Chapter 2: Theories of Victimization

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. Prosecutors began to establish victim-assistance programs during the ______.

A. 1950s

B. 1930s

C. 1970s

D. These have always been a part of the CJ system.

2. The emergence of agencies such as rape crisis centers developed in response to the perceived need for which of the following?

A. sexual assault prevention efforts

B. increased community awareness

C. decreased pain that victims of crime experience

D. all of these are correct

3. Which of the following pieces of legislation provides support for criminal justice researchers studying issues related to intimate partner violence?

A. Campus Sexual Assault Victims' Bill of Rights

B. Child Abuse Victims' Bill of Rights

C. Violence Against Women Act

D. Crime Victim's Rights Act

4. Core rights of victims include ______.

A. right to attend criminal justice proceedings

B. right to apply for compensation

C. right to protection from intimidation and harassment

D. all of these are correct

5. Reasons why a victim might choose not to report their victimization to the police include all except ______.

A. societal embarrassment

B. the belief that nothing could be done

C. the belief that it was not serious and a personal matter

D. employment jeopardy

6. Victims of sexual assault and intimate partner violence tend to seek help from all of the following except ______.

A. police

B. family

C. mental health services

D. friends

7. If a rape victim dresses provocatively, she deserved to be raped. This statement is an example of ______.

A. secondary victimization

B. overt traumatization

C. victim blaming

D. stigmatization

8. Which of the following refers to the practices whereby the responsing of the crime is diffused from the offender and blame is shifted to the victim?

A. secondary victimization

B. overt traumatization

C. victim blaming

D. primary victimization

9. Which of the following refers to the practice whereby victims of crime feel traumatized by the official response to their victimization by the criminal justice system?

A. primary victimization

B. secondary victimization

C. direct victimization

D. indirect victimization

10. ______ networks act as a support system for victims to seek professional help and to make an official crime report.

A. Formal

B. Informal

C. Legal

D. Private

11. An attack who is killed in self-defense is an example of a

A. victim who alone is guilty.

B. innocent victim.

C. imaginary victim.

D. voluntary victim.

12. Which of the following are considered negative consequences of victim blaming?

A. Victim blaming assumes that people are able to change the environment in which they live.

B. Victim blaming assumes that only innocent victims are true victims.

C. Victim blaming creates a false sense of security about the risks of crime.

D. all of these are correct

13. According to Mendelsohn, victims of random and unprecipitated crime are ______.

A. innocent victims

B. victims with minor guilt

C. natural victims

D. not victims at all

14. Mendelsohn focused on ______.

A. influence of guilt and responsibility of victims

B. offender innocence

C. victim risk factors

D. male dominant behaviors

15. Who of the following focused on how personal factors influence risk factors for victimization?

A. Mendelsohn

B. Agnew

C. Cohen and Felson

D. von Hentig

16. Which of the following is not true regarding the just world hypothesis?

A. The concept posits that people deserve what comes to them.

B. It allows people to distinguish themselves from the identity of victimhood.

C. It implies that there are no true victims.

D. It leads to an increased support of rape myths.

17. The just world hypothesis may lead to all of the following except ______.

A. impact on future reporting trends.

B. increased support of rape myths.

C. decreased crime reporting.

D. increased support for victims.

18. Researchers have suggested that which two theories should be combined to investigate victimization risks in general?

A. just world hypothesis and general strain theory

B. routine activities theory and lifestyle theory

C. lifestyle theory and feminist pathways perspective

D. general strain theory and routine activities theory

19. Which of the following is true about lifestyle theory?

A. It was developed to explore the risks of victimization from personal crimes.

B. It suggests that risky lifestyles decrease the risk for victimization.

C. It was developed to explore the risks of victimization from property crimes.

D. It suggests that risky lifestyles increase the risk for offending.

20. Hans von Hentig looked at which of the following personal factors when researching influences risk factors for victimization.

A. biological

B. psychological

C. sociological

D. all of these are correct

21. The feminist pathways perspective suggests ______.

A. a continuum of victimization

B. a cycle of victimization and offending

C. A life free of victimization increases the likelihood of offending.

D. Pathways do not exist for women.

22. Fear of crime can lead to all of the following except for

A. decreased self-worth.

B. decreased self-esteem.

C. increased anxiety.

D. increase sense of security.

23. Victims’ rights are referenced in state laws and constitutions in ______ states.

A. 25

B. 35

C. 45

D. 50

24. Cohen and Felson’s routine activity theory suggests that the likelihood of a criminal act occurs with all of the following except for

A. someone who is interested in pursuing a criminal action

B. potential victim “available” to be victimized

C. absence of someone or something that would deter the offender form making contact with the victim

D. gender plays a role in how factors influence victimization risk.

25. ______ theory relates to the patterns of one’s everyday activities to the potential for victimization.

A. Gender

B. Lifestyle

C. Pathway

D. Trauma

26. In a cycle of ______, young girls often run away from home in an attempt to escape from an abusive situation.

A. victimization and offending

B. feminism

C. pathways

D. lifesytle

27. ______ research draws upon the historical context of women’s and girls’ lives to relate how events and traumas affect their likelihood to engage in crime.

A. Routine activities

B. Victim responsibility

C. Feminist pathways perspective

D. Criminal justice

28. Mendelsoh’s “imaginary victim” is defined as a______.

A. victim mistakenly believes he or she has been victimized

B. victim believes that he or she was victimized by a ghost

C. victim who provokes another to commit the crime

D. victim who is solely responsible for the crime

29. Mendelsoh’s “voluntary victim” is defined as ______.

A. victim mistakenly believes he or she has been victimized

B. victim and offender are equally responsible for the crime

C. victim who provokes another to commit the crime

D. victim who is solely responsible for the crime

30. Mendelsoh’s “innocent victim” is defined as ______.

A. victim mistakenly believes he or she has been victimized

B. victim and offender are equally responsible for the crime

C. victim who provokes another to commit the crime

D. victim has no responsibility for the crime

31. Mendelsoh’s “victim who alone is guilty” is defined as ______.

A. victim mistakenly believes he or she has been victimized

B. victim and offender are equally responsible for the crime

C. victim who is solely responsible for his or her own victimization

D. victim has no responsibility for the crime

32. The ______, holds that people get what they deserve, is a form of victim blaming.

A. real world hypothesis

B. just world hypothesis

C. ordinary world hypothesis

D. old world hypothesis

33. Gendered ______ to specific crime types such as rape may explain the gendered fear of crime.

A. socialization

B. victimization

C. routine

D. offending

34. Which of the following cases was used as an example of the just world hypothesis?

A. Andrea Yates

B. Kobe Bryant

C. Damien Echols

D. Benjamin Mendelsohn

35. A victim who is more guilty than the offender is a victim who ______.

A. mistakenly believes he or she has been victimized

B. who is solely responsible for his or her own victimization

C. precipitates crime with carelessness

D. provokes or induces another to commit crime

36. Which of the following border towns is notoriously known for femicide?

A. Tijuana

B. Ciudad Juarez

C. Nogales

D. Mexicali

37. The cases of femicide amongst border towns involve significant acts of ______ crime.

A. sexual

B. property

C. white-collar

D. hate

38. Which of the following explanations was identified in the text as an explanation for the murders of women in border towns?

A. human trafficking

B. gender-based discrimination

C. presence of serial killing

D. drug trafficking

39. Ariel Castro pled guilty for all of the following rimes except for ______.

A. kidnapping

B. murder

C. rape

D. child endangerment

40. Phillip Garrido, the abducter and abuser of Jaycee Dugard, had which of the following convictions on his record?

A. sex offending

B. murder

C. robbery

D. arson

True/False

1. Attempts to pass an amendment to the U.S. Constitution on victims’ rights have been successful.

2. Victims’ rights are referenced in state laws and constitutions in all 50 states.

3. The Kobe Bryant rape case led to decreased reporting of sexual assault.

4. A belief in the just world hypothesis leads to an increased support of rape myths.

5. The media can perpetuate victim blaming.

6. Cohen and Felson’s theory was created to dicuss victimization in property crimes.

7. The media portray a distorted view of the criminal justice system.

8. Victims play an important role in the criminal justice process.

9. According to von Hentig's theory, victimization of women can only be explained by their gender.

10. Victim blaming creates a false sense of security about the risks of crime.

11. Under the pathways perspective, criminal offending may be a survival technique.

12. The routine activities theory has also been used to look at cybercrimes.

13. In a cycle of victimization and offending, young girls often run away from home in an attempt to escape from an abusive situation.

14. Many abusers use a woman’s illegal immigration status as a threat ot ensure compliance.

15. The media’s protraty of crime often leads to an overexaggeration of violent crime in society.

Essay

1. Explain how victim blaming impacts a victim's decision to report their victimization. Give an example.

2. Compare and contrast routine activities theory and lifestyle theory.

3. Discuss the relationship between victimization and offending as described by the feminist pathways perspective.

4. Discuss the fear of victimization perpetuated by the media.

5. Identify and discuss one of Mendelsohn’s categories of victims.