question

1. Rational Choice Theory has roots in the ____ school of criminology developed by the Italian social thinker, Cesare Beccaria

answer

Classical

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2. Rational Choice Theory has roots in the Positivist School of Criminology

answer

False

question

3. Which of the following prompted an offender to decide to forgo crime?

answer

Stand a good chance of being caught or punished

question

4. The 'high' of successfully executing illegal activities

answer

Edgework

question

5. Research on immediate impact of well-publicized executions

answer

failed to find evidence that an execution produces an immediate decline in the murder rate

question

6. Social Ecology School of Criminology associates crime rates and the need for police services to

answer

Community Deterioration

question

1. _____ reflects view that criminality is the product of abnormal biological or physical traits

answer

Trait Theory

question

2. Biological explanations of crime re-emerged in early ___ with sociobiology by Edmund O. Wilson

answer

1970s

question

3. Evidence exists that indicates low levels of brain chemical compounds called ____ are associated with violent behavior

answer

Neurotransmitters

question

4. The 'Twinkie defense' attention to view that biochemical conditions can affect social behavior

answer

True

question

5. According to ____ for a variety of genetic and environmental reasons, brains function differently in response to environmental stimuli

answer

Arousal Theory

question

6. Many ADHD kids suffer from ___ and engage in aggressive and antisocial behavior in childhood

answer

Conduct Disorder

question

1. ________ are segments of the population whose members have a relatively similar portion of desirable belongings, and who share attitudes, values and norms

answer

Social Classes

question

2. Which theory focuses on the urban conditions, such as high unemployment and school dropout rates to explain crime?

answer

Social Disorganization Theory

question

3. Sub-cultural values are handed down from one generation to the next in a process called

answer

Cultural Transmission

question

4. General Strain Theory is not purely a structural theory because it focuses on how life events influence behavior

answer

True

question

5. The family-crime relationship is significant across racial, ethnic and gender lines

answer

True

question

6. What two elements of culture interact to produce anomie and/or anomic conditions?

answer

Culturally defined goals and socially approved means for obtaining them

question

1. Social Control Theory suggests that people learn techniques and attitudes of crime from close relationships with criminal peers

answer

False

question

2. Adolescents who do not receive affection from their parents during childhood are

answer

More likely to use illicit drugs and be more aggressive as they mature

question

3. When examining the relationship between delinquent peers and fear of punishment, _____ delinquent peers may outweigh the fear of punishment

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Loyalty to

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4. The process of _____ refers to moving in and out of delinquency or shifting between conventional and deviant values

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Drift

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5. Criminals sometimes neutralize wrongdoings by maintaining that the crime victim "had it coming." This is an example of which technique of neutralization?

answer

Denial of the victim

question

6. Which of the following issues has been raised regarding the validity of social control theory?

answer

Delinquency may lead to weakened bonds, not vice versa

question

7. Which of the following statements does NOT reflect labeling theory?

answer

Labeling theory recognizes that criminality is a disease or pathological behavior

question

1. Which of the following is NOT a basic concern of critical criminologists?

answer

Increased effect of media and demystifying the law

question

2. According to critical theorists, crime is a

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Political concept designed to protect the power of the upper class

question

3. ___ describes the anti-social behaviors that arise from efforts to maintain governmental power or to uphold the race, class and gender advantages of those who support the government

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State (organized) Crime

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4. According to this type of critical theory, the poor may or may not commit more crimes than the rich, but the poor are certainly arrested and punished more often

answer

Instrumental

question

5. Instrumental theorists consider it essential to ____ law and justice - that is, to unmask its true purpose

answer

Demystify

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6. Peacemaking criminologists view the efforts as the state to punish and control crime as

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Encouraging crime rather than preventing it

question

1. The integrative methodology in the early research of ___ formed the basis of today's developmental approach

answer

Eleanor and Sheldon Glueck

question

2. Latent trait theories hold that human development is controlled by a "master trait" present at birth or soon after

answer

True

question

3. Why is early onset an important factor in crime?

answer

Early onset of antisocial behavior predicts more serious criminality

question

4. According to latent trait theory, when does a latent trait appear?

answer

At birth or soon after

question

5. According to Wilson and Herrnstein's crime and human nature view, a criminal incident occurs when an individual chooses criminal over conventional behavior. What factor influences that choice?

answer

A latent trait

question

The view that crime is a function of a decision-making process in which the potential offender weighs the potential costs and benefits of an illegal act

answer

Rational Choice Theory

question

A theory of crime suggesting that criminal behavior is a matter of personal choice, made after the individual considers its costs and benefits, and that the criminal behavior reflects the needs of the offender

answer

Classical Criminology

question

Cesare Beccaria

answer

Founder of Classical Criminology

question

Rational Choice Guys

answer

Gary Becker and James Wilson

question

A crime in which the offender reacts selectively to the characteristics of a particular criminal act

answer

Offense-Specific Crime

question

A crime in which offenders evaluate their skills, motives, needs and fears before deciding to commit the criminal act

answer

Offender-Specific Crime

question

Rational Choice theory says the decision to commit crime is structured by

answer

Where they occur, the characteristics of the target, and learned criminal techniques

question

A relatively new and fresh piece of electronic equipment is highly desired by burglars

answer

True

question

Drug dealers are violent street thugs

answer

False

question

Neighborhood watch programs are a waste of time

answer

False

question

Familiarity with the area to have an escape route

answer

Awareness Space

question

Criminal behavior is essentially harmful and dysfunctional

answer

False

question

Targets are chosen by crime based on one of these three things:

answer

Market Related, Status Based, Personalistic

question

The excitement or exhilaration of successfully executing illegal activities in dangerous situations

answer

Edgework

question

The situational inducements or immediate benefits that draw offenders into law violations

answer

Seductions of Crime

question

A method of crime prevention that seeks to eliminate or reduce particular crimes in specific settings

answer

Situational Crime Prevention

question

The principle that crime can be prevented or displaced by modifying the physical environment to reduce the opportunity that individuals have to commit crime

answer

Defensible Space

question

It's possible to reduce drunk driving by installing on cars a locking device that prevents drunk drivers from starting their cars

answer

True

question

People who serve as guardians of property or people, grouped as guardians, handlers or managers

answer

Crime Discouragers

question

An effect that occurs when efforts to prevent one crime unintentionally prevents another

answer

Diffusion

question

An effect that occurs when crime control efforts targeting a particular locale help reduce crime in surrounding areas and populations

answer

Discouragement

question

An effect that occurs when crime control efforts simply move, or redirect, offenders to less heavily guarded alternative targets

answer

Displacement

question

An effect that occurs when crime reduction programs produce a short-term positive effect, but benefits dissipate as criminals adjust to new conditions

answer

Extinction

question

An effect that occurs when criminals try new offenses that had previously avoided because situational crime prevention programs neutralized their crime of choice

answer

Replacement

question

A crime control policy that depends on the fear of criminal penalties, convincing the potential law violator that the pains associated with crime outweigh its benefits

answer

General Deterrence

question

Adding police on the street has no effect on crime rates

answer

False

question

Certainty of punishment, severity of punishment, swiftness of punishment

answer

General Deterrence Factors

question

Rationality, System Effectiveness, Deterrability

answer

Critiques of General Deterrence

question

The view that criminal sanctions should be so powerful that offenders will never repeat their criminal acts (not clear cut that it is effective)

answer

Specific Deterrence

question

The more you punish people, the less likely they are to commit crimes

answer

False

question

Confinement in jail or prison

answer

Incarceration

question

Repetition of criminal behavior

answer

Recidivism

question

The view that placing offenders behind bars during their prime crime years reduces their opportunity to commit crime and helps lower the crime rate

answer

Incapacitation Effect

question

Locking up millions of criminals can bring down the crime rate

answer

False

question

The view that criminality is a product of abnormal biological or psychological traits

answer

Trait Theory

question

The view that human behavior is motivated by inborn biological urges to survive and preserve the species (Trait Theory)

answer

Sociobiology

question

Founder of Trait Theory

answer

Cesare Lombroso

question

You are what you eat! Eating healthy can reduce antisocial behaviors

answer

True

question

It may be because of their hormones that men exhibit more violent behavior than women

answer

True

question

A condition that occurs when glucose (sugar) in the blood falls below levels necessary for normal and efficient brain functioning

answer

Hypoglycemia

question

Male sex hormones

answer

Androgens

question

The principal male hormone

answer

Testosterone

question

Condition, postulated by some theorists, wherein several days before and during menstruation, excessive amounts of female sex hormones stimulate antisocial, aggressive behavior

answer

Premenstrual Syndrome

question

The image of the brain-damaged villain going on a violent rampage is more likely to occur in horror films than in real life

answer

False

question

The study of brain activity

answer

Neurophysiology

question

A pattern of repetitive behavior in which the rights of other or social norms are violated

answer

Conduct Disorder

question

A developmentally inappropriate lack of attention, along with impulsivity and hyperactivity

answer

ADHD

question

Chemical compounds that influence or activate brain functions

answer

Neurotransmitters

question

The acorn does not fall from the tree; that is, the children of deviant parents are more likely than other kids to be antisocial themselves

answer

True

question

The view that people seek to maintain a preferred level of arousal but vary in how they process sensory input. A need for high levels of environmental stimulation may lead to aggressive, violent behavior patterns (Trait Theory)

answer

Arousal Theory

question

Studies show that this type of twin behavior have detected a significant relationship between the criminal activities

answer

Monozygotic (identical)

question

People become deviant when they are influenced by others with whom they are in close contact

answer

Contagion Effect

question

Studies show that this type of twin behavior have detected a much lower association between criminal activities

answer

Dizygotic (fraternal)

question

The behavior of identical twins is eerily similar, but if they live apart all their lives without knowing each other, they are likely to be quite different

answer

False

question

Holds that violence-producing traits are passed from generation to generation (Trait Theory)

answer

Genetic Theory

question

Holds that instinctual drives control behavior, the urge to procreate influences male violence (Trait Theory)

answer

Evolutionary Theory

question

Criminals and delinquents often suffer brain impairment and ADHD and minimal brain dysfunction are related to antisocial behavior (Trait Theory)

answer

Neurological Theory

question

Crime, especially violence, is a function of diet, vitamin intake, hormonal imbalance or food allergies (Trait Theory)

answer

Biochemical Theory

question

Theory, originated by Freud, that the human personality is controlled by unconscious mental processes that develop early in childhood and involve the interaction of id, ego and superego (Trait Theory)

answer

Psychodynamic Theory

question

The primitive part of people's mental makeup, present at birth, that represents unconscious biological drives for food, sex and other life-sustaining necessities. The ID seeks instant gratification without concern for the rights of others

answer

ID

question

The part of the personality developed in early childhood that helps control the ID and keep people's actions within the boundaries of social convention

answer

Ego

question

Incorporation within the personality of the moral standards and values of parents, community and significant others

answer

Superego

question

Bowlby's theory that being able to form an emotional bond to another person is an important aspect of mental health throughout the life span (Trait Theory)

answer

Attachment Theory

question

The view that all human behavior is learned through a process of social reinforcement, rewards and punishment (Trait Theory)

answer

Behavior Theory

question

The view that people learn to be aggressive by observing others acting aggressively to achieve some goal or being rewarded for violent acts, Bandura (Trait Theory)

answer

Social Learning Theory

question

Focuses on associations among intelligence, personality, learning and criminal behavior

answer

Psychological Trait View

question

Racist, regional differences not accounted for

answer

Critiques of sociobiology trait theory

question

The process of learning behavior (notably, aggression) by observing others. Aggressive models may be parents, criminals in the neighborhood or characters on TV or movies (Trait Theory)

answer

Behavior Modeling

question

Watching violent TV shows makes kids behave more violently

answer

False

question

Psychological perspective that focuses on the mental processes by which people perceive and represent the world around them and solve problems (Trait Theory)

answer

Cognitive Theory

question

Theory that focuses on how people process, store, encode, retrieve and manipulate information to make decisions and solve problems (Trait Theory)

answer

Information-Processing Theory

question

The reasonably stable patterns of behavior, including thoughts and emotions, that distinguish one person from another

answer

Personality

question

Combination of traits, such as hyperactivity, impulsivity, hedonism, and inability to empathize with others, that make a person prone to deviant behavior and violence; also referred to as sociopathic or psychopathic personality

answer

Antisocial Personality

question

The view that intelligence is largely determined genetically and that low intelligence is linked to criminal behavior (Trait Theory)

answer

Nature Theory

question

The view that intelligence is not inherited but is largely a product of environment. Low IQ scores do not cause crime but may result from the same environmental factors (Trait Theory)

answer

Nurture Theory

question

A condition in which the prevailing emotional mood is distorted or inappropriate to the circumstances

answer

Mood Disorder

question

A pattern of negativistic, hostile, and defiant behavior, during which a child loses her or his temper, often argues with adults, and often actively defies or refuses to comply with adults' requests or rules

answer

Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)

question

A severe disorder marked by hearing nonexistent voices, seeing hallucinations, and exhibiting inappropriate responses

answer

Schizophrenia

question

An emotional disturbance in which moods alternate between periods of wild elation and deep aggression

answer

Bipolar Disorder

question

Programs, such as substance abuse clinics and mental health associations, that seek to treat personal problems before they manifest themselves as crime

answer

Primary Prevention Programs

question

Programs that provide treatment, such as psychological counseling to youths and adults after they have violated the law

answer

Secondary Prevention Programs

question

Gangs are local groups that defend their turf from outsiders

answer

False

question

People grouped according to economic or social class; characterized by the unequal distribution of wealth, power and prestige

answer

Stratified Society

question

Segment of the population whose members are at a relatively similar economic level and who share attitudes, values, norms and an identifiable lifestyle

answer

Social Class

question

There are very few truly poor people in the United States, the wealthiest country on Earth

answer

False

question

A separate lower-class culture, characterized by apathy, cynicism, helplessness and mistrust of social institutions such as schools, government agencies and the police that is passed from one generation to the next

answer

Culture of Poverty

question

The lowest social stratum in any country, whose members lack the education and skills needed to function successfully in modern society

answer

Underclass

question

Political, social and economic programs such as affirmative action have erased the economic gulf between whites and minorities

answer

False

question

The view that disadvantaged economic class position is a primary cause of crime, Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay

answer

Social Structure Theory

question

Branch of social structure theory that focuses on the breakdown in inner-city neighborhoods of institutions such as the family, school and employment

answer

Social Disorganization Theory

question

Branch of social structure theory that sees crime as a function of the conflict between people's goals and the means available to obtain them

answer

Strain Theory

question

The anger, frustration and resentment experienced by people who believe they cannot achieve their goals through legitimate means

answer

Strain

question

Branch of social structure theory that sees strain and social disorganization together resulting in a unique lower-class culture that conflicts with conventional social norms

answer

Cultural Deviance Theory

question

A set of values, beliefs and traditions unique to a particular social class or group within a larger society

answer

Subculture

question

Process whereby values, beliefs and traditions are handed down from one generation to the next

answer

Cultural Transmission

question

An area undergoing a shift in population and structure, usually from middle-class residential to lower-class mixed-use

answer

Transitional Neighborhood

question

People living in lower-class neighborhoods mistrust the government and believe that government programs are part of a plot to destroy their communities

answer

True

question

Community disorder, Community fear, Siege Mentality, Community Change, Poverty Concentration

answer

Factors associated with Social Disorganization

question

As working and middle class families flee inner city poverty ridden areas, the most disadvantaged population is consolidated in urban ghettos

answer

Concentration Effect

question

Social control exerted by cohesive communities and based on mutual trust, including intervention in the supervision of children and maintenance of public order

answer

Collective Efficacy

question

Informal social control (approval by peers & family), Institutional social control (school and church) and Public social control (police or outside help)

answer

Three forms of Collective Efficacy

question

The view that anomie (without norms) results when socially defined goals (such as wealth and power) are universally mandated but access to legitimate means (such as education and job opportunities) is stratified by class and status, Robert Merton (Social Structure Theory)

answer

Anomie Theory

question

Conformity, Innovation, Ritualism, Retreatism, Rebellion

answer

Social Adaptations to Anomie

question

Crime rates always go down in a healthy economy

answer

False

question

The view that anomie pervades US culture because the drive for material wealth dominates and undermines social and community values

answer

Institutional Anomie Theory

question

The goal of accumulating material goods and wealth through individual competition; the process of being socialized to pursue material success and to believe it is achievable

answer

American Dream

question

Envy, mistrust and aggression resulting from perceptions of economic and social inequality (Judith and Peter Blau)

answer

Relative Deprivation

question

The view that multiple sources of strain interact with an individual's emotional traits and responses to produce criminality

answer

General Strain Theory

question

Anger, frustration and adverse emotions produced by a variety of sources of strain

answer

Negative Affective States

question

Values, such as toughness, street smarts, trouble, smartness, excitement, fate and autonomy, that have evolved specifically to fit conditions in lower-class environments and are in conflict with the dominant culture (Miller)

answer

Focal Concerns

question

A value system adopted by lower-class youths that is directly opposed to that of larger society (can be gangs) (Cohen)

answer

Delinquent Subculture

question

A form of culture conflict experienced by lower-class youths because social conditions prevent them from achieving success as defined by the larger society

answer

Status Frustration

question

The standards by which authority figures, such as teachers and employers, evaluate lower class youngsters and often prejudge them negatively

answer

Middle-Class Measuring Rods

question

Irrational hostility evidenced by young delinquents, who adopt norms directly opposed to middle-class goals and standards that seem impossible to achieve

answer

Reaction Formation

question

The view that lower-class youths, whose legitimate opportunities are limited, join gangs and pursue criminal careers as alternative means to achieve universal success goals (Cloward and Ohlin)

answer

Differential Opportunity

question

Welfare, Head Start, Legal Services, Community Action Programs (Weed and Seed, War on Poverty)

answer

Social Structure Theory and Public Policy

Criminology Ch4-9 – Flashcards

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