Deck 3: Biological Theories of Crime

Question 1

Almost all biological theories of crime are rooted in what perspective?

A) Classical criminology
B) Positivist criminology
C) Post-modern assumptions
D) Psychiatric assumptions

Answer 1

Positivist criminology

Question 2

Lombroso suggested that _____ criminals were less developed physically, mentally, and socially than the normal person.

A) occasional
B) born
C) insane
D) epileptic

Answer 2

born

Question 3

Which of the following is a form of science that sought to identify distinct facial features of people who committed crime?

A) Biosocial theory
B) Phrenology
C) Physiognomy
D) Atavism

Answer 3

Physiognomy

Question 4

Positivism refers to what?

A) A neoclassical perspective
B) A theoretical position focused on free will and hedonism
C) A perspective focused on the effect of crime
D) A perspective focused on identifying causes of crime

Question 5

Which of the following is NOT one of the core assumptions of positivist thinking in criminology?

A) All persons are alike
B) Differences in make-up account for differences in behavior
C) Similarities in make-up can be environmental in origin
D) Specific characteristics can be identified scientifically

Question 6

Who was the best known of the early biological theorists-known for his ideas regarding atavism?

A) Richard Dugdale
B) Johan Caspar Lavater
C) Cesare Lombroso
D) Sarnoff Mednick

Question 7

What was the term that Lombroso used to describe the less-evolved physical characteristics found among criminals?

A) Atavism
B) Throwbacks
C) Stigmata
D) Criminogenesis

Question 8

Who was it that scientifically tested Lombroso's ideas and found them seriously lacking?

A) Richard Dugdale
B) Albert Englewood
C) Enrico Ferri
D) Charles Goring

Question 9

What do genetic researchers study when examining whether identical and fraternal twins, for example, exhibit the same behaviors?

A) Cohabitation rates
B) Concordance rates
C) Variance inflation factors
D) Fraternal criminality patterns

Question 10

The most important set of adoption studies in criminology took place in what part of the world?

A) Central and South America
B) Far East
C) Scandinavian countries
D) The United States

Question 11

Research found that men with the XYY chromosome pattern were larger, taller, had more masculine traits, and tended to be lower in ___________.

A) impulsivity
B) intelligence
C) masochism
D) sensory perception

Question 12

Which of the following is a form of science, made popular in the 1790's and early 1800's that interpreted bumps or protrusions on an individual's skull as indicators of criminality?

A) Biosocial theory
B) Phrenology
C) Physiognomy
D) Atavism

Question 13

The idea that it is the task of criminology to distinguish the difference between criminals and non-criminals reflects the thinking of:

A) the Classical School.
B) the Positive School.
C) both the Classical and Positive Schools.
D) neither school of thought.

Question 14

Which of the following modern lines of research faces the criticism that it may have cause and effect order reversed?

A) DNA profiling
B) Hormone levels
C) Diet and nutrition
D) CNS functioning

Question 15

Liggio (1969) found that delinquents were likely to eat more _________ than non-delinquents.

A) red meat
B) fish and seafood
C) foods high in starch
D) vitamins D-containing food

Question 16

Which of the following statements best summarizes the barriers facing biological theories in criminology?

A) They have some of the most rigorous scientific support behind them.
B) They are suitable for explaining some crimes, but not for others.
C) Critics fear that policy implications are invasive and potentially harmful.
D) They are among our strongest theories for explaining crime.

Question 17

Which theoretical perspective argues that differences in our individual makeup are believed to account for the differences in our behavior?

A) Positivism
B) Conflict
C) Control
D) Functionalism

Question 18

Decades of research have shown that boys in general are more aggressive than girls, ever at young ages. This research has indicated individuals are likely to be involved in violence and crime compared to others when they have higher levels of ______________.

A) sugar intake
B) testosterone
C) abuse
D) disappointment

Question 19

Lombroso later revised his viewpoints to include what type of influences?

A) Physical
B) Psychological
C) Environmental
D) All of the above

Question 20

Which individual is credited with first using the term criminology in the United States?

A) Raffaele Garofalo
B) Cesare Lombroso
C) Arthur MacDonald
D) Edwin Sutherland

Question 21

Some biological theories of crime date back centuries.

Question 22

The assumptions of biological theory in criminology are mostly the opposite of commonly-held ideas about biology and crime.

Question 23

Both physiognomy and phrenology were relatively short-lived scientific endeavors.

Question 24

Lombroso and his followers identified the physical characteristics associated with all criminals, not particular types of criminals.

Question 25

Researchers have identified less than 1 percent of men as having the XYY chromosome?

Question 26

Males with an XYY chromosome condition are likely to be responsible for the majority of all crime that is committed.

Question 27

Decades of research have shown that boys are in general more aggressive than girls, even at very young ages.

Question 28

Just because a certain factor is seen more frequently among known criminals does not necessarily mean that the factor is a cause of crime.

Question 29

Lombroso believed that criminals need to be studied on a case-by-case basis.

Question 30

Researchers have been unable to investigate genetic underpinnings to behaviors.

Question 31

The Positive School's thinking was based on distinguishing the difference between criminals and non-criminals.

Question 32

Behavior genetic theory identifies the amount of genetic overlap between two individuals and hypothesizes that two people who share more genes will be more similar to one another compared to others who share less genes.

Question 33

Joseph Hibblen's research on nutritional intake indicated mothers who eat diets rich in fatty acids are likely to have children who later test low on IQ tests, have under developed fine-motor skills, and have greater likelihood to be involved in antisocial behaviors.

Question 34

According to equal environmental assumption (EEA), research indicates identical twins are more likely to be treated the same than fraternal twins.

Question 35

_______________ was an explanation of criminal behavior that focused on the shapes and contours of the head.

Question 36

Elizabeth Disney et al. conducted research on thousands of 17-year-olds which indicated that fetuses whom are exposed to low levels of __________ can result in the child having conduct disorders.

Question 37

Several studies have shown that men with the _______________ chromosomal condition are more likely to be involved in crime.

Question 38

According to reading from Ch. 3 in your textbook, a 9 yr. old boy named Andrew began to suffer from depression and become antisocial. Doctors concluded his change in behavior was result of _______ deficiency.

Question 39

Recent biological theories have begun to show that _____________ can have an influence on our emotions and levels of aggression.

Question 40

Chemical messengers are known as _________.

Question 41

Fetuses exposed to alcohol are at risk for a number of birth defects which is most notably termed _____________.

Question 42

The condition of being less developed than normal people is better known as _________.

Question 43

Clear, visible features and signs of something being wrong or less developed in the person were referred to as _________.

Question 44

Ferri refined Lombroso's criminaloid categories by adding ________ and _________ criminals.

Question 45

Match the theorist to their description

-Raffaele Garofalo

A) Coined the term "criminology" and first American to be identified as a criminologist
B) A notable protégé of Lombroso and his son in law who proposed a categorization of types of criminals
C) An Italian positivist who developed a universal definition of crime he referred to as "natural crime"
D) Best known biological theorist who emphasized his ideas of atavism, throwbacks, and created a list of atavistic characteristics

Question 46

Match the theorist to their description

-Arther MacDonald

A) Coined the term "criminology" and first American to be identified as a criminologist
B) A notable protégé of Lombroso and his son in law who proposed a categorization of types of criminals
C) An Italian positivist who developed a universal definition of crime he referred to as "natural crime"
D) Best known biological theorist who emphasized his ideas of atavism, throwbacks, and created a list of atavistic characteristics

Question 47

Match the theorist to their description

-Enrico Ferri

A) Coined the term "criminology" and first American to be identified as a criminologist
B) A notable protégé of Lombroso and his son in law who proposed a categorization of types of criminals
C) An Italian positivist who developed a universal definition of crime he referred to as "natural crime"
D) Best known biological theorist who emphasized his ideas of atavism, throwbacks, and created a list of atavistic characteristics

Question 48

Match the theorist to their description

-Cesare Lombroso

A) Coined the term "criminology" and first American to be identified as a criminologist
B) A notable protégé of Lombroso and his son in law who proposed a categorization of types of criminals
C) An Italian positivist who developed a universal definition of crime he referred to as "natural crime"
D) Best known biological theorist who emphasized his ideas of atavism, throwbacks, and created a list of atavistic characteristics

Question 49

Match the term to the definition

-Physiognomy

A) A perspective that highlights the connections between criminal activities and biological aspects of individuals
B) Study of the shape and contours of the head as predictors of criminality
C) Biological research that identified distinct characteristics of criminals' faces, sizes, shapes and bumps on heads
D) Condition of being less developed than normal people

Question 50

Match the term to the definition

-Atavism

A) A perspective that highlights the connections between criminal activities and biological aspects of individuals
B) Study of the shape and contours of the head as predictors of criminality
C) Biological research that identified distinct characteristics of criminals' faces, sizes, shapes and bumps on heads
D) Condition of being less developed than normal people

Question 51

Match the term to the definition

-Phrenology

A) A perspective that highlights the connections between criminal activities and biological aspects of individuals
B) Study of the shape and contours of the head as predictors of criminality
C) Biological research that identified distinct characteristics of criminals' faces, sizes, shapes and bumps on heads
D) Condition of being less developed than normal people

Question 52

Match the term to the definition

-Biosocial criminology

A) A perspective that highlights the connections between criminal activities and biological aspects of individuals
B) Study of the shape and contours of the head as predictors of criminality
C) Biological research that identified distinct characteristics of criminals' faces, sizes, shapes and bumps on heads
D) Condition of being less developed than normal people

Question 53

Match the term to the definition

-Born criminal

A) Commits crime due to an emotional event that pushed them into criminality
B) Less developed than normal people
C) May engage in some type of crime under certain social conditions
D) Only commits crimes due to mental deficiency or alcohol/drug dependency

Question 54

Match the term to the definition

-Insane criminal

A) Commits crime due to an emotional event that pushed them into criminality
B) Less developed than normal people
C) May engage in some type of crime under certain social conditions
D) Only commits crimes due to mental deficiency or alcohol/drug dependency

Question 55

Match the term to the definition

-Occasional criminal

A) Commits crime due to an emotional event that pushed them into criminality
B) Less developed than normal people
C) May engage in some type of crime under certain social conditions
D) Only commits crimes due to mental deficiency or alcohol/drug dependency

Question 56

Match the term to the definition

-Criminal by passion

A) Commits crime due to an emotional event that pushed them into criminality
B) Less developed than normal people
C) May engage in some type of crime under certain social conditions
D) Only commits crimes due to mental deficiency or alcohol/drug dependency

Question 57

What is heritability coefficient and how have researchers used it to compare genetic and environmental influence on behavior?

Question 58

Why have researchers examined hormones to explain crime? What has research indicated?

Question 59

Discuss Lombroso's early biological explanations of crime and why his views began to lose favor among criminologists?

Question 60

The textbook discussed research that has shown genetic and environmental factors interact to predict criminal behavior. Explain this phenomenon and how scholars can use this information to better create criminological theory.

Question 61

How should modern day biological theories be examined? What is the best way to decide the appropriate and most efficient way to deal with criminals?