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TI
LU
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STS
TE
, HGFDSA
Test Bank
Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 8e (Barkan)
Chapter 1 Criminology and the Sociological Perspective
1.1 Multiple Choice Questions
TE
1) Which of the following statements is true?
A) Crime is not only an individual phenomenon but also a social one.
B) Crime can only be studied from a classical perspective.
C) The structure of society does not play a significant role in how crime is rooted.
D) Popular sources of our knowledge of crime focus on its social roots.
S
Answer: A
Page Ref: 2
TS
Objective: Explain the sociological perspective and describe its relevance for
criminology.
Level: Basic
2) The sociological perspective stresses that:
A) Crime is largely the result of personality defects.
B) People make decisions based on free will.
O
C) People are social beings more than mere individuals.
D) Crime can be traced to biological abnormalities.
Answer: C
LU
Page Ref: 3
Objective: Explain the sociological perspective and describe its relevance for
criminology.
Level: Basic
3) stressed that social forces influence our behavior and attitudes.
TI
A) Emile Durkheim
B) Cesare Beccaria
C) Adam Smith
O
D) Sigmund Freud
Answer: A
Page Ref: 3
N
Objective: Explain the sociological perspective and describe its relevance for
criminology.
Level: Basic
4) In his study of suicide, Durkheim found that:
349
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, HGFDSA
A) People in groups with high social integration had higher suicide rates.
B) People in groups with high social integration had lower suicide rates.
C) Social integration did not play a role in suicide rates.
D) Jews had higher rates of suicides than Protestants.
Answer: B
TE
Page Ref: 3
Objective: Explain the sociological perspective and describe its relevance for
criminology.
Level: Intermediate
5) refers to how a society is organized in terms of social relationships and
social interactions.
S
A) Social learning
B) Social deviance
TS
C) Social structure
D) Social construct
Answer: C
Page Ref: 3
Objective: Explain the sociological perspective and describe its relevance for
O
criminology.
Level: Basic
6) Which of the following best describes horizontal social structure?
LU
A) It is how society ranks different groups of people.
B) It is the basis of understanding the biological workings of the brain.
C) It is rooted in psychological theory.
D) It is the social and physical characteristics of communities and the networks of
social relationships to which an individual belongs.
TI
Answer: D
Page Ref: 4
Objective: Explain the sociological perspective and describe its relevance for
criminology.
O
Level: Intermediate
7) Which of the following best describes vertical social structure?
A) It is how society ranks different groups of people.
N
B) It is the basis of understanding the biological workings of the brain.
C) It is rooted in psychological theory.
D) It is the social and physical characteristics of communities and the networks of
social relationships to which an individual belongs.
350
Copyright © 2023 Pearson Education, Inc.
, HGFDSA
Answer: A
Page Ref: 4
Objective: Explain the sociological perspective and describe its relevance for
criminology.
Level: Intermediate
8) C. Wright Mills emphasized that:
TE
A) Personality is developed through vertical social structure.
B) Social structure lies at the root of private troubles.
C) Private troubles are best analyzed through biological theories.
D) The social imagination limits one’s ability to understand and change the social
forces underlying one’s troubles.
S
Answer: B
Page Ref: 4
TS
Objective: Explain the sociological perspective and describe its relevance for
criminology.
Level: Intermediate
9) According to Mills, people are better able to both understand and to change the social
forces underlying their troubles when they acquire a:
O
A) Horizontal social life.
B) Vertical social life.
C) Social imagination.
LU
D) Public issues.
Answer: C
Page Ref: 4
Objective: Explain the sociological perspective and describe its relevance for
criminology.
Level: Intermediate
TI
10) Which of the following best reflects what Peter Berger referred to as the “debunking
motif”?
A) Sociological research often exposes false claims about reality and taken-for-
O
granted assumptions about life and social institutions.
B) Sociological research often shows that conventional wisdom is correct rather than
false.
C) Sociologists tend to seek justice rather than wisdom when conducting research.
N
D) Sociologists prefer to research “urban legends” and show that they are largely
true.
Answer: A
Page Ref: 4
351
Copyright © 2023 Pearson Education, Inc.
O
TI
LU
O
STS
TE
, HGFDSA
Test Bank
Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 8e (Barkan)
Chapter 1 Criminology and the Sociological Perspective
1.1 Multiple Choice Questions
TE
1) Which of the following statements is true?
A) Crime is not only an individual phenomenon but also a social one.
B) Crime can only be studied from a classical perspective.
C) The structure of society does not play a significant role in how crime is rooted.
D) Popular sources of our knowledge of crime focus on its social roots.
S
Answer: A
Page Ref: 2
TS
Objective: Explain the sociological perspective and describe its relevance for
criminology.
Level: Basic
2) The sociological perspective stresses that:
A) Crime is largely the result of personality defects.
B) People make decisions based on free will.
O
C) People are social beings more than mere individuals.
D) Crime can be traced to biological abnormalities.
Answer: C
LU
Page Ref: 3
Objective: Explain the sociological perspective and describe its relevance for
criminology.
Level: Basic
3) stressed that social forces influence our behavior and attitudes.
TI
A) Emile Durkheim
B) Cesare Beccaria
C) Adam Smith
O
D) Sigmund Freud
Answer: A
Page Ref: 3
N
Objective: Explain the sociological perspective and describe its relevance for
criminology.
Level: Basic
4) In his study of suicide, Durkheim found that:
349
Copyright © 2023 Pearson Education, Inc.
, HGFDSA
A) People in groups with high social integration had higher suicide rates.
B) People in groups with high social integration had lower suicide rates.
C) Social integration did not play a role in suicide rates.
D) Jews had higher rates of suicides than Protestants.
Answer: B
TE
Page Ref: 3
Objective: Explain the sociological perspective and describe its relevance for
criminology.
Level: Intermediate
5) refers to how a society is organized in terms of social relationships and
social interactions.
S
A) Social learning
B) Social deviance
TS
C) Social structure
D) Social construct
Answer: C
Page Ref: 3
Objective: Explain the sociological perspective and describe its relevance for
O
criminology.
Level: Basic
6) Which of the following best describes horizontal social structure?
LU
A) It is how society ranks different groups of people.
B) It is the basis of understanding the biological workings of the brain.
C) It is rooted in psychological theory.
D) It is the social and physical characteristics of communities and the networks of
social relationships to which an individual belongs.
TI
Answer: D
Page Ref: 4
Objective: Explain the sociological perspective and describe its relevance for
criminology.
O
Level: Intermediate
7) Which of the following best describes vertical social structure?
A) It is how society ranks different groups of people.
N
B) It is the basis of understanding the biological workings of the brain.
C) It is rooted in psychological theory.
D) It is the social and physical characteristics of communities and the networks of
social relationships to which an individual belongs.
350
Copyright © 2023 Pearson Education, Inc.
, HGFDSA
Answer: A
Page Ref: 4
Objective: Explain the sociological perspective and describe its relevance for
criminology.
Level: Intermediate
8) C. Wright Mills emphasized that:
TE
A) Personality is developed through vertical social structure.
B) Social structure lies at the root of private troubles.
C) Private troubles are best analyzed through biological theories.
D) The social imagination limits one’s ability to understand and change the social
forces underlying one’s troubles.
S
Answer: B
Page Ref: 4
TS
Objective: Explain the sociological perspective and describe its relevance for
criminology.
Level: Intermediate
9) According to Mills, people are better able to both understand and to change the social
forces underlying their troubles when they acquire a:
O
A) Horizontal social life.
B) Vertical social life.
C) Social imagination.
LU
D) Public issues.
Answer: C
Page Ref: 4
Objective: Explain the sociological perspective and describe its relevance for
criminology.
Level: Intermediate
TI
10) Which of the following best reflects what Peter Berger referred to as the “debunking
motif”?
A) Sociological research often exposes false claims about reality and taken-for-
O
granted assumptions about life and social institutions.
B) Sociological research often shows that conventional wisdom is correct rather than
false.
C) Sociologists tend to seek justice rather than wisdom when conducting research.
N
D) Sociologists prefer to research “urban legends” and show that they are largely
true.
Answer: A
Page Ref: 4
351
Copyright © 2023 Pearson Education, Inc.
