Counseling Chapter 1 Irm Incorrect Evidencebased Research Does Not Justify Use Information From Few Cases

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c. Incorrect. Evidence-based research does not justify use information from a few cases to make

decisions. See “An Introduction to Victimology,” LO5, Bloom’s: Understand

d. Incorrect. Evidence-based research examines facts and is objective, not subjective, in nature. Judicial

opinions are subjective. See “An Introduction to Victimology,” LO5, Bloom’s: Understand

What Would You Do?

After obtaining permission from the director of the sexual assault survivor support group, you

begin appearing regularly at meetings. After several weeks, several members voluntarily come

forward to participate in the study and complete interviews. Interestingly, you are able to interview

a variety of victims of biological sexual abuse, including both primary and secondary victims. After

several months of collecting data, you meet with Katherine. Collectively, you both decide that you

have enough data and can now begin to analyze your content for findings.

While analyzing the data contained in the interviews, Katherine states that the research should be

exclusively limited to examining the impact that victimization had on primary victims. She wants to

exclude the interviews you conducted that examine the experiences of secondary victims, stating

that the experiences of the primary victims are more important and should be the focus of the

study.

What would you do?

a. Agree with Katherine and decide to limit the analysis to include only primary victims. You note that

Katherine had the original idea for the research design. In addition, you recognize the importance of

Summary A

In limiting the analysis to only include the participants of the research study who are primary

victims, you will produce a much more concise research finding. Your research will hopefully add

to or support previous studies that examine the same demographic of victims. In the future you

may want to examine the data collected from the secondary victims and perhaps publish a study

examining the impact of secondary victimization.

Summary B

In expanding the analysis to include both primary and secondary victims, you will produce a much

more diverse research finding. You will be able to discuss the impact that intra-familial biological

sexual assault has on both type of victims. Based on the findings contained within the research, you

may be able to compare and contrast the experiences of both types of victims. Your research will

hopefully add to or support previous studies that examine the same demographic of victims.

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Chapter 1 Review

1. Which of the following best reflects the use of the term victim in ancient societies?

a. To represent the notion of sacrifice

b. To represent an individual who suffered a hardship

c. To represent a person who was involved in an accident

d. To represent people who were discriminated against

2. Which of the following best defines the term victimology?

a. An asymmetrical interpersonal relationship that is abusive, painful, destructive, parasitical, and unfair.

b. The scientific study of the physical, emotional, and financial harm people endure because of illegal

activities.

c. People who experience illegal acts, accidents, natural disasters, and other social problems.

d. The outlook of people who share a sense of common victimhood.

3. Of the following, which would a victimologist be least likely to do when studying crime victims while

utilizing an objective approach?

a. Put aside their own views, personal feelings, and experiences

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b. Rely on facts, carefully recorded observations, and reliably measured statistics

c. Decrease feelings of empathy or compassion for victims and their families

d. Consider constructive remedies and countermeasures (for example, programs and policies) that may

decrease criminal offending and the suffering it causes

4. Which of the following is an example of a primary victim?

a. A family member who steps in to care for a child whose parent is murdered

b. A spouse whose wife is the victim of sexual harassment at work

c. A police officer who responds to gang-related shootings

d. A senior citizen who loses thousands of dollars due to a telephone scam

5. In an effort to be scientifically objective when conducting research, victimologists should do all of the

following EXCEPT __________.

a. side with the victim to demonstrate a pro-victim stance

b. prevent personal prejudices from impacting the study

c. prevent emotions from clouding reasoning

d. maintain social distance from the people one is investigating

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Answer: A

a. Correct. It is important that the victimologist is impartial, particularly due to the fact that the

designation of “victim” and “offender” is not always clear when the two parties share responsibility for

what happened between them. LO6, Bloom’s: Understand [An Introduction to Victimology]

b. Incorrect. You do NOT want personal prejudices to impact the study. Personal prejudices may, for

example, impact how one collects data and thus taint the findings. LO6, Bloom’s: Understand [An

Introduction to Victimology]

c. Incorrect. You do NOT want emotions to cloud reasoning. Emotions may follow illogical paths and

lead to tainted findings. LO6, Bloom’s: Understand [An Introduction to Victimology]

d. Incorrect. You do NOT want to get too enmeshed with the people you are investigating. If that happens

it is likely that your behavior will then impact the behavior you are studying. This taints the findings.

LO6, Bloom’s: Understand [An Introduction to Victimology]

6. Which group of people would have the least impact on the social construction of the designation

“victim”?

a. Police officers who make arrests

b. Legislators who formulate criminal laws

c. Criminals who were once victims themselves

d. Media outlets that shape public opinion

7. Which characteristic is more likely to be found in a “guilty” victim who played a role in his or her own

victimization?

a. Is weaker in comparison to the aggressor

b. Was engaged in conventional activity at the time of the incident

c. Is related to the offender

d. Did nothing to provoke the offender

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c. Correct. If the victim and offender are strangers, people are more likely to believe the victim was

8. Which of the following will support a social scientist’s goal for objectivity and quest to draw

conclusions based on solid evidence?

a. Personal experiences with various forms of victimization

b. Collective preferences and priorities of the founders of the discipline of victimology

c. The social events that shape public opinion during different periods of time

d. A compassionate commitment to do something on behalf of crime victims

9. The primary goal of the field of victimology is __________.

a. the reconstruction of crime victimizations in an effort to identify offenders

b. the scientific study of victims

c. working with victims of crime on a one-to-one basis

d. the treatment of victims of crime in an effort to help them recover to the level they were at prior to the

victimization

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victims in order to identify trends and patterns associated with victimizations. LO3, Bloom’s: Understand

10. The suffix –ology in the term victimology means __________.

a. the scientific study of

b. on behalf of

c. in place of

d. because of

11. The ideology of victimism has negatively impacted the field of victimology in all of the following

ways EXCEPT __________.

a. supporting an objective, neutral, and unbiased examination of crime victims

b. creating a preoccupation of dwelling on past wrongs to explain current perceived inequities

c. using the term victimology to support partisan political points of view

d. blaming various social ills on particular sex, class, or race groups

12. The historical relationship between the fields of victimology and criminology is best stated as

__________.

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a. criminology and victimology can be considered twins that were born about the same time and have

grown up together

b. criminology and victimology are both the offshoots of the older parent discipline of delinquency

c. criminology is the older parent discipline and victimology is the newer offshoot

d. victimology has developed separate from the other disciplines of criminology and delinquency

13. In which way do the disciplines of victimology and criminology differ?

a. In how they examine the social, economic, and political causes that lead to crime

b. In how they use the scientific method to gather data

c. In how they apply their findings to the development of crime prevention strategies

d. In how they determine the types of crimes or victimizations their discipline should study

14. In which way are the disciplines of victimology and criminology similar?

a. The age of the disciplines

b. The position that crime is unevenly distributed across society

c. The position on which actor should be the central focus of study

d. The position that crime violations should be the focus of study

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a. Incorrect. The discipline of criminology is hundreds of years old, but the discipline of victimology did

not develop until the second half of the twentieth century. LO8, Bloom’s: Understand [Comparing

15. The term just deserts can be used to represent __________.

a. a liberal perspective

b. being blameworthy

c. retribution

d. a safety net

a. Incorrect. The notion of just deserts (or retribution) is actually more representative of a conservative

perspective. Conservatives are more likely to support the notion that victims and offenders alike should be

16. Which school of thought within the discipline of victimology would support the narrowest definition

of victim?

a. Conservative tendency

b. Liberal tendency

c. Radical left tendency

d. Critical tendency

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Answer: A

a. Correct. The conservative tendency within victimology focuses primarily upon street crimes. These are

considered the most serious acts that violate the law. LO8, Bloom’s: Remember [Comparing Victimology

to Criminology]

b. Incorrect. The liberal tendency within victimology includes an interest in street crime, but expands the

focus to examine crimes by corporate executives and corrupt officials. LO8, Bloom’s: Remember

[Comparing Victimology to Criminology]

c. Incorrect. Also known as the critical tendency or conflict tendency, this perspective looks at street

crimes and crimes by executives and officials, but it also includes harm caused by industries, advertisers,

lenders, criminal justice representatives, and so on. Harmful acts are not just those that are against the

law, but include the unequal distribution of wealth and power, malnutrition, homelessness, etc. LO8,

Bloom’s: Remember [Comparing Victimology to Criminology]

d. Incorrect. Also known as the radical left tendency or conflict tendency, this perspective looks at street

crimes and crimes by executives and officials, but it also includes harm caused by industries, advertisers,

lenders, criminal justice representatives, and so on. Harmful acts are not just those that are against the

law, but include the unequal distribution of wealth and power, malnutrition, homelessness, etc. LO8,

Bloom’s: Remember [Comparing Victimology to Criminology]

17. Examples of the safety net mechanism include all of the following EXCEPT __________.

a. rape crisis centers

b. just deserts paid by the criminal offender

c. subsidized crime insurance

d. state compensation funds

18. Studying victimology can lead to a number of positive outcomes for a student EXCEPT __________.

a. understanding the odds of being harmed by a crime, especially in comparison to other misfortunes

b. recognizing how one’s personal troubles can be traced back to larger social problems

c. fostering a sense of purpose, self-worth, and accomplishment

d. decreasing one’s “criminological imagination”

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19. A victimologist designing an explanatory study would be most likely to ask which research

question?

a. Which senior citizens are most likely to be a victim of telephone fraud?

b. How does having a family support network protect senior citizens from becoming a victim of telephone

fraud?

c. Does a neighborhood watch program decrease the number of senior citizens in that neighborhood who

are a victim of telephone fraud?

d. What information regarding fraud types can be gleaned from focus groups of senior citizens?

20. As an interdisciplinary field, victimology draws from a number of different areas of study. Which area

of study would be most likely to ask, “What kinds of therapeutic interventions would best help rape

victims to cope and recover from the assault?”

a. Economics

b. Anthropology

c. Law

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d. Psychology

21. Conventional wisdom predicts that crime victims would want to “lock up offenders and throw away

the key.” A national study finds that victims support all of the following EXCEPT __________.

a. harsh punishments for those who get caught and convicted

b. increased spending on prevention and rehabilitation programs

c. job training instead of building more jails and prisons

d. more treatment programs for substance abusers

22. A study whereby the researcher discovers the kinds of suffering experienced by the victims and

identifies what sorts of assistance is required to return them to the level they were at prior to the

victimization is known as a __________.

a. secondary analysis of data

b. case study

c. needs assessment

d. ethnographic field study

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23. When writing up the research project for publication, at which stage will the victimologist discuss the

importance of the findings and the implications they have on policy?

a. When introducing the study and making a statement of the problem

b. When reviewing the literature that has already been published on the topic

c. When presenting the findings from the current study

d. When discussing the findings and making a call for future research

24. When a victimologist is involved in the process of operationalization, it means that he or she has

__________.

a. identified which subjects will be included in the study

b. created the tables and figures that will be used to present the findings of the study

c. identified the limitations of the study and how they may have impacted the findings of the study

d. developed a working definition of the concepts to be measured in the study

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b. Incorrect. When a victimologist is creating tables and figures, he or she is providing the reader with a

visual depiction of the results of the study. LO12, Bloom’s: Remember [Why Place Such an Emphasis on

Carrying Out Research?]

c. Incorrect. During the discussion section of the published study, the victimologist will note for the

reader any limitations of the study so the reader can be aware of how the findings may have been

impacted. LO12, Bloom’s: Remember [Why Place Such an Emphasis on Carrying Out Research?]

d. Correct. Before the victimologist can measure any abstract concept, he or she must clearly define what

constitutes the concept and how it will be measured. This task of operationalizing the concept should be

so clear that any other researcher could replicate or repeat the use of the variable. LO12, Bloom’s:

Remember [Why Place Such an Emphasis on Carrying Out Research?]

25. Which of the following best defines the term victimization?

a. The outlook of people who share a sense of common victimhood

b. An imbalanced interpersonal relationship that is abusive, painful, destructive, and unfair

c. The scientific study of the physical, emotional, and financial harm people experience because of illegal

activities

d. People who experience illegal acts, accidents, natural disasters, and other social problems