Classical School
Positivism
Modern Classical Theories & Research
Modern Biological Theories
Psychology
Miscellaneous
100

The cause of crime.

What is free will?

100

The cause of crime.

What is something you are born with? Determinism.  

100
Empirical tests of this theory occurred in the late 20th century.

What is deterrence?

100

Diet, contaminants, brain injuries, etc...

What are biological harms?

100

Mental illness and criminal behavior (cause or correlate).

What is correlate? 

100

A field of study that examines the making and breaking of laws, as well as how we should respond to the breaking of laws. 

What is criminology?

200

The theory developed by Cesare Beccaria.

What is deterrence?

200

The forced sterilization of people with undesirable characteristics.

What is eugenics?

200

The type of deterrence that aims at convincing people to not commit crime.

What is general deterrence?

200

The gene that has been identified as the cause of criminal behavior.

Trick question--there is no gene that causes criminal behavior.  Rather there are genes that are associated with factors, such as impulsiveness, that can increase the likelihood of crime.

200

The type of psychopath that is born that way.

What is a primary psychopath?

200

The most popular view of crime that believes crimes are those behaviors that the majority of us believe are wrong.

What is the consensus view? 

300

The three things a punishment must be to be a deterrent. 

What is certain, swift, and severe?

300

Cesare Lombroso believed that born criminals are this.

What is atavistic/a throwback to an earlier stage of evolution?

300

This theory was founded out of the belief that deterrence theory is too simplistic; that factors other than the threat of punishment are critical to understanding why people select crime.

What is rational choice theory?

300

The argument that those who have a biological risk factor are most at risk for crime when raised in a criminogenic environment.

What is the dual hazard hypothesis?

300

Theory argues that distorted thinking processes are the cause of criminal behavior.

What is cognitive behavioral theory?

300

The percentage of offenders found to commit most of the crime in the Philadelphia Birth Cohort.

What is six percent?

400

John Locke's two assumptions about humans that influenced the classical school.

People are hedonistic and people are rational.

400

The proposed relationship between intelligence and crime.

Feeblemindedness causes crime.

400

Crime occurs when there is a motivated offender, a suitable target & no guardian.

What is routine activities theory?

400

Three characteristics of a risky environment.

  • Abuse
  • Neglect
  • Violence in the home
  • Violence in the neighborhood
  • Food desert
  • Limited support services
400

Three personality characteristics believed to increase the likelihood of crime.

Negative emotionality; impulsiveness; sensation seeking

400

The cause of crime before the birth of criminology.

What is the devil/evil spirits?

500
A common modern form of punishment that was derived out of early classical beliefs.

What is the penitentiary?

500

The conclusion from family, twin, and adoption studies regarding the nature versus nurture debate.

That criminal behavior has a genetic component, but is also shaped by environment. It is nature and nurture.  

500

The type of rationality that is embedded into rational choice theories.

What is constrained or limited rationality?

500

The reason a life course persistent offender commits crime, according to Terrie Moffitt (hint: 3 part explanation).

(1) they have a biological risk factor or harm present at birth or soon after; (2) this creates a neurophysiological defect; (3) when combined with a risk environment there is an increased risk for crime.  

500

The reason why we have such a high number of persons with mental health issues in our correctional system.

Deinstitutionalization/transinstitutionalization

500

The six things a theory must be/do to be considered a good theory.

Logically consistent; concise/parsimony; scope; testability; empirical validity; usefulness