question

criminology

answer

the academic discipline of criminology uses scientific methods to study the nature, extent, cause, and control of criminal behavior

question

utilitarianism

answer

Caesar Beccaria. 1700's, one of the first scholars to develop a systematic understanding of why people commit crime. -the idea that people want to achieve pleasure and avoid pain

question

Classical Criminology

answer

let the punishment fit the crime -theoretical perspective suggesting that people have free will to choose criminal or conventional behaviors -people choose to commit crime for reasons of greed or personal need -crime can be controlled by the fear of criminal sanctions

question

Lombroso

answer

father of criminology -man that referred to offenders as "born criminals"

question

socialization

answer

individuals interact with various people, organizations, institutions, and social norms as they mature and develop

question

Critical Criminology

answer

the writings of Karl Marx have had a great impact on critica crim -faults the economic system for producing the conditions that lead to high crime rates

question

deviant act becomes a crime

answer

a deviant act becomes a crime when it is deemed socially harmful or dangerous and is defined, prohibited, and punished under criminal law

question

Consensus view of crime

answer

implies that crimes are behaviors that all members of society consider to be repugnant, be they rich and powerful or poor and powerless

question

conflict view of crime

answer

sees society as a collection of diverse groups who are in a constant and continuing struggle to gain political power in order to advance their economic or social situation

question

encouraging revenge

answer

not a legitimate social goal of the criminal law

question

american legal system

answer

direct descendent of british common law

question

Code of Hammurabi

answer

the most famous set of written laws of the ancient world was a code based on punishment via physical retaliation 'an eye for an eye'

question

Precedent

answer

under common law, it a royal judge successfully applied a ruling in a number of different cases and published that ruling in order that other judges cold apply the ruling in their subsequent decisions, the ruling would become a precedent

question

felony

answer

serious crimes

question

misdemeanor

answer

minor crimes

question

UCR

answer

primary source of crime data collected by the FBI

question

What shortcoming in the UCR is addressed by the National Crime Victimization survey?

answer

nonreporting issue

question

sampling

answer

the process of selecting for study a limited number of subjects who are representative of entire groups sharing similar characteristics, called the population

question

The UCR expresses data as raw figures, crime rates, and changes in the number and rate over time. How are crime rates expressed in the UCR?

answer

rates per 100,000 total U.S. population

question

While self-report studies can be used to examine the offense history of prison inmates and drug users, most self-report studies have focused on

answer

youth crime

question

The reporting accuracy of self-report studies is impacted by

answer

the "missing cases" phenomenon.

question

How does today's violent crime rate compare to the violent crime rate in 1991?

answer

Today's violent crime rate as decreased by nearly 40%.

question

Most criminologists believe that homicide data are the most accurate and valid UCR statistics. What do data indicate about homicide rates?

answer

Between 1991 and 2008, homicide rates dropped 40%.

question

Referring to the ecology of crime, when is crime most likely to happen?

answer

on July 1st with a temperature of 80 degrees

question

People living in poverty are believed to engage in disproportionate amounts of _____ crimes, such as rape and assault, as a result of their rage, anger, and frustration against society.

answer

expressive

question

Some criminologists believe that the key to desistance and aging out is linked to human biology. What biological process accounts for desistance and aging out?

answer

the level of hormone activity in the brain

question

proliferation of handguns

answer

Franklin Zimring and Gordon HAwkins believe this to be the single most significant factor seperating the crime problem in the US from that of the rest of the developed world

question

law enforcement practices

answer

UCR data associates social class with crime, indicating higher crime rates in inner-city, high poverty areas. an alternative explanation for the association between social class and crime is this

question

6%

answer

In Wolfgang et al.'s famous study of male juvenile delinquents, what percentage were chronic offenders?

question

1%

answer

% of female chronic offenders

question

Discovery of the chronic offender has forced criminologists to consider _____ in their explanations of crime.

answer

persistence and desistence

question

PTSD

answer

long term stress associated with crime victimization resulting in depression, anxiety, flashbacks, and recurring nightmares

question

Being abused or neglected as a child __________ the odds of being arrested, both as a juvenile and as an adult.

answer

increases

question

50% lower

answer

People living in rural areas have a victimization rate almost __________ than that of city dwellers.

question

Women are more likely to be victimized by someone they know.

answer

Gender affects victimization risk. Which of the following is a significant gender difference?

question

the cycle of violence.

answer

Victims of crime, especially childhood abuse, are more likely to commit crime themselves. This abuse-crime phenomenon is termed

question

target vulnerability

answer

refers to a victim's physical weakness or psychological stress that renders them incapable of resisting or deterring crime

question

impulsivity

answer

research on males and females indicates a strong association between victimization and ___.

question

Routines Activity Theory

answer

the view that victimization results from the interaction of three everyday factors: the availability of suitable targets, the absences of capable guardians, and the presences of motivated offenders

question

Victim risk diminishes rapidly after age

answer

25

question

According to Cohen and Felson, why did crime rates increase between 1960 and 1980?

answer

guardians decreased as a result of increased female participation in the workforce

question

Crisis Intervention Programs

answer

programs that assist victims who feel isolated and vulnerable and who are in need of immediate or emergency services

question

victim precipitation theory

answer

Which victimization theory claims that victims may initiate, either actively or passively, the confrontation that leads to their victimization?

question

Victim-Offender reconciliation programs

answer

mediated face to face encoutners between victims and their attackers that are designed to produce restitution agreements are called:

question

According to deviant place theory, the greater their exposure to dangerous places, the more likely people will become victims of crime and violence. Which factor does not characterize a deviant/dangerous place?

answer

a neighborhood with educational and residential properties

question

Target anagonism

answer

Tom has been repeatedly victimized while wearing the home team's football jersey while sitting on the visiting team's side of the football field. What aspect of repeat victimization accounts for Tom's troubles?

question

victim advocates.

answer

Counselors who help victims to understand the operations of the criminal justice system, who guide victims through the justice process, and who may provide transportation to and from court are called

question

The National Crime Victimization Survey is considered superior to the Uniform Crime Report because:

answer

It provides are more accurate picture of the extent of crime in America

question

classical

answer

Rational choice theory has roots in the __________ school of criminology developed by the Italian social thinker, Cesare Beccaria.

question

positivist

answer

at the end of the 19th century, the popularity of the classical approach began to decline as ____ criminologists focused their attentions on internal and external factors, such as poverty, IQ, and education, rather than personal choice and decision making

question

cost-benefit analysis

answer

Gary Becker -criminals engage in cost benefit analysis of crime

question

edge work

answer

the high or excitement of successfully executing illegal activities in dangerous situations

question

crime discouragers

answer

mechanical forms. cameras, lighting, etc

question

Crime is ________ because criminals will react selectively to the characteristics of an individual criminal act.

answer

offense-specific

question

general deterrence

answer

concept of general deterrence holds that the decision to commit crime can be controlled by the threat of criminal punishment

question

perception of punishment

answer

people who believe that they will be caught if hey commit crime are the ones most likely to be deterred from committing criminal acts

question

Research on the immediate impact of well-publicized executions:

answer

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

question

Which aspect of deterrence theory do theorists believe to have the greatest effect on deterring crime?

answer

certainty of punishment

question

Sociologist Jack Katz argues that there are situational inducements to criminality that directly precede the commission of crime and draw offenders into law violations. Katz termed these inducements the

answer

seductions of crime

question

Economist Steven Levitt concludes that each person put behind prison bars results in a decrease of ___ serious crimes per year.

answer

15

question

________ 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

Oscar Lewis argues that the crushing lifestyle of lower-class areas produces ________ that is passed on from one generation to the next.

answer

culture of poverty

question

Trait theory

answer

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

question

Testosterone

answer

the most abundant androgen, has been linked to criminality

question

locations with the highest conc. of lead also report highest levels of

answer

homicide

question

brain scanning techniques using electronic images suggest which of he following statements is true

answer

both violent criminals and substance abusers have impairment in the pre-frontal lobe

question

Cultural deviance theory combines elements of _____ and social disorganization theories.

answer

strain

question

in adoption studies, which of the following strongly predicted a childs criminal behavior

answer

a criminal biological father

question

contagion effect

answer

occurs when people become deviant because they are influenced by others with whom they are in close contact

question

Strain theory holds that crime is a function of

answer

conflict between people's goals and means.

question

Shaw and McKay explained crime and delinquency within the context of

answer

the changing urban environment and ecological development of the city.

question

genetic theory holds that criminality-producing traits are

answer

inherited

question

according to the psychoanalytical perspective, the _____ develops as a result of incorporating within the personality the moral standards and values of parents, community, and significant others

answer

superego

question

Freud developed ______ psychology that has remained a prominent segment of psychological theory ever since

answer

psychodynamic

question

social learning theory holds that

answer

people learn to be aggressive through their life experiences

question

psychopaths and crime

answer

psychopaths tend to continue their criminal careers long after other offenders age out of crime

question

social classes

answer

segments of he population whose members have a relatively similar portion of desirable belongings, and who share attitudes, values and norms

question

Oscar Lewis argues that the crushing lifestyle of lower-class areas produces _____ that is passed on from one generation to the next

answer

culture of poverty

question

according to Shaw and McKay a ____ neighborhood is an area wracked by extreme poverty and suffering high rates of population turnover

answer

transitional

question

Social ecology school criminologists associate crime rates and the need for police services to

answer

community deterioration

question

as working middle-class families flee inner-city poverty areas, the most disadvantaged population is consolidated in urban ghettos. the phenomenon results in a poverty:

answer

concentration effect

question

strain

answer

when members of he lower-class are unable to achieve symbols of success via conventional means they feel anger, frustration, and resentment, referred to as :

question

Innovation

answer

Merton's social adaptation most closely associated with criminal behavior

question

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

Walter Miller identified the unique conduct norms that define the lower-class culture and that often clash with conventional values -> not one of these norms

answer

education

question

Cohen's theory of delinquent sulbcultures focuses on social conditions that prevent lower-class youths from achieving success legitimately. Cohen labesls this form of culture conflict as:

answer

status frustration

question

social process theories share one basic concept:

answer

All people, regardless of their race, class, or gender, have the potential to become delinquents or criminals

question

social control theory suggests that

answer

crime occurs when the forces that bind people to society are weakened or broken

question

Judith and Peter Blau developed the concept of __________, the idea that anger and mistrust result from perceptions of inequality that lead lower-class people to feel deprived and embittered in comparison with those more affluent.

answer

relative deprivation

question

__________ reflects the view that multiple sources of strain interact with an individual's emotional traits and responses to criminality.

answer

General Strain Theory

question

Subcultural values are handed down from one generation to the next in a process called

answer

cultural transmission

question

Social reaction theory suggests that

answer

people become criminals when significant members of society label them as such.

question

_________ refers to a style of parenting with parents who are supportive and who effectively control their children in a non-coercive way.

answer

parental efficacy

question

According to the author, which of the following is accurate regarding why troubled kids choose delinquent peers?

answer

Troubled kids do so out of necessity rather than desire.

question

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

Religion and belief impact criminal behavior. Even children in high crime areas are better able to resist drug use if they

answer

attend religious services

question

not one of the major principles of differential association

answer

differential associations may vary in meaning, reliability, and intention

question

Edward Sutherland's differential association theory states that :

answer

criminal behavior is learned like any other behavior

question

drift

answer

refers to moving in and out of delinquency or shifting between conventional and deviant values.

question

Which of the following research findings supports the core principles of differential association theory?

answer

Crime appears to be intergenerational.

question

Neutralization theory points out that

answer

even the most committed criminals and delinquents are not involved in criminality all the time.

question

Criminals sometimes neutralize wrongdoings by "appealing to higher loyalties." Which of the following would be an example of that technique?

answer

Attacking someone who is arguing with a friend.

question

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

answer

denial of responsibility

question

What does Topalli's research on street criminals indicate?

answer

street criminals do not experience guilt that requires neutralization

question

Travis Hirschi states that the social bonds a person maintains with society are divided into four main elements. not one of these elements

answer

affection

question

Hirschi tested the principal hypothesis of social control theory. While evidence was strong and supportive, what is the most controversial aspect of his conclusions

answer

any form of social attachment is beneficial , even to deviant peers and parents

question

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

answer

Delinquency may lead to weakened social bonds, not vice versa.

question

the boyhood friend of a convicted murderer is interviewed by the media and reports that the offender was withdrawn, suspicious, and negativistic as a youth. this is an example of

answer

retrospective reading

question

__________ is a process whereby secondary deviance pushes offenders out of the mainstream of society and offenders begin their escalating cycle of deviance.

answer

deviance amplification

question

The process of becoming stigmatized by crime labels is interactive. Labeling theorists blame the establishment of criminal careers on

answer

crime control agencies

question

According to conflict theorists, societal conflict promotes crime by

answer

creating a social atmosphere in which the law is a mechanism for controlling have-not members of society.

question

According to critical theorists, crime is a

answer

political concept designed to protect the power and position of the upper classes.

question

Profits produced by the laboring classes are accrued by business owners who use these profits for reinvestment or to enrich themselves. This key crime-producing effort of modern corporate capitalism is termed

answer

surplus value

question

Supranational criminology is a specialization of critical theory that focuses on which type of crimes?

answer

war crimes

question

____ 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.

answer

state (organized) crime

question

Some government experts use the "ticking Bomb scenario," to justify which type of state crime?

answer

torture

question

While mainstream criminologists criticize critical criminologists, what do critical criminologists accuse mainstream criminologists of doing?

answer

selling out their ideals for the chance to receive government funding

question

According to Messerschmidt's views in Capitalism, Patriarchy, and Crime what factor explains why females in society commit fewer crimes than males?

answer

double marginality

question

John Lea and Jock Young, leaders of the leftist realism movement, contend that

answer

the poor are doubly abused, first by the capitalist system and then by members of their own class.

question

Girls growing up in ______ are socialized to fear legal sanctions more than males; consequently, boys in these families exhibit more delinquent behavior than their sisters.

answer

paternalistic families

question

Which of the following is true regarding restorative justice programs?

answer

Restoration programs have been part of peacekeeping in Asian, Native American and Native Canadian communities for centuries.

question

A number of restorative justice experts, including Gordon Bazemore, have suggested that restorative justice should be organized around the principle of

answer

balance

question

the integrative methodology in the early research of _____ formed the basics of todays developmental approach

answer

Eleanor Glueck and Sheldon Glueck

question

Latent trait theorists believe human development is controlled by a master trait present at birth or soon after that results in

answer

an increased propensity to commit crime.

question

using data from a longitudinal study of Pittsburgh youth, Loeber identified distinct pathways to crime. Which pathway begins at an early age with stubborn behavior

answer

the authority conflict pathway

question

Why is early onset an important factor in crime?

answer

Because early onset of antisocial behavior predicts later and more serious criminality.

question

One of the key principles of life course theory is that

answer

the seeds of a criminal career are planted early in life.

question

because it assumes that human character is selfish, self-serving and hedonistic, the general theory of crime is criticized for

answer

misreading human nature

question

Which empirical evidence supports the general theory of crime?

answer

Low self-control is significantly related to antisocial behavior and the association can be seen regardless of culture or national setting.

question

Which of the following statements regarding gender differences and the general theory of crime is accurate?

answer

There is little evidence that males are more impulsive than females.

question

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

answer

at birth or soon after

CRIMINOLOGY TEST 1 and 2 – Flashcards

Unlock all answers in this set

Haven't found what you were looking for?

Search for samples, answers to your questions and flashcards