BPS THEORIES – positivist
Part 1 (15%): write down the main premise of each theory
Part 2 ( 40%): multiple-choice questions
Part 3 (45%): long-answer (in-depth account of perspectives),
thorough account of perspectives, history, strengths, critiques –
origins, main concepts, significance and critiques
PART 1
Key premise
- Grounded in the idea that criminal offending cannot be understood
through only one lens, BPS integrates biological, psychological and
social factors to explain criminal behaviour
PART 2
1. Key Premise of Biopsychosocial Theories
Choose the right answer
Q1. The core premise of biopsychosocial criminology is that criminal
offending:
A. Is best explained by biological factors alone
B. Can be understood through psychological traits only
C. Results from the interaction of biological, psychological, and social
factors
D. Is primarily caused by social inequality
Correct answer: C
Choose all that apply
Q2. Biopsychosocial criminology argues that crime should be understood
through:
☐ Biological influences
☐ Psychological processes
☐ Social and structural contexts
☐ A single dominant explanatory factor
, Correct answers:
☑ Biological influences
☑ Psychological processes
☑ Social and structural contexts
2. Origins and Theoretical Foundations
Choose the right answer
Q3. Early biological criminology is most strongly associated with which
figure?
A. Emile Durkheim
B. Cesare Lombroso
C. Robert Merton
D. Albert Bandura
Correct answer: B
Choose all that apply
Q4. Early biological and psychological theories were later criticised
because they were seen as:
☐ Reductive
☐ Potentially discriminatory
☐ Sufficient on their own to explain crime
☐ Overly deterministic
Correct answers:
☑ Reductive
☑ Potentially discriminatory
☑ Overly deterministic
Choose the right answer
Q5. The move toward integrated theories in the 1970s–1980s occurred
because criminologists recognised that:
A. Crime rates were declining
B. Social theories had failed completely
C. No single theory could fully explain criminal offending
D. Biological explanations were universally accepted
Correct answer: C
Part 1 (15%): write down the main premise of each theory
Part 2 ( 40%): multiple-choice questions
Part 3 (45%): long-answer (in-depth account of perspectives),
thorough account of perspectives, history, strengths, critiques –
origins, main concepts, significance and critiques
PART 1
Key premise
- Grounded in the idea that criminal offending cannot be understood
through only one lens, BPS integrates biological, psychological and
social factors to explain criminal behaviour
PART 2
1. Key Premise of Biopsychosocial Theories
Choose the right answer
Q1. The core premise of biopsychosocial criminology is that criminal
offending:
A. Is best explained by biological factors alone
B. Can be understood through psychological traits only
C. Results from the interaction of biological, psychological, and social
factors
D. Is primarily caused by social inequality
Correct answer: C
Choose all that apply
Q2. Biopsychosocial criminology argues that crime should be understood
through:
☐ Biological influences
☐ Psychological processes
☐ Social and structural contexts
☐ A single dominant explanatory factor
, Correct answers:
☑ Biological influences
☑ Psychological processes
☑ Social and structural contexts
2. Origins and Theoretical Foundations
Choose the right answer
Q3. Early biological criminology is most strongly associated with which
figure?
A. Emile Durkheim
B. Cesare Lombroso
C. Robert Merton
D. Albert Bandura
Correct answer: B
Choose all that apply
Q4. Early biological and psychological theories were later criticised
because they were seen as:
☐ Reductive
☐ Potentially discriminatory
☐ Sufficient on their own to explain crime
☐ Overly deterministic
Correct answers:
☑ Reductive
☑ Potentially discriminatory
☑ Overly deterministic
Choose the right answer
Q5. The move toward integrated theories in the 1970s–1980s occurred
because criminologists recognised that:
A. Crime rates were declining
B. Social theories had failed completely
C. No single theory could fully explain criminal offending
D. Biological explanations were universally accepted
Correct answer: C
