, in order to address the crime problem, social issues such as poverty and homelessness must first be addressed.

Question 56

According to the behavioral perspective of crime, acts do not have to be illegal to be considered crimes.

Question 57

David May and Peter Wood's research on incarcerated offenders found that sanctions that are often viewed as lenient by the public are viewed as punitive by offenders.

Question 58

Most states define juveniles as individuals under the age of 21.

Question 59

Which of the following is a disadvantage of archival research?

A) The presence of researchers affects the research
B) Criminal justice trends can be examined only at one point in time
C) Only small samples can be used *d Archives are inflexible
D) Archives are inflexible

Question 60

Compared to common law, criminal law statutes are more specific in defining the various elements of a crime.

Question 61

Identify three roles that researchers fulfill in criminal justice field studies.

Question 62

__________ law involves violations against the individual.

Question 63

Distinguish between strict liability and vicarious liability offenses.

Question 64

Misdemeanors are less serious offenses for which the punishment is no greater than __________ in jail.

Question 65

Ethics are essentially __________ principles that are used to determine right from wrong.

Question 66

Legal scholars have recognized __________ elements of criminality.

Question 67

Case studies in criminal justice research have a sample size of __________ subject(s).

Question 68

Electronic and mail are methods of __________ research.

Question 69

Briefly describe one problem with defining crime as violation of the legal code.

Question 70

When using a(n) __________, the defendant does not acknowledge any type of responsibility for the crime.

Question 71

Sitting in your class facing backward violates a __________.

Question 72

A study that mimics experiments but does not possess all of the qualities of the classic experiment is called a(n) __________ experiment.

Question 73

Identify the factors that affect whether norm violations are defined as criminal under the social perspective of crime.

Question 74

Why is social justice sometimes described as a contentious concept?

Question 75

Explain the primary limitation of Tappan's definition of crime.

Question 76

How society creates definitions of appropriate and inappropriate behavior is referred to as the __________ of crime.

Question 77

According to the element of concurrence, the criminal act and the __________ must be joined together.

Question 78

The processes whereby criminologists use mass communication for the purposes of interpreting, informing, and altering the images of crime and justice, crime and punishment, and criminals and victims is called __________ criminology.

Question 79

List two research subjects commonly used in surveys.

Question 80

Which two overlapping factors determine whether norm violations are crimes?