Schram, Introduction to Criminology 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
Test Bank
CHAPTER 3: THE CLASSICAL SCHOOL OF CRIMINOLOGICAL THOUGHT
Multiple Choice
1. When was the concept of human decision-making and natural culpability
acknowledged?
a. Renaissance
b. Age of Enlightenment
c. Reformatory movement
d. Classical School
2. A government, according to Cesare Beccaria, should strive for the greatest
amount of happiness shared by the greatest number of people. This concept is
termed ______.
a. free will
b. utilitarianism
c. culpability
d. authoritarianism
3. The first rational choice theory that arose during the Age of Enlightenment
period was ______.
a. social control theory
b. general behavior
c. deterrence theory
d. none of these
Schram, Introduction to Criminology 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
4. A period of the late-17th century to 18th century in which philosophers and
scholars began to emphasize the rights of individuals in society is known as
______.
a. Post-classical period of time
b. Age of Deterrence
c. Age of Enlightenment
d. Pre-Classical time period
5. According to Beccaria, perfecting ______ is the “surest but most difficult way
to prevent crimes.”
a. punishment
b. taxes
c. family structures
d. education
6. Classical School theories emphasize individual decision-making regardless of
______.
a. extraneous influences
b. free will
c. culpability
d. deterrence
Schram, Introduction to Criminology 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
7. This is an agreement of citizens promising to abide by the rules or laws set
forth by a given society in return for protection.
a. utilitarian perspective
b. social contract
c. hedonistic calculus
d. conflict principle
8. Thomas Hobbes wrote ______.
a. On Crimes and Punishments
b. The Hedonistic Calculus
c. Leviathan
d. The Principles of the Constitution
9. Beccaria was behind all of the following modern-day criminal justice beliefs
EXCEPT ______.
a. cross-examination of witnesses
b. offender should be tried by a panel of his or her peers or fellow citizens
c. court proceedings should remain private
d. laws should be understandable by the public
Schram, Introduction to Criminology 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
10. ______ is used as the basis for U.S. policies on punishment for criminal
activity because it focuses on individual responsibility.
a. Evolutionary theories
b. Classical School
c. Metaphysical theories
d. Neoclassical perspective
11. Beccaria set the standard for most modern systems of justice in guaranteeing
rights to defendants when he reformed certain practices by doing away with
______.
a. secret accusations
b. public processing
c. formal trials
d. cross-examination of witnesses
12. In many ancient societies, what was the common response if an individual
committed a criminal act?
a. public shaming
b. imprisonment
c. perform an exorcism or surgery
d. restitution
13. One of the unintended outcomes of public trials and punishment was ______.
a. deterrence
b. public backlash
c. involvement in the justice system
Schram, Introduction to Criminology 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
d. increases in crime
14. What book, written by Thomas Hobbes, proposed one of the first rational
theories as to why people committed crime?
a. Leviathan
b. On Crimes and Punishments
c. Criminals in the Making
d. The Criminal Man
15. The treatment of Jean Valjean in Les Miserables (Valjean receives a lengthy
prison sentence after stealing a loaf of bread for his starving loved ones) is an
example of what type of government?
a. utilitarian
b. free will
c. authoritarian
d. culpability
16. U.S. citizens sometimes take for granted the right to a trial by their peers.
During Lenin’s rule, the bench-trials of the old system in Russia produced a
conviction rate of almost ______.
a. 100%
b. 75%
c. 50%
d. 25%
Schram, Introduction to Criminology 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
17. According to Hobbes, ______ motivates individuals to cooperate in the
formation of government and inspires them to obey the laws the government
creates.
a. compassion
b. fear
c. anger
d. cheerfulness
18. Cesare Beccaria is known as all of the following EXCEPT ______.
a. Father of Criminal Justice
b. Father of the Classical School of Criminology
c. Father of Deterrence Theory
d. Father of Policing
19. All of the following are explanations given by Beccaria against the death
penalty EXCEPT ______.
a. violation of social contract
b. inhumane punishment
c. negative example for society
d. ineffective deterrent
Schram, Introduction to Criminology 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
20. ______ was a form of punishment in which the limbs of a convicted criminal
were tied to four horses and ripped from his torso as the horses were made to
run in opposite directions.
a. Beheading
b. Flogging
c. Quartering
d. Bleeding
21. The vital deterrent characteristics of punishment postulated by Beccaria are
all of the following EXCEPT ______.
a. conforming
b. celerity
c. severity
d. certainty
22. The characteristic of punishment postulated by Beccaria that he believed to
be the most important was ______.
a. conforming
b. celerity
c. severity
d. certainty
Schram, Introduction to Criminology 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
23. The modern example of the Three Strikes Rule is given in relation to what
characteristic of punishment?
a. conforming
b. celerity
c. severity
d. certainty
24. Punishment given to an individual meant to prevent or deter other potential
offenders from engaging in such criminal activity in the future is called ______
deterrence.
a. general
b. prevention
c. individual
d. specific
25. The book The Origin of Species, written by ______, cast doubt on Classical
and Neoclassical theories. This book introduced the concept that other influences
of human behavior beyond free will and choice were at play.
a. Jeremy Bentham
b. Cesare Beccaria
c. Thomas Hobbes
d. Charles Darwin
26. When an individual has ______, they are thought to be oblivious to many of
the risks that may result from their behavior.
Schram, Introduction to Criminology 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
a. unconscious decision-making
b. bounded rationality
c. ignorant prudence
d. reasonableness
27. The ______ is the predicted tendency of homicides to increase after an
execution, particularly after high-profile executions.
a. excitatory effect
b. barbarity effect
c. brutalization effect
d. deterrent effect
28. Other than free will and rational choice, what other influences on human
behavior would Darwin use to explain criminal behavior?
a. genetics, psychological defects
b. evil spirits, demonic possession
c. lack of discipline and self-control
d. lack of faith and/or religion
29. Which one of the following punishments is NOT an example of the deterrence
framework?
a. the death penalty
b. three-strikes laws
c. scared straight programs
d. neighborhood watch programs
Schram, Introduction to Criminology 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
30. The Neoclassical perspective ______.
a. does not take free will into account
b. ignores mitigating and aggravating factors
c. is the current model for most Western criminal justice systems
d. rejects all Classical perspective ideals
31. The deterrence theory of crime proposes that ______.
a. individuals are not in control of their impulses
b. individuals will make rational decisions regarding their behavior
c. genetics dictate criminality
d. faith in a higher power will reduce criminal urges
32. The Panopticon prison design consists of ______.
a. a rectangular structure with four floors and an external observation point
b. a large square structure with one floor and an internal observation point
c. a wagon-wheel design, including a 360-degree central observation point
d. a triangular design with an observation point at the point of the triangle
33. Select the aggravating factor below.
a. The offender used extreme cruelty and violence when committing a robbery.
b. The offender suffered from a severe psychological condition when committing
a robbery.
c. The offender was only 15 years old when he committed a robbery.
d. The offender did not have a weapon and caused no injury when he committed
a robbery.
34. Which statement would a Neoclassical School proponent agree with
regarding mitigating and aggravating factors?
a. They should never be taken into account.
b. They should be taken into account.
c. They should only be taken into account for adult offenders.
d. These factors do not exist.
35. Currently, when law enforcement wants to reduce gang activity and drugs in
a specific neighborhood, they will usually use ______.
a. neighborhood watch groups
b. restorative justice
c. reduced patrols
d. enhanced punishments