Deck 3: From Criminology Theories to a Psychological Perspective of Criminal Conduct

Question 1

Mainstream, traditional theories of criminology have predicted

A)an inverse relationship between class and crime
B) that crime is prevalent among all social classes
C) high crime rates among the uneducated
D) low crime rates for the disadvantaged
E) high crime rates for very specific ethnic groups

Answer 1

an inverse relationship between class and crime

Question 2

According to the text, one of the major "myths" of mainstream criminology has been that

A) individual differences are important
B) biology is more important than psychology
C) biological factors are more important than SES
D)political-social factors are at the root of crime
E) there are no real criminals

Answer 2

political-social factors are at the root of crime

Question 3

Recent evidence on the relationship between crime and socioeconomic status (SES) suggests that

A) rich people got to their position through illegal means
B) parents' SES is directly related to criminal behavior
C)delinquents have more disposable income than nondelinquents
D) youths with poor parents have a higher risk for property crimes
E) youths with poor parents have a lower risk for property crimes

Answer 3

delinquents have more disposable income than nondelinquents

Question 4

Most past studies of the class-crime relationship have

A)used aggregate measures of crime and class
B)ignored individual indicators of class and crime
C)focused on juvenile delinquents
D)a and b only
E)all of the above

Question 5

Hirschi's theory deals with

A) limited opportunities
B)the nature of an individual's ties to society
C) a biochemical imbalance
D) subcultures
E) the rewards for crime

Question 6

Reckless's (1967) containment theory emphasizes the following as a buffer from a criminogenic environment:

A)self-factor
B) attachment to criminal others
C) personal mobility
D) employed parents
E) adoption of techniques of neutralization

Question 7

According to limited opportunity theory, the mode of adaptation that explains criminal behavior is

A) rebellion
B) retreatism
C) conformity
D)innovation
E) ritualism

Question 8

Agnew's (1992) General Strain Theory proposes the following path to crime:

A)frustration - anger - aggression
B) frustration - delinquent peers - delinquency
C) anomie - alienation -innovation
D) frustration - alienation - delinquency
E) anomie - frustration - innovation

Question 9

Learning to rationalize breaking the law

A) is inadvertently encouraged by society
B) helps to avoid punishment
C) provides a motive for criminal behavior
D) allows the individual to control his or her own behavior
E)all of the above

Question 10

That criminal behavior is positively correlated with having delinquent friends is predicted from

A) anomie theory
B) labeling theory
C) limited opportunities
D)differential association
E) conflict theory

Question 11

Differential association theory views criminal behavior as the result of

A) class inequalities
B) official processing
C)learning
D) poverty
E) both a and b

Question 12

A punishment or cost is a stimulus that

A) is unpleasant
B)decreases the probability of behavior
C) is pleasant
D) is delivered by authority figures (e.g., police)
E) comes before the behavior

Question 13

A subtractive reward ___________ behavior.

A) has no effect on
B) decreases
C)increases
D) inhibits
E) interferes with

Question 14

When a child feels guilty for stealing, the source of the cost is

A)personal
B) nonmediated
C) automatic
D) interpersonal
E) primary

Question 15

A subtractive cost ___________ behavior.

A) has no effect on
B)decreases
C) increases
D) inhibits
E) interferes with

Question 16

The effectiveness of a reward will be greatest when the background density of rewards for the behavior is

A) low
B)medium
C) high
D) the same as the costs for the behavior
E) lower than the costs for the behavior

Question 17

GPCSL views behavior as a function of

A) rewards
B) costs
C) rewards and costs
D) biological factors
E)all of the above

Question 18

Feeling euphoric after injecting heroin is a(n)

A) interpersonal reward
B) personally mediated reward
C) sin
D)nonmediated reward
E) subtractive reward

Question 19

After forgetting the birthday of your friend, your friend refuses to talk to you. Your friend is delivering a(n)

A) cold shoulder
B) additive reward
C)subtractive cost
D) additive cost
E) subtractive reward

Question 20

The term "schedules of reinforcement" refers to

A) the source of reward
B) additive rewards
C) subtractive rewards
D) social rewards
E)density of rewards