©Jason McConnel 2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Theories of Crime Exam Questions With
Correct Answers A+
What is Criminology - Answer✔The scientific and multidisciplinary study of the nature, extent,
and cause of crime and society's reaction to those who are labeled criminal.
Edward Sutherland said "Criminology is the study of law making, law breaking, and law
enforcing,"
Study of why people do what they do, the ethology of crime
Definitions of theory - Answer✔"Set of interrelated universal statements, some of which are
definitions and some of which are relationships assumed to be true," (Cohen,1998: 178)
"Scientific theories make statements about the relationships between observable phenomena"
(Vold et. Al, 2002).
Goals of Theory - Answer✔- explains occurrence of phenomenon and its conditions and
assumptions
- predict future occurrences
- builds on what is already known
- has some use or value
Explanations of crime - Answer✔Spiritual (other world) explanations
- possessions, demons
Natural (this world) explanations
Why is theory important - Answer✔- Theory explains facts
- Theory is about real situations, experiences, and human behavior
- Akers & Sellers (2004) say that effective theory helps us make sense of what we already know
Types of Criminological Theory - Answer✔- Making & enforcing the law
- Theories of criminal & deviant behavior
- General vs. Typological Theory
- Micro-level theories
1|Page
, ©Jason McConnel 2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
- Macro-level theories
- Integrated Theories
triple M T G I
Making & enforcing the law - Answer✔Deterrence theories
Social Bond Theory
Theories of criminal & deviant behavior - Answer✔Variations in group rates
Individual differences
General Theory - Answer✔Explains all crime, is open
Typological Theory - Answer✔Typically addresses narrow range of crimes and the criminals.
Akin to profiling
- Offender based
- Offense based
Micro-level theories - Answer✔Individual behavior
Examples: Social control, General Strain
Macro-level theories - Answer✔Aggregate behavior
Examples: Social disorganization, subcultural, gangs
Integrated theories - Answer✔Reintegrative shaming
Parts of a theory - Answer✔- hypothesis
- concepts
- operational definitions
- Spuriousness
- causation
- correlation
- time sequence
- theoretical rationale
- Assumptions about human nature
- Assumptions about criminal behavior
h, c,c,c,o,s,t,t, AA
2|Page
, ©Jason McConnel 2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Hypotheses - Answer✔- predictions of what might occur
- they dictate what we'll need to examine in order to test our theory
- need to be stated in a clear and systematic way so that the same meaning is conveyed to
everyone
Concepts - Answer✔Concepts vary in specificity
Some are abstract, some are more concrete
Need to identify concepts in a way that allows others to know what we're talking about and what
phenomenon we're trying to explain (and use to explain the phenomenon)
Operational definitions - Answer✔If concepts are too abstract, we need to develop operational
definitions for them so that we can measure it
Need to identify how to measure a concept
For instance, parental monitoring
o Do you ask the parent or the child?
o Is it involvement with the child - attending sporting events, supervising homework?
o Is it setting rules for behavior - curfew, whether the child can go to the mall without an adult
Spuriousness - Answer✔If a relationship between two variables is really accounted for by
another variable, that variable is said to be spurious
Example: A is related to B
In reality, C predicts A and B which is why A is related to B
Causation - Answer✔Causation is one type of relationship among observable variables
Key points:
o Correlation
o Time sequence - temporal ordering, time ordering.. need to show self control comes before the
crime in order to say self control causes the crime
o Absence of spuriousness -
o Theoretical rationale
Correlation - Answer✔The relationship between two variables
Ranges from 1.0 to -1.0
Perfect positive 1.0
Perfect Negative -1.0
no relationship/correlation value = 0
3|Page
Theories of Crime Exam Questions With
Correct Answers A+
What is Criminology - Answer✔The scientific and multidisciplinary study of the nature, extent,
and cause of crime and society's reaction to those who are labeled criminal.
Edward Sutherland said "Criminology is the study of law making, law breaking, and law
enforcing,"
Study of why people do what they do, the ethology of crime
Definitions of theory - Answer✔"Set of interrelated universal statements, some of which are
definitions and some of which are relationships assumed to be true," (Cohen,1998: 178)
"Scientific theories make statements about the relationships between observable phenomena"
(Vold et. Al, 2002).
Goals of Theory - Answer✔- explains occurrence of phenomenon and its conditions and
assumptions
- predict future occurrences
- builds on what is already known
- has some use or value
Explanations of crime - Answer✔Spiritual (other world) explanations
- possessions, demons
Natural (this world) explanations
Why is theory important - Answer✔- Theory explains facts
- Theory is about real situations, experiences, and human behavior
- Akers & Sellers (2004) say that effective theory helps us make sense of what we already know
Types of Criminological Theory - Answer✔- Making & enforcing the law
- Theories of criminal & deviant behavior
- General vs. Typological Theory
- Micro-level theories
1|Page
, ©Jason McConnel 2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
- Macro-level theories
- Integrated Theories
triple M T G I
Making & enforcing the law - Answer✔Deterrence theories
Social Bond Theory
Theories of criminal & deviant behavior - Answer✔Variations in group rates
Individual differences
General Theory - Answer✔Explains all crime, is open
Typological Theory - Answer✔Typically addresses narrow range of crimes and the criminals.
Akin to profiling
- Offender based
- Offense based
Micro-level theories - Answer✔Individual behavior
Examples: Social control, General Strain
Macro-level theories - Answer✔Aggregate behavior
Examples: Social disorganization, subcultural, gangs
Integrated theories - Answer✔Reintegrative shaming
Parts of a theory - Answer✔- hypothesis
- concepts
- operational definitions
- Spuriousness
- causation
- correlation
- time sequence
- theoretical rationale
- Assumptions about human nature
- Assumptions about criminal behavior
h, c,c,c,o,s,t,t, AA
2|Page
, ©Jason McConnel 2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Hypotheses - Answer✔- predictions of what might occur
- they dictate what we'll need to examine in order to test our theory
- need to be stated in a clear and systematic way so that the same meaning is conveyed to
everyone
Concepts - Answer✔Concepts vary in specificity
Some are abstract, some are more concrete
Need to identify concepts in a way that allows others to know what we're talking about and what
phenomenon we're trying to explain (and use to explain the phenomenon)
Operational definitions - Answer✔If concepts are too abstract, we need to develop operational
definitions for them so that we can measure it
Need to identify how to measure a concept
For instance, parental monitoring
o Do you ask the parent or the child?
o Is it involvement with the child - attending sporting events, supervising homework?
o Is it setting rules for behavior - curfew, whether the child can go to the mall without an adult
Spuriousness - Answer✔If a relationship between two variables is really accounted for by
another variable, that variable is said to be spurious
Example: A is related to B
In reality, C predicts A and B which is why A is related to B
Causation - Answer✔Causation is one type of relationship among observable variables
Key points:
o Correlation
o Time sequence - temporal ordering, time ordering.. need to show self control comes before the
crime in order to say self control causes the crime
o Absence of spuriousness -
o Theoretical rationale
Correlation - Answer✔The relationship between two variables
Ranges from 1.0 to -1.0
Perfect positive 1.0
Perfect Negative -1.0
no relationship/correlation value = 0
3|Page
