Chapter 2 Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. Which of the following is NOT one of the four general sources from which people
acquire social knowledge?
a. Personal experiences
b. Empirical data
c. Other social groups and institutions
d. The media
2. Krista is a high school biology teacher who comes home from a science convention to
find that she has been robbed—an example of personal victimization. Which of the
following types of reality BEST describes her experience?
a. Experienced Reality
b. Symbolic Reality
c. Socially Constructed Reality
d. Both A and B
3. Which of the following types of reality constitutes most of our knowledge about the
world?
a. Experienced Reality
b. Symbolic Reality
c. Socially Constructed Reality
d. None of the above
4. At which stage of social constructionism does the media act as a filter?
a. Stage 1
b. Stage 2
c. Stage 3
d. Stage 4
5. The repetitive showing of several anti-littering commercials in a small-town community
results in the passing of stricter punishments for those who choose to litter. Which stage
of social constructionism is BEST exemplified in this scenario?
a. Stage 1
b. Stage 2
c. Stage 3
d. Stage 4
6. Matthew, a well-respected claims maker, claims that building a new bar near his
neighborhood will result in an increase in alcohol sales in his community which will
inevitably lead to an increase in crime. Matthew is employing which of the following
techniques to defend his position?
a. He is linking one issue to another.
b. He is using a frame to express his opinion.
c. He is making a factual claim.
d. He is making an interpretative claim.
7. Crime-and-justice issues are often linked to the endangerment of the following issues,
EXCEPT ____________.
a. Health
b. Welfare
c. Families
d. Employment
8. Rose, a 75-year-old great-grandmother, blames her great-grandson’s recent incarceration
at a juvenile detention center on the fact that his parents recently finalized their divorce.
Rose believes in which of the following frames?
a. Faulty Criminal Justice System Frame
b. Blocked Opportunities Frame
c. Social Breakdown Frame
d. Racist System Frame
9. Josh, an adolescent male who enjoys watching wrestling and mixed martial arts, is
arrested at school for fighting. Which of the following frames would BEST describe his
actions?
a. Faulty Criminal Justice System Frame
b. Blocked Opportunities Frame
c. Social Breakdown Frame
d. Violent Media Frame
10. Which of the following is NOT true about how frames influence crime-and-justice
policy?
a. All frames are supported by some portion of the public
b. Frames remain mutually exclusive
c. People often support more than one frame
d. None of the above
11. Which of the following is NOT an example of a narrative commonly found in crime-and-
justice media?
a. the “naïve innocent”
b. the “unappreciated brainiac”
c. the “masculine, heroic crime–fighter”
d. the “innately evil predatory criminal”
12. Which of the following is NOT an example of a symbolic crime?
a. The release of harmful chemicals into the Severn Trent Water sewer system
b. the beating of Rodney King
c. the kidnapping and murder of Polly Klaas
d. the September 11th World Trade Center bombings
13. Which of the following crimes was reconstructed by the media in the 1980s?
a. Driving without insurance
b. Driving under the influence
c. Driving while not wearing a seat belt
d. Driving while texting
14. Which engine of social construction reality is the most influential?
a. Conversational reality
b. Media
c. Various institutions and organizations
d. Both A and B
15. What is the most important insight to be gained from studying the social constructionism
perspective?
a. Social constructionism is rarely important to crime-and-justice
b. Social constructionism is only important in crime-and-justice media
c. Social constructionism competition is an ever-present issue in crime-and-justice
d. Social constructionism needs to be studied further before its impact on crime-and-
justice can be determined
True/False
1. Socially constructed realities are always objective.
2. People acquire most of their knowledge through experienced reality.
3. The most important element in defining crime and justice reality for most people is the
media.
4. Crime can only be constructed as a social problem or a criminal justice problem.
5. The Faulty Criminal Justice System Frame contends that crime results from a lack of
“law and order.”
6. Events, such as the O.J. Simpson murder trial, can only be constructed through a single
frame.
7. One consequence of narratives is that the use of narratives reduces the need to explain the
cause and effect of a crime.
8. The first step in the formula for using a symbolic crime in crime-and-justice social
construction is “Find the worst crime you can.”
9. Law enforcement agencies struggle to have ownership of crime.
10. Winning one social construction contest has no impact on winning future contests.