test 1 – Flashcard Test Answers
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Overall crime rates:
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Vary across AND within societies, due to social and historical context
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The field that attempts to define, explain, and predict criminal behavior is known as:
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Criminology
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True or False? Crime as a violation of criminal law can only have negative consequences for the social solidarity of any society.
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false
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Most of the modern-day developments in criminology have taken place in which country?
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US
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True or False? In the context of research methods, "reliability" refers to the accuracy of measurement.
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False
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Which of the following refers to "consistency and/or stability of measurement"?
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Reliability
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True or False? Criminologists agree that quantitative research is a means of inquiry superior to qualitative methods.
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False
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True or False? The "dark figure of crime" refers specifically to the body of organized crime syndicates that operate in the United States.
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False
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The gap between male and female crime rates is _______ in modernized societies.
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narrowing
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African Americans compose approximately 12% of the population in the United States. Which of the following is true regarding African Americans and contemporary arrest rates?
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African Americans account for 27% of all arrests
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True or False? The United States has a strikingly low rate of violent crimes such as murder and rape compared to other Westernized democracies..
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False
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True or False? There is an inverse relationship between education level and likelihood of being charged with a crime.
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True
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What is the most commonly reported violent victimization according to NCVS?
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Simple assault
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For youth, ___________ is common after victimization from their peers.
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depression
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True or False? High household incomes are more likely to have property victimization.
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False
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True or False? An example of an avoidance behavior is staying home at night.
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True
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Beccaria's work can be summarized as arguing that:
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The punishment should fit the crime.
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The view that criminal behavior is ultimately driven by supernatural forces is known as:
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Demonology
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The earliest theories of crime causation were:
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Demonological
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Jeremy Bentham advocated for "the greatest happiness shared by the greatest number." The term that refers to this approach is:
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Utilitarianism
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One of the strongest contemporary explanations of the observed connection between IQ and crime points to _______ as the source of the relationship.
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School failure
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True or False? Some researchers argue that human females may have evolved superior inhibitory capabilities in the aggression domain.
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True
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"Twin studies" are performed to:
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Investigate the extent of influence that environmental and genetic factors have on crime
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The use of empirical (quantitative) or scientific investigation for the improvement of society is most characteristic of:
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Positivism
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True or False? According to anomie/strain theory, individuals who accept traditional goals, but reject the accepted means of achieving them, are known as rebels.
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False
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A particular student wants to do well in school but never seems to be able to earn higher than a D. In pursuit of academic success, the student begins to cheat on exams. This is most consistent with which form of adaptation in Merton's theory of anomie/strain?
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Innovation
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An individual commits a crime because he has "nothing better to do with his time." This indicates a lack of which of the following social bonds?
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Involvement
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An offender arrested for drug use states, "But I'm not hurting anyone else." This is reflective of:
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Denial of harm
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Which of the following is a valid critique of labeling theory?
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It tends to romanticize offenders
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Which of the following refers to the attempt to apply specific theoretical explanations to all types of crime?
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Global fallacy
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Criminal typologies are ways of classifying crimes and criminals that are:
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Useful in helping us make sense of crime, though this risks oversimplifying matters
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Which of the following is characteristic of mainstream criminology
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A consensus worldview
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True or False? The neoclassical school is primarily concerned with finding effective criminal justice policies, not explaining the causes of crime.
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True
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The notion of unconscious sexual motivation is associated with which of the following?
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Sigmund Freud
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In biological positivism, the idea that "survival of the fittest" is applicable to human society is known as:
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Social darwinism
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True or False? Present-day biological theorists are working to identify the "crime gene" that they believe to be the source of criminal behavior.
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False
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True or False? Hirschi's social bond theory is best characterized as outlining the inner and outer pushes and pulls that influence a person's likelihood of criminality.
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False
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Which theorist contributed a framework to describe the political nature of criminal law, and how pluralistic conflict shapes the role of law
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Austin Turk
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True or False? Labeling theory holds that "deviance" is not inherent in the act itself, but rather in the reaction and label attached to the actor.
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True
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Which of the following is commonly used to refer to the number of crimes that are committed, but which never come to official attention?
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Dark figure of crime
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A little boy shoplifts a candy bar from a local store. The view that this crime was influenced by environmental factors is known as:
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Human ecology
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The idea that we learn by observing others is attributable to:
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Albert Bandura
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True or False? Left realism is an approach that attempts to translate radical ideas into realistic social policy
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True
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Behavior that is outside the range of normal societal toleration is best described as:
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Deviant
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True or False? High levels of crime appear to be associated with high rates of income inequality.
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True
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The theory that criminals are born as such, and that they are "throwbacks" to an earlier and more primitive evolutionary period, is known as:
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Atavism
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Which of the following is an index offense on the Uniform Crime Report?
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Arson
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The father of victimology is:
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Mendelsohn
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Who was the first researcher to take advantage of criminal statistics?
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Quetelet
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True or False? Shaw and McKay made extensive use of maps and official statistics in their studies of juvenile delinquency.
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True
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Which of the following is focused on translating radical ideas into realistic social policy?
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Left realism
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A criminologist decides to compile what is currently known about domestic violence; the criminologist does this by analyzing the data collected in a number of previous studies on the topic. This type of research is known as:
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Secondary analysis
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As unemployment rises, crime rates have historically tended to:
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Increase
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Deterrence theory is related to which school(s) of thought?
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Classical/Neoclassical
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The "law of criminal saturation" refers to the idea that
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Crime expands to fit the amount of control machinery assigned to it
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Which term did Émile Durkheim coin to refer to normlessness within society?
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anomie
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Labeling theory is based on which concept?
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Symbolic interactionism
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Prohibition had the unintended effect of increasing corruption, disobedience, and public disrespect for the law. This unintended effect is an example of:
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A latent function of law
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Which of the following is true regarding the relationship between age and crime?
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Both property and violent crime rates peak early in life, and then decline significantly with age.
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True or False? Persons who have been victimized once are less likely to be victimized again.
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False
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Which of the following refers to the study of the size and shape of the skull to determine a person's intelligence and personality?
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phrenology
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Mores are:
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Strong norms that carry sanctions if broken
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Which of the following sources of data includes detailed information on criminal incidents, including location, time, and presence of weapon?
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NIBRS
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Which of the following crimes tends to increase with age?
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White-collar crime
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Occurs when a person or place is victimized more than once by the same type of victimization:
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repeat victimization
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True or False? Gambling is an act that would be considered mala prohibita.
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True
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Elements which make up a situation in which crime is highly likely include all but which of the following:
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known gains
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"Theory" is best described as:
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Useful for making sense of otherwise isolated, seemingly random facts
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True or False? Variables such as diet, environmental pollution, endocrine imbalance, and allergies have been claimed to have criminogenic influence.
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true
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True or False? Critical criminology is consistent with a consensus worldview.
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False
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A criminologist decides to study the way in which violent crime is portrayed in newspaper headlines. This type of research is known as:
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content analysis
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True or False? System costs associated with victimization are distributed equally in society.
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False
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True or False? Karl Marx wrote extensively on the topic of crime causation.
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False
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According to Cloward and Ohlin, "double-failures" enter which type of criminal subculture?
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Retreatist
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True or False? Most crimes committed are index crimes.
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False
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True or False? Our understanding of the characteristics of crime and criminals will be consistent no matter the source of information that we are using.
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False
