CHAPTER 6
Psychological and Psychiatric Foundations of Criminal Behavior
Chapter 6 Multiple Choice
Choose the best answer for each of the following.
1. __________ examined social learning with an emphasis on conditioning.
a. Personality
b. Behaviorism
c. Psychoanalytic theory
d. Trait theory
2. What is the central defining characteristic of a psychopath?
a. Hallucinations
b. Neuroticism
c. Impulsiveness
d. Poverty of affect
3. A ________ psychopath is born with a normal personality but develops psychopathic
characteristics as a result of personal experiences early in life.
a. primary
b. secondary
c. charismatic
d. distempered
4. A possible psychogenic cause of antisocial personality disorder is
a. a low state of arousal.
b. a malfunction of some inhibitory mechanisms.
c. a separation from the mother during the first six months of life.
d. None of the above
5. According to moral development theory, when are people likely to turn to crime?
a. They develop the ability to shift back and forth between developmental stages of moral
reasoning
b. They cannot successfully transition between developmental stages of moral reasoning
c. They learn to appreciate the needs and interests of others
d. They develop moral relativism
6. __________ theory involves the study of human perceptions and decision making.
a. Cognitive information-processing
b. Psychoanalytic
c. Social cognition
d. Behavior
7. According to Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, the id conforms to the
a. morality and conscience.
b. unconscious mind.
c. reality principle.
d. pleasure principle.
8. Individuals suffering from poor __________ development are likely to seek immediate
gratification without considering the long-term consequences of their choices.
a. ego
b. superego
c. repression
d. id
9. The psychoanalytical concept of _______ holds that a person may seek to reject his or her own
desires or impulses towards pleasurable instincts by excluding them from his or her own
consciousness.
a. Thanatos
b. morality
c. repression
d. transference
10. Which of the following is not a characteristic of a psychotic individual?
a. Compulsive and obsessive behavior
b. Marked inefficiency in getting along with others and caring for oneself
c. A grossly distorted conception of reality
d. Inappropriate moods and mood swings
11. Sigmund Freud suggested that aggressive behavior is a natural response to
a. anger.
b. frustration.
c. psychosis.
d. neurosis.
12. According to Dollard, _______ is violence directed against something or someone who is not
the source of the original frustration.
a. repression
b. catharsis
c. transference
d. displacement
13. When crime leads to stress reduction as a result of internal changes in beliefs and value
systems, it is known as ________ adaptation.
a. alternative
b. autoplastic
c. antiplastic
d. alloplastic
14. Which of the following behaviors is not aggression directed at one’s self?
a. Smoking
b. Alcohol abuse
c. Suicide
d. They are all forms of self-directed aggression
15. ______ is a major criminogenic domain.
a. Poor parenting skills
b. Substance abuse
c. Criminal history
d. Limited attachment
16. Why is criminal history not considered a criminogenic need?
a. It is a static element not amenable to change
b. It is not associated with rates of recidivism
c. It is not a risk factor for continuing criminality
d. None of the above – criminal history is a criminogenic need
17. According to John Bowlby, __________ attachment is a healthy form of attachment.
a. anxious-avoidant
b. anxious-resistant
c. secure
d. insecure
18. Attachment theory suggests that __________ attachment results in feelings of uncertainty
which cause the child to feel anxious, to become fearful of its environment, and to cling to
potential caregivers.
a. anxious-avoidant
b. anxious-resistant
c. secure
d. insecure
19. According to attachment theorists, what is the single most important factor leading to
conformity?
a. The development of empathy
b. Poverty of affect
c. Disengagement
d. The development of scripts
20. Taking away an offender’s freedom by incarcerating him is an example of a
a. positive reward.
b. negative reward.
c. positive punishment.
d. negative punishment.
21. How does behavior theory differ from other psychological theories?
a. The major determinants of behavior are seen as co-existing in the individual and the
environment
b. The major determinants of behavior are seen as existing in the individual
c. The major determinants of behavior are seen as existing in the environment
d. There is no major difference
22. Which of the following is not one the three laws in Gabriel Tarde’s theory of human
behavior?
a. Suggestibility is a key cause of criminal behavior
b. Individuals in close intimate contact with one another tend to imitate each other’s
behavior
c. Imitation moves from the top down
d. New acts and behaviors tend to reinforce or replace others
23. Which of the following probably will not result in disengagement?
a. A child watches a violent television show every day after school
b. A child is caught vandalizing her teacher’s car and blames it on her teacher’s unfair
attitude towards him in class
c. A child who is being bullied by a classmate reports the classmate’s behavior to the
school principal
d. A child beats up a classmate and is praised by his father for his aggressive behavior
24. __________ is based on the belief that offenders need to acquire better social skills in order
to become more prosocial
a. Selective incapacitation
b. Cognitive behavioral intervention
c. Correctional psychology
d. The risk-need-responsivity model
25. Which of the following risk factors appears to have a relationship to later violence?
a. Delusions
b. A diagnosis of schizophrenia
c. Psychopathy
d. Hallucinations
26. What is the best predictor of adult antisocial behavior?
a. Child-onset psychopathy
b. Early antisocial behavior
c. Hallucinations and delusions
d. Child physical abuse
27. __________ helps police investigators better understand people wanted for serious crimes.
a. Sublimation
b. Selective incapacitation
c. Deterrence
d. Psychological profiling
28. Insanity is
a. a legal defense in the criminal courts.
b. a clinical determination of mental status.
c. a psychological conception of mental illness.
d. All of the above
29. The __________ holds that individuals cannot be held criminally responsible for their actions
if at the time of the crime they did not know what they were doing or did not know that their
actions were wrong.
a. substantial capacity test
b. irresistible-impulse test
c. M’Naughten rule
d. GBMI rule
30. In most GBMI jurisdictions, which of the finding is not required for the jury to return a
finding of “guilty but mentally ill?”
a. Every statutory element necessary for a conviction has been proven beyond a
reasonable doubt
b. The defendant was not found to have been legally insane at the time the crime was
committed
c. The defendant is found to have been mentally ill at the time the crime was committed
d. The defendant is found to have exhibited psychopathic tendencies prior to the crime
Chapter 6 True-False
Choose whether each statement is true or false.
1. According to psychological theories, the primary unit of analysis is the individual.
a. True
b. False
2. Personality theory emphasizes behavioral conditioning.
a. True
b. False
3. Research suggests intensive treatment may reduce recidivism among juvenile psychopaths
a. True
b. False
4. Females with antisocial personality disorder exhibit different characteristics than their male
counterparts.
a. True
b. False
5. According to Eysenck, neurotics are the most likely to be criminal.
a. True
b. False
6. According to Kohlberg’s cognitive structural theory of morality, a preference for higher levels
of moral thinking is inborn.
a. True
b. False
7. Psychoanalysts such as August Aichorn argue that violent criminals are id-dominated
a. True
b. False
8. All psychotic people commit crimes at some point in their lives.
a. True
b. False
9. The most likely consequence of frustration is direct aggression toward others.
a. True
b. False
10. Stress may lead to aggression toward oneself as well as toward others.
a. True
b. False
11. Criminogenic needs tend to be static elements rather than dynamic attributes.
a. True
b. False
12. According to attachment theory, delinquent behavior arises when nonsecure attachments are
created.
a. True
b. False
13. Reducing the length of a prison sentence by granting parole to inmates who behave in
socially approved ways is an example of a positive punishment.
a. True
b. False
14. Modeling theory emphasizes the need to learn aggressive behavior.
a. True
b. False
15. People who devalue aggression do not engage in it.
a. True
b. False
16. The accurate identification of potentially dangerous offenders in existing criminal
populations is an essential component of the strategy of selective incapacitation.
a. True
b. False
17. Dangerousness is an ascribed quality.
a. True
b. False
18. Compared to non-profilers, trained criminal profilers tend to much more accurately estimate
offender characteristics and motives based on information about their crimes.
a. True
b. False
19. Offenders adjudicated “guilty but mentally ill” generally are sent directly to prison to serve
their sentence.
a. True
b. False
20. The insanity defense is very rarely used in court.
a. True
b. False
Chapter 6 Fill in the Blank
Fill in the correct answer for each of the following.
1. Psychological theories see __________ as the major motivational element within individuals.
2. _________ theory focuses on the area of cognitive science, including the process of moral
development and diseases of the mind.
3. Hervey Cleckley described the __________ as a “moral idiot.”
4. A malfunctioning central nervous system is a possible ________ cause of antisocial
personality disorder.
5. _________ theory emphasizes generalized knowledge about specific types of situations that is
stored in the mind.
6. Many criminals have a secret need to be __________.
7. Freud saw aggressive behavior as a natural response to _______.
8. Choosing crime as a form of empowerment is an example of _______ adaptation.
9. ___________ are dynamic risk actors of offenders that are associated with rates of recidivism.
10. Attachment theorists emphasize the development of _______ as the single most important
factor leading to conformity.
11. Behavioral theory explains crime as the result of inappropriate __________.
12. A(n) _________ of aversive treatment is one form of reward from aggression.
13. Behavior theory has been criticized for ignoring the role that ________ plays in human
behavior.
14. Psychological ___________ involves attempts to understand and predict the behavior of
certain types of offenders, based on behavioral clues they provide.
15. The ___________ is a standard for judging legal insanity that requires that offenders did not
know what they were doing, or if they did, that they did not know it was wrong.
Chapter 6 Matching
1. Match the following criminological theories to their major theorists
1. Trait theory
a. J. Dollard
2. Behavior theory
b. Hervey M. Cleckley
3. Criminal mind-set
c. Lawrence Kohlberg
4. Psychopath
d. Hans J. Eysenck
5. Moral development theory
e. Albert Bandura
6.Frustration aggression theory
f. Stanton Samenow and Samuel Yochelson
7. Criminogenic needs
g. John Bowlby
8. Attachment theory
h. Donald Andrews and James Bonta
9. Social cognition theory
i. B.F. Skinner
2. Match the following theoretical types to their major concepts
1. Personality theory
a. displacement
2. Cognitive theory
b. operant conditioning, stimulus-response,
reward, punishment
3. Psychoanalytic criminology
c. Five Factor Model, psychopath, sociopath
4. Frustration-aggression theory
d. moral development, criminal mind-set
5. Crime as adaptation
e. imitation, disengagement, social cognition
theory
6. Behavior theory
f. criminogenic needs, attachment theory
7. Modeling theory
g. sublimation, psychosis, superego
3. Match the following component of personality to its driving principle
1. Id
a. Reality principle
2. Ego
b. Pleasure principle
3. Superego
c. Ethnical principle
Chapter 6 Essay
Answer the following questions.
1. Explain the early concept of a psychopath and identify some of the defining characteristics.
What is the relationship of sociopathy and antisocial personality disorder? What are some
possible causes of antisocial personality disorder?
2. Explain Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis and the psychopathic structure of personality. How
does the psychoanalytic perspective explain criminality?
3. Discuss the theory underlying the belief that violent video games may influence behavior and
explain the basic argument.
4. Discuss the importance of assessing dangerousness, the development of empirically-based risk
assessment and classification tools, and the difficulties associated with defining dangerousness.
Chapter 6 Critical Thinking
Answer the following questions.
1. What are the two major ideas that characterized early psychological theories? How do these
apply to criminology today?
2. What is the role of empathy in criminal behavior? Which theories help explain this?