Deck 4: Origins of Criminal Behavior: Learning and Situational Factors

Question 1

Operant and social learning originated from a school of psychological thought called:

A) psychoanalysis.
B) socioperant conditioning.
C) social learning.
D) behaviorism.
E) determinism.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The common human tendency to discount the influence of a situation and explain behavior by referring to the personality of an actor is called:

A) reductionism.
B) type I error.
C) ecological error.
D) fundamental attribution error.
E) type II error.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which behavioral scientist maintains that human behavior, including criminal behavior, is acquired primarily through observational learning or modeling?

A) Julian Rotter
B) Albert Bandura
C) Ronald Akers
D) John Watson
E) Erik Erikson

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which of the following conclusions is supported by Philip Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment?

A) Situational variables are powerful determinants of behavior.
B) An individual's personality is more important than situational factors in determining behavior.
C) Most people remain true to their principles, even when put into psychologically compelling situations.
D) People do not easily become deindividuated.
E) One's spiritual beliefs largely determine behavior.

Question 5

According to Akers' differential association reinforcement theory, criminal behavior develops primarily as the result of:

A) frustration.
B) heightened expectancies that are innate in the individual.
C) social reinforcements given by significant others.
D) classical conditioning.
E) modeling.

Question 6

According to Berkowitz, in order for frustration to occur, the person must have:

A) some hope for goal attainment.
B) a specific frustration gene.
C) lived under dire poverty conditions.
D) a history of extensive failure.
E) an idea where to direct his or her aggression.

Question 7

Milgram, in his studies, found that _____ of people are willing to shock a victim with high levels of electric shock primarily on the basis of request from an experimenter.

A) a majority (or about two-thirds)
B) a small portion (less than 10%)
C) about 25 percent
D) about half
E) none of the above

Question 8

The belief that all behavior is at the mercy of stimuli in the environment is called:

A) the ecological fallacy.
B) situationism.
C) fundamental attribution error.
D) empiricism.
E) expectancy theory.

Question 9

According to Sutherland's theory of differential association:

A) criminal behavior can be learned only by associating with others who are criminal.
B) violent behavior is biologically determined.
C) criminal behavior is learned like any other behavior.
D) criminal behavior is learned primarily through classical conditioning.
E) none of the above.

Question 10

Akers' differential association reinforcement theory is based largely on the criminological theory of:

A) Edwin Sutherland.
B) Albert Bandura.
C) Albert Cohen.
D) Walter Miller.
E) B.F. Skinner.

Question 11

An essential difference between the behavior theory of Watson and Skinner is:

A) Watson recognized the existence of private mental events, whereas Skinner did not.
B) Skinner recognized the existence of private mental events, whereas Watson did not.
C) Skinner believed that the primary goal of psychology is the control of behavior, whereas Watson did not.
D) Watson believed that the goal of psychology is the prediction of behavior, whereas Watson did not.
E) Skinner emphasized the importance of independent and dependent variables, whereas Watson did not.

Question 12

The process whereby people lose their identities and feel less responsible in a crowd is called:

A) deindividuation.
B) mob-angry reaction.
C) reciprocal interaction.
D) crowd masking.
E) mob effect.

Question 13

Milgram's famous studies on obedience to authority indicate that:

A) people pay little attention to authority figures once they become adults.
B) in general, Americans are not obedient or conforming.
C) most people are obedient to authority even if it causes pain to others.
D) children are less obedient to authority than adults.
E) adults are more obedient to authority than children.

Question 14

According to Julian Rotter, whether a particular pattern of behavior will occur depends on:

A) operant conditioning.
B) classical conditioning.
C) our ability to control biological drives.
D) biological programming.
E) our expectancies and how much we value the outcome.

Question 15

The theorist most associated with stimulus-response psychology is:

A) Watson.
B) Bandura.
C) Pavlov.
D) Wundt.
E) Eysenck.

Question 16

Which term refers to the idea that all complex behavior can be broken down into simple stimulus-response behavior?

A) Nature-nurture interface
B) Deindividuation
C) Mutual interaction
D) Extinction
E) Reductionism

Question 17

Which individual is an example of a well-known social learning theorist?

A) B. F. Skinner
B) Hans Eysenck
C) Howard Cloward
D) Julian Rotter
E) John Watson

Question 18

If Bandura's position is essentially correct, then aggressive and violent behavior can be substantially reduced by:

A) providing appropriate models.
B) physically punishing children for aggressive behavior.
C) allowing children to blow off steam in socially desirables ways.
D) controlling the sale of guns and weapons in our society.
E) reducing high school truancy.

Question 19

One of the problems with classical conditioning explanations of criminal behavior is that they:

A) have not been empirically supported.
B) do not account for situational factors.
C) presume the person has no self-determination.
D) do not consider biological factors.
E) assume the individual is innately aggressive.

Question 20

Behaviorism is to _____ as social learning is to _____.

A) biological drives; socialization
B) objectivity; subjectivity
C) reinforcement; environmental stimuli
D) past; present
E) environmental stimuli; cognition

Question 21

In his recent theory, Bandura states that before people can engage in behavior that violates their moral principles they must:

A) learn the techniques of that behavior.
B) believe that the reward outweighs the punishment.
C) reject their moral principles.
D) accept a higher authority.
E) disengage from their moral principles.

Question 22

Skinner argued that the most effective way to eliminate behavior was through extinction.

Question 23

When we specifically attribute good aspects about ourselves to dispositional factors, and bad things to the environment, we are demonstrating:

A) fundamental attribution error.
B) self-serving bias.
C) reactance.
D) wrongful attribution.
E) self-fulfilling prophecy.

Question 24

Acts performed in response to orders from authority considered illegal or immoral by the larger community are called:

A) bystander apathy.
B) reductionism.
C) crimes of obedience.
D) fundamental attribution error.
E) status offenses.

Question 25

John B. Watson believed that a rigid scientific approach was crucial to understanding human behavior.

Question 26

Social learning theorists believe that the _____ of behavior depends on reinforcement.

A) acquisition
B) initiation
C) instigation
D) degree
E) maintenance

Question 27

Describe the process of operant conditioning and give an example of how criminal behavior is acquired.

Question 28

B. F. Skinner believed in difference-in-degree approach to studying human behavior.

Question 29

For most people, becoming part of a group encourages feelings of anonymity.

Question 30

The September 11, 2001 attack on the Pentagon is an example of a frustration-induced riot.

Question 31

Under the frustration-induced theory of criminality, individuals who commit larceny during riots are motivated by revenge.

Question 32

According to differential association-reinforcement theory, signals that communicate that certain behaviors are encouraged and reinforced are:

A) neutralizing stimuli.
B) justifying discriminative stimuli.
C) neutralizing stimuli.
D) social reinforcements.
E) positive discriminative stimuli.

Question 33

Studies conducted by Stanley Milgram and Philip Zimbardo both found that one's situation strongly influences behavior.

Question 34

Berkowitz's two criminal personality classifications are:

A) psychopathic/nonpsychopathic.
B) violent/nonviolent.
C) greedy/altruistic.
D) socialized/individual.
E) pyschopathic/sociopathic.

Question 35

Increasing behavior by avoiding an unpleasant stimulus is referred to as punishment.

Question 36

The internal processes we generally refer to as thinking and remembering are called _____ by social learning theorists.

A) mnemonics
B) cognitive processes
C) mental processes
D) socialization practices
E) pneumococcal memories

Question 37

Increasing desired behavior by distributing rewards is:

A) discipline.
B) negative reinforcement.
C) punishment.
D) extinction.
E) positive reinforcement.

Question 38

B. F. Skinner is considered the father of behaviorism.

Question 39

According to Akers' theory, groups tend to adopt certain rules of conduct concerning what is bad, right or wrong, justified or unjustified. These group attitudes are called:

A) discriminative stimuli.
B) ecological norms.
C) normative definitions.
D) neutralizing stimuli.
E) group dynamics.

Question 40

According to the text, in order to fully understand criminal behavior, it is important to regard all individuals as passive participants in their environment.

Question 41

Compare and contrast the behaviorism promoted by B.F. Skinner with the modern behaviorism promoted by Albert Bandura.

Question 42

Explain the difference between Sutherland's differential association theory and Akers' differential association-reinforcement theory.

Question 43

Describe and discuss the situational factors that can influence criminal behavior. In addition to those mentioned in this Chapter, what others might be identified?

Question 44

Summarize Sutherland's differential association theory.

Question 45

What is "frustration-induced criminality?" Provide an illustration.

Question 46

Define deindividuation, authority, and moral disengagement. How do these terms help explain some types of criminal behavior?

Question 47

Describe Zimbardo's prison experimen

Question 48

Explain the concept of deindividuation and illustrate by describing any one experiment in social psychology.

Question 49

Briefly explain Bandura's theory of moral disengagement.