Instructor Resource
Walsh/Jorgensen, Criminology: The Essentials, 3e
SAGE Publishing 2018
Test Bank
Chapter 1: An Overview of Crime and Criminology
Multiple Choice
1. ______is an interdisciplinary science that gathers and analyzes data on crime and criminal behavior.
a. criminology
b. theory
c. sociology
d. law
Ans: a
Learning Objective: 1.1 Be able to describe the difficulties attached to defining crime and the difference between crime and criminality
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: What Is Criminology?
Difficulty Level: Easy
2. Criminologists use what is known as the ______to try to answer the questions they ask rather than simply speculate about the questions.
a. scientific procedure
b. scientific method
c. technique of natural science
d. observational analysis
Ans: b
Learning Objective: 1.1 Be able to describe the difficulties attached to defining crime and the difference between crime and criminality
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: What Is Criminology?
Difficulty Level: Easy
3. Universally condemned crimes are known as ______.
a. mala in se
b. mala prohibita
c. actus reus
d. mens rea
Ans: a
Learning Objective: 1.2 Explain the difference between mala in se and mala prohibita crimes
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Beyond Social Construction: The Stationary Core Crimes
Difficulty Level: Easy
4. Crimes that are time and culture bound are described as ______.
a. mala in se
b. mala prohibita
c. actus reus
d. mens rea
Ans: b
Learning Objective: 1.2 Explain the difference between mala in se and mala prohibita crimes | 1.4 Realize how thinking about crime and criminality is time and culture bound
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Beyond Social Construction: The Stationary Core Crimes
Difficulty Level: Easy
5. When criminologists study ______, they study individuals who commit harmful acts, regardless of the legal status of those acts.
a. crime
b. criminology
c. criminality
d. law
Ans: c
Learning Objective: 1.3 Understand the legal process required to “officially” become criminal | 1.4 Realize how thinking about crime and criminality is time and culture bound
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Criminality
Difficulty Level: Easy
6. A(n) ______is a set of logically interconnected propositions explaining how phenomena are related.
a. theory
b. hypothesis
c. ideology
d. policy
Ans: a
Learning Objective: 1.5 Understand what theory is, how it is formulated, and how theory functions in science
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: What Is Criminology?
Difficulty Level: Easy
7. ______are specific statements about the relationships that we expect to find between and among factors.
a. theories
b. hypotheses
c. educated guesses
d. formulations
Ans: b
Learning Objective: 1.7 Understand the relationship between theory and policy in criminology
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: What Is Theory?
Difficulty Level: Easy
8. ______is a way of looking at the world, a general emotional picture of how things should be.
a. theory
b. ideology
c. vision
d. analysis
Ans: b
Learning Objective: 1.6 Be aware of the role of ideology in criminology
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Ideology in Criminological Theory
Difficulty Level: Easy
9. During the Progressive Era (from about 1890 to 1920), ______became the primary disciplinary home of criminology.
a. biology
b. psychology
c. sociology
d. theology
Ans: c
Learning Objective: 1.1 Be able to describe the difficulties attached to defining crime and the difference between crime and criminality
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: The Progressive Era
Difficulty Level: Easy
10. Driving 26 miles per hour in an area where the speed limit is 25 miles per hour would best be described as an act
a. mala in se
b. mala prohibita
c. of overcriminalization
d. of felonious proportions
Ans: b
Learning Objective: 1.2 Explain the difference between mala in se and mala prohibitacrimes
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Beyond Social Construction: The Stationary Core Crimes
Difficulty Level: Easy
11. Socially harmful acts
a. are deemed to be in need of regulation but not by the criminal law except under exceptional circumstances
b. are socially harmful, but not sufficiently so to require the heavy hand of the criminal law
c. are considered so socially harmful that they come under the purview of the criminal justice system
d. include reneging on a contract
Ans: a
Learning Objective: 1.4 Realize how thinking about crime and criminality is time and culture bound
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Crime as a Subcategory of Social Harms
Difficulty Level: Easy
12. The ______school of thought emphasizes human rationality and free will in its explanations of criminal behavior.
a. biosocial
b. classical
c. positivist
d. psychological
Ans: b
Learning Objective: 1.1 Be able to describe the difficulties attached to defining crime and the difference between crime and criminality
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: The Enlightenment
Difficulty Level: Easy
13. Lombroso’s theory of the born criminal was aligned with which school of thought?
a. biosocial
b. classical
c. positivist
d. psychological
Ans: c
Learning Objective: 1.5 Understand what theory is, how it is formulated, and how theory functions in science
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: The Industrial Revolution and the Age of Science
Difficulty Level: Easy
14. Renaissance
a. was a period between approximately 1450 and 1600
b. is associated with advances in art, literature, music, and philosophy
c. means rebirth, and refers to the rediscovery of the thinking traditions of the ancient Greeks
d. all of these
Ans: d
Learning Objective: 1.4 Realize how thinking about crime and criminality is time and culture bound
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: The Renaissance
Difficulty Level: Easy
15. When two factors are correlates, it means that
a. One of the factors causes changes to the other.
b. The two factors vary together.
c. They compose a theory of crime.
d. They have been socially constructed.
Ans: b
Learning Objective: 1.5 Understand what theory is, how it is formulated, and how theory functions in science
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: The Role of Theory in Criminology
Difficulty Level: Easy
16. According to Thomas Sowell’s typology, those who have a/an ______believe that human activities are restricted by an innate human nature that is self-centered and largely unalterable.
a. classical vision
b. constrained vision
c. phrenological vision
d. unconstrained vision
Ans: b
Learning Objective: 1.6 Be aware of the role of ideology in criminology
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Ideology in Criminological Theory
Difficulty Level: Easy
17. According to Thomas Sowell’s typology, those who have a/an ______vision deny an innate human nature, viewing human activities as formed anew in each different culture.
a. classical vision
b. constrained vision
c. phrenological vision
d. unconstrained vision
Ans: d
Learning Objective: 1.6 Be aware of the role of ideology in criminology
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Ideology in Criminological Theory
Difficulty Level: Easy
18. According to John Hagan, which of the following criteria helps us differentiate between real crimes and those which are arbitrary and socially constructed?
a. consensus
b. harm
c. severity
d. all of these
Ans: d
Learning Objective: 1.1 Be able to describe the difficulties attached to defining crime and the difference between crime and criminality
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Beyond Social Construction: The Stationary Core Crimes
Difficulty Level: Easy
19. The belief that science can provide answers for everything is most characteristic of the ______school of thought.
a. ideological
b. positivist
c. progressive
d. renaissance
Ans: b
Learning Objective: 1.4 Realize how thinking about crime and criminality is time and culture bound
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: The Industrial Revolution and the Age of Science
Difficulty Level: Easy
20. Which of the following is an example of an indirect cost of crime?
a. maintenance costs of jails and prisons
b. salaries of law enforcement personnel
c. the purchase of police cars
d. the expense of private surveillance and security devices
Ans: d
Learning Objective: 1.1 Be able to describe the difficulties attached to defining crime and the difference between crime and criminality
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Crime as a Subcategory of Social Harms
Difficulty Level: Easy
21. _____ criminologists tend to believe that the only real cause of crime is capitalism.
a. atavist
b. Marxist
c. positivist
d. classical
Ans: b
Learning Objective: 1.1 Be able to describe the difficulties attached to defining crime and the difference between crime and criminality
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: The Critical Period
Difficulty Level: Easy
22. Policy
a. is a set of logically interconnected propositions explaining how phenomena are related, and from which a number of hypotheses can be derived and tested
b. is the segment of the phenomenon of interest that is measured and analyzed
c. is a course of action designed to solve some problem that has been selected from among alternative courses of action
d. is an interdisciplinary science that gathers and analyzes data on crime and criminal behavior
Ans: c
Learning Objective: 1.1 Be able to describe the difficulties attached to defining crime and the difference between crime and criminality | 1.5 Understand what theory is, how it is formulated, and how theory functions in science | 1.7 Understand the relationship between theory and policy
in criminology
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Connecting Criminological Theory and Social Policy
Difficulty Level: Easy
23. In the eyes of the law, a person reneging on a contract is handled as a ______.
a. criminal violation
b. private wrong
c. social construction
d. socially harmful act
Ans: b
Learning Objective: 1.1 Be able to describe the difficulties attached to defining crime and the difference between crime and criminality
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Crime as a Subcategory of Social Harms
Difficulty Level: Easy
24. Which of the following is an intentional act in violation of the criminal law committed without defense or excuse and penalized by the state?
a. criminality
b. crime
c. criminology
d. deviance
Ans: b
Learning Objective: 1.1 Be able to describe the difficulties attached to defining crime and the difference between crime and criminality
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: What Is Crime?
Difficulty Level: Easy
25. Cesare Lombroso’s concept of the born criminal is also known as his theory of ______.
a. atavism
b. ideal types
c. phrenology
d. somatotypes
Ans: a
Learning Objective: 1.5 Understand what theory is, how it is formulated, and how theory functions in science
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: The Industrial Revolution and the Age of Science
Difficulty Level: Easy
26. In which case did the Supreme Court invalidate anti-flag burning statutes as unconstitutional?
a. Texas v. Johnson
b. Lawrence v. Texas
c. Bowers v. Hardwick
d. Mapp v. Ohio
Ans: a
Learning Objective: 1.1 Be able to describe the difficulties attached to defining crime and the difference between crime and criminality
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Crime As a Moving Target
Difficulty Level: Easy
27. Which of the following is an example of a direct cost of crime?
a. protective devices
b. insurance costs
c. surveillance and security devices
d. salaries and benefits of personnel
Ans: d
Learning Objective: 1.1 Be able to describe the difficulties attached to defining crime and the difference between crime and criminality
Cognitive Domain: Evaluate
Answer Location: Crime as a Subcategory of Social Harms
Difficulty Level: Easy
28. Harms outside the purview of the criminal justice system include:
a. core offenses
b. all social harms
c. all crimes
d. all of these
Ans: b
Learning Objective: 1.1 Be able to describe the difficulties attached to defining crime and the difference between crime and criminality
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Crime as a Subcategory of Social Harms
Difficulty Level: Easy
29. The first step in detecting causes of crime is
a. deriving a theory
b. testing a hypothesis
c. discovering correlates
d. determining the level of analysis
Ans: c
Learning Objective: 1.1 Be able to describe the difficulties attached to defining crime and the difference between crime and criminality | 1.5 Understand what theory is, how it is formulated, and how theory functions in science
Cognitive Domain: Apply
Answer Location: The Role of Theory
Difficulty Level: Easy
30. Predictive scope
a. maintains that a theory has merit and is useful to the extent that it accurately predicts what is observed
b. maintains that if two competing theories are essentially equal in terms of the first two criteria, then the less complicated one is considered more “elegant”
c. asserts that a theory must have the quality of being falsifiable or disprovable
d. refers to the scope or range of the theory and thus the scope or range of the hypotheses that can be derived from it
Ans: d
Learning Objective: 1.5 Understand what theory is, how it is formulated, and how theory functions in science
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: What Is a Good Theory?
Difficulty Level: Easy
True/False
31. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field.
Ans: T
Learning Objective: 1.1 Be able to describe the difficulties attached to defining crime and the difference between crime and criminality
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: What Is Criminology?
Difficulty Level: Easy
32. What constitutes a crime can be defined in and out of existence by courts and legislators.
Ans: T
Learning Objective: 1.1 Be able to describe the difficulties attached to defining crime and the difference between crime and criminality
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: What Is Crime?
Difficulty Level: Easy
33. Criminality is an identifiable trait that some people possess, and others do not.
Ans: F
Learning Objective: 1.4 Realize how thinking about crime and criminality is time and culture bound
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Criminality
Difficulty Level: Easy
34. The Enlightenment is associated with advances in mathematics, science, and the dignity and worth of the individual as exemplified by a concern for human rights.
Ans: T
Learning Objective: 1.4 Realize how thinking about crime and criminality is time and culture bound
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: The Enlightenment
Difficulty Level: Easy
35. The unconstrained vision denies the existence of an innate human nature, instead holding that human nature is formed anew in each different culture.
Ans: T
Learning Objective: 1.6 Be aware of the role of ideology in criminology
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Ideology in Criminological Theory
Difficulty Level: Easy
36. Prostitution is an act that would be considered mala in se.
Ans: F
Learning Objective: 1.2 Explain the difference between mala in se and mala prohibita crimes
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Beyond Social Construction: The Stationary Core Crimes
Difficulty Level: Easy
37. Questions of cause and effect should be answered at the same level of analysis at which they were posed.
Ans: T
Learning Objective: 1.5 Understand what theory is, how it is formulated, and how theory functions in science
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: How to Think About Theories
Difficulty Level: Easy
38. A hypothesis is best described as a set of interconnected propositions that explain how phenomena are related.
Ans: F
Learning Objective: 1.5 Understand what theory is, how it is formulated, and how theory functions in science
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: What Is Theory?
Difficulty Level: Easy
39. Criminality is a legal term.
Ans: F
Learning Objective: 1.3 Understand the legal process required to “officially” become criminal |1.4 Realize how thinking about crime and criminality is timeand culture bound
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Criminality
Difficulty Level: Easy
40. Mala in se crimes tend to arouse the most intense emotional responses, because they trigger a sense of threat to our survival.
Ans: T
Learning Objective: 1.2 Explain the difference between mala in se and malaprohibitacrimes
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Beyond Social Construction: The Stationary Core Crimes
Difficulty Level: Easy
41. Criminality is the scientific study of crime and criminals.
Ans: F
Learning Objective: 1.1 Be able to describe the difficulties attached to defining crime and the difference between crime and criminality | 1.4 Realize how thinking about crime and criminality is timeand culture bound
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Criminality
Difficulty Level: Easy
42. The 1990s and early 2000s witnessed a strong resurgence of biosocial theories, which view behavior as the result of biological factors interacting with the environments of the actors involved.
Ans: T
Learning Objective: 1.4 Realize how thinking about crime and criminality is time and culture bound
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: The Modern Period
Difficulty Level: Easy
43. The emotional pain and suffering experienced by crime victims is easy to quantify.
Ans: F
Learning Objective: 1.1 Be able to describe the difficulties attached to defining crime and the difference between crime and criminality
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Crime as a Subcategory of Social Harms
Difficulty Level: Easy
44. The criteria for judging the merits of a theory include predictive accuracy, predictive scope, simplicity, and falsifiability.
Ans: T
Learning Objective: 1.5 Understand what theory is, how it is formulated, and how theory functions in science
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: What Is Good Theory?
Difficulty Level: Easy
45. The role of human judgment in determining what is categorized as crime renders the category arbitrary.
Ans: F
Learning Objective: 1.1 Be able to describe the difficulties attached to defining crime and the difference between crime and criminality
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Crime as a Subcategory of Social Harms
Difficulty Level: Easy
46. The basic idea behind phrenology was that cognitive functions are localized in the brain, and that the parts regulating the most dominant functions were bigger than parts regulating the less dominant ones.
Ans: T
Learning Objective: 1.4 Realize how thinking about crime and criminality is time and culture bound
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: The Industrial Revolution and the Age of Science
Difficulty Level: Easy
47. A correlate is that segment of the phenomenon of interest that is measured and analyzed.
Ans: F
Learning Objective: 1.5 Understand what theory is, how it is formulated, and how theory functions in science
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: The Role of Theory in Criminology
Difficulty Level: Easy
48. The constrained vision maintains that there is an innate human nature that is self-centered and largely unalterable.
Ans: T
Learning Objective: 1.6 Be aware of the role of ideology in criminology