Chapter 1: The Importance of Ethics in Criminal Justice

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. The field of ethics is also known as ______.

a. moral philosophy

b. moralography

c. post-modernism

d. moralology

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Meaning of Ethics
Difficulty Level: Easy

2. Ethics involves making judgments about ______.

a. how to live a “good” life

b. what “good” means

c. what is absolute truth

d. what is right or wrong

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Meaning of Ethics
Difficulty Level: Easy

3. What type of ethics is concerned with methods, language, and logical structure?

a. metaethics

b. normative ethics

c. applied ethics

d. method ethics

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Meaning of Ethics
Difficulty Level: Medium

4. The branch of ethics concerned with the question of what “good” means is ______.

a. normative ethics

b. metaethics

c. applied ethics

d. philosophy

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Meaning of Ethics
Difficulty Level: Medium

5. Normative ethics is a form of ethics devised to assist in ______.

a. deciding which system of ethics is best

b. making decisions about the proper behavior

c. deciding what is good or right in the abstract

d. deciding which government or agency policies are best

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Meaning of Ethics
Difficulty Level: Medium

6. Among the reasons commonly given for studying ethics, which of the following are NOT mentioned?

a. It is crucial that ethical decisions are made, and the study of ethics enables the development of tools that enhance ethical decision-making.

b. It is important to have the capacity to point to moral reasoning in justifying behavior, and the study of ethics develops that capacity.

c. The study of ethics increases sensitivity to issues of right and wrong and the right way to conduct oneself, and aids in identifying acts that have a moral content.

d. all of these

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Value of Ethics
Difficulty Level: Medium

7. The study of ethics is especially important in criminal justice because ______.

a. unethical behavior is more rampant in criminal justice that other fields

b. ethics is not studied at police academies

c. CJ professionals have historically ignored ethics in their decision making

d. the potential of abuse of discretion and the powers of arrest and use of force society grants to law enforcement personnel

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Value of Ethics
Difficulty Level: Easy

8. The central notion to ______ is that one’s conduct must take into account moral issues.

a. metaethics

b. normative ethics

c. applied ethics

d. method ethics

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Normative Ethics
Difficulty Level: Medium

9. Ethical relativism assumes that ______.

a. all issues are related

b. what is right or ethical may vary from person to person or culture to culture

c. answers to ethical questions are relative to the etiology of the problem

d. all people on the planet are related to each other in a symbiotic relationship

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Ethical Relativism
Difficulty Level: Hard

10. According to Holmes (1998), which of the following agree that there is moral right and wrong but contend what is right for one, may be wrong for another?

a. ethical relativism

b. cultural relativism

c. extreme or individual relativism

d. ethical absolutism

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethical Relativism
Difficulty Level: Medium

11. Proponents of which ethical theory argue that every society has a different moral code that explains which acts are permitted or not?

a. ethical relativism

b. cultural relativism

c. extreme or individual relativism

d. ethical absolutism

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Cultural Relativism
Difficulty Level: Medium

12. Which of the following is a major problem with cultural relativism?

a. It provides answers to issues and spurs debate.

b. It operates as a moral isolationism.

c. Values of different historical periods are valid throughout time.

d. Cultures are totally isolated from one another.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Cultural Relativism
Difficulty Level: Medium

13. Ethical absolutism assumes that ______.

a. there is an eternal, unchanging moral law that applies everywhere to everyone

b. there are absolutely no moral universals

c. there are many possible ethical truths

d. no set of moral rules is absolutely true in all times and all places

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethical Absolutism
Difficulty Level: Medium

14. Which of the following is considered valid regardless of the thought and feeling?

a. ethical relativism

b. cultural relativism

c. extreme or individual relativism

d. ethical absolutism

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethical Absolutism
Difficulty Level: Medium

15. Which of the following teaches the value of an open mind, of tolerance, and understanding?

a. ethical relativism

b. cultural relativism

c. extreme or individual relativism

d. ethical absolutism

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethical Absolutism
Difficulty Level: Medium

16. Ethical pluralism argues that in most situations ______.

a. there are a lot of alternatives but only one can be correct

b. the principle with which the greatest number of people agree is the correct principle

c. there are many truths rather than a single truth

d. ethical absolutism applies only when there are a large number of ethical options

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethical Pluralism
Difficulty Level: Medium

17. The principles of understanding, tolerance, standing up and fallibility are all parts of the theory of ethical ______.

a. relativism

b. pluralism

c.absolutism

d. exoneration

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethical Pluralism
Difficulty Level: Medium

18. The principle of understanding requires that we ______.

a. appreciate the meaning of ethical standards in other cultures from the perspective of those cultures

b. accept the existence of differences but deny diversity in ethical standards

c. be prepared to stand up against moral wrongdoing by creating more laws

d. be prepared to learn from other cultures yet have our own moral codes

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Ethical Pluralism
Difficulty Level: Medium

19. According to Hinman (1998), under which principle should people be prepared to stand up to what he calls “egregious moral wrongdoing”?

a. the principle of understanding

b. the principle of tolerance

c. the principle of standing up against evil

d. the principle of fallibility

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethical Pluralism
Difficulty Level: Medium

20. The author of the text suggests that supporting and upholding the execution of persons 16 or younger violates the principle of ______.

a. relativism

b. absolutism

c. fallibility

d. tolerance

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethical Pluralism
Difficulty Level: Medium

21. Kane (1996) argues for an approach that emphasizes ethical pluralism that does not imply indifference. He calls this approach ______.

a. closeness

b. openness

c. correctness

d. demonstrative

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethical Pluralism
Difficulty Level: Medium

22. Which of the following does not reflect the views of an ethical pluralist?

a. There is no possibility that there are moral absolutes.

b. We can learn from the morality of other societies.

c. We must accept the fact that there are differences in the morality of different societies.

d. We should be willing to have our own society’s shortcomings exposed.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethical Pluralism
Difficulty Level: Medium

23. Which famous philosopher discussed the issue of whether divine command theory was concerned with power of the Gods to command?

a. Plato

b. Aristotle

c. Socrates

d. Euripides

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Religion and Ethical Standards
Difficulty Level: Medium

24. Divine Command Theory argues that ______.

a. religion is the only basis one should use to make moral decisions

b. natural law and religion command that individuals do the right thing

c. what is morally right is what God directs, and conversely, what is morally wrong is what God prohibits

d. we are unable to be critical thinkers if we do not value religion

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Conduct Is Right Because God Commands It
Difficulty Level: Medium

25. Which of the following beliefs do not reflect of a divine command theory believer?

a. Ethical standards of conduct are derived from the interpretation of religion.

b. Divine commands will necessarily have to be drawn from a variety of religious texts.

c. The divine commands right conduct because it is right.

d. Divine commands are those that arise from superstition.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: God Commands Right Conduct Because It Is Right
Difficulty Level: Hard

26. The idea of natural law is ______.

a. almost identical to religious law

b. we can identify some factors that are common to our human nature

c. that a behavior is natural because God commands it

d. God commands a law because it is natural

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethics and Natural Law
Difficulty Level: Medium

27. Natural laws are said to ______.

a. govern human behavior

b. incorporate human nature and goals humans naturally seek

c. represent a search for moral absolutes

d. all of these

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethics and Natural Law
Difficulty Level: Medium

28. Steffen (2012) argued a proposal to bridge the gap between ethical ______.

a. relativism and ethical absolutism

b. absolutism and lived experience

c. theory and lived experiences

d. theory and classism

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethics and Natural Law
Difficulty Level: Medium

29. Legislation, statutes, and regulations made by governments are known as ______.

a. natural law

b. relative ethics

c. law

d. metaethics

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethics and Law
Difficulty Level: Medium

30. ______ laws conflict with ethical standards.

a. Always

b. Never

c. Maybe

d. Sometimes

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethics and Law
Difficulty Level: Medium

31. An ethical dilemma can arise when a person ______.

a. is faced with choices that involve conflicting ethical principles

b. knowingly decides to violate the clearly applicable ethical principle

c. is punished for making an ethical decision

d. cannot determine which ethical principles apply

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Ethical Dilemmas
Difficulty Level: Medium

32. The difference between an ethical dilemma and an ethical issue is that the ______.

a. former is more important than the latter

b. latter involves a public policy question

c. latter involves questions of individual ethical conduct

d. former involves conflicting principles, while the latter does not

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Ethical Dilemmas
Difficulty Level: Medium

33. An example of a prosecutorial ethical situation discussed in the chapter is when they decide to ______.

a. seek the death penalty in the case instead of life imprisonment

b. seek the maximum penalty under three-strikes legislation

c. withhold evidence from the defense

d. put a witness on the stand they know is lying

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethical Dilemmas
Difficulty Level: Medium

34. Ethical issues ______.

a. do not require individual decision making beyond the decision of whether one is in favor of, or opposed to, a particular social issue

b. do not require most individuals to decide the issue does not mean an individual is helpless to influence public debate on a social issue

c. are usually an issue of public policy

d. all of these

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethical Dilemmas
Difficulty Level: Medium

35. Which of the following is the first of the six recommended steps in solving an ethical dilemma?

a. identifying available options

b. collecting all relevant facts

c. identifying the fact that one is faced with an ethical dilemma and clearly stating it

d. identifying relevant personal values

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethical Dilemmas
Difficulty Level: Medium

36. Hare (1987) argues moral judgments must be able to be applied ______.

a. differently

b. universally

c. continuously

d. sparingly

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge | Comprehension

Answer Location: Ethical Dilemmas
Difficulty Level: Hard

37. Personal values are ______.

a. what is good or right in the abstract

b. deciding which government or agency policies are best

c. what individuals care about and what they think is important

d. deciding which system of ethics is best

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethical Dilemmas
Difficulty Level: Medium

38. Using institutional time and materials for personal gain unrelated to legitimate work activity is an example of an ethical problem in ______.

a. the use of authority

b. the relationship between personal and professional interests

c. personal and professional commitments to clients

d. criminal justice and public policy

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethical Problems in the Relationship Between Personal and Professional Interests
Difficulty Level: Medium

39. Capital punishment is an example of an ethical problem in ______.

a. the use of authority

b. the relationship between personal and professional interests

c. personal and professional commitments to clients

d. criminal justice and public policy

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethical Issues in Criminal Justice and Public Policy
Difficulty Level: Medium

40. Truth in sentencing policies is an example of an ethical problem in ______.

a. the use of authority

b. the relationship between personal and professional interests

c. personal and professional commitments to clients

d. criminal justice and public policy

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethical Issues in Criminal Justice and Public Policy
Difficulty Level: Medium

41. The criminalization of immigration, or “crimmigration,” is an example of an ethical problem in ______.

a. the use of authority

b. the relationship between personal and professional interests

c. criminal justice and public policy

d. information sharing

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethical Issues in Criminal Justice and Public Policy

Difficulty Level: Medium

42. Capital punishment and the use of armed drones and targeted killings by authorities are examples of ethical problems ______.

a. dealing with human rights issues in the criminal justice system

b. resulting from policing policies

c. in criminal justice and public policy

d. in information sharing

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethical Problems in Dealing with Human Rights Issues in the Criminal Justice System

Difficulty Level: Medium

43. Engaging in or promoting professional activities that are contrary to personal values is an example of an ethical problem in ______.

a. the use of authority

b. the relationship between personal and professional interests

c. personal and professional commitments to clients

d. criminal justice and public policy

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethical Problems in the Relationship Between Personal and Professional Interests
Difficulty Level: Medium

44. Increased surveillance of citizens in society is an example of an ethical problem in ______.

a. the use of authority

b. the relationship between personal and professional interests

c. personal and professional commitments to clients

d. criminal justice and public policy

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethical Issues in Criminal Justice and Public Policy
Difficulty Level: Medium

45. Policing policy in domestic violence cases, police use of body cameras, and “Stop and Frisk” are all examples of ethical problems ______.

a. resulting from policing policies

b. in information sharing

c. dealing with human rights issues in the criminal justice system

d. in the media reporting of crime

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethical Issues Resulting From Policing Policies

Difficulty Level: Medium

46. Use of force is an example of an ethical issue ______.

a. resulting from policing policies

b. in information sharing

c. dealing with human rights issues in the criminal justice system

d. in the media reporting of crime

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethical Issue Resulting From Policing Policies
Difficulty Level: Medium

47. Rules or practices relating to retention or disposal of court records is an example of an ethical problem ______.

a. resulting from policing policies

b. in information sharing

c. dealing with human rights issues in the criminal justice system

d. in the media reporting of crime

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethical Problems In information Sharing
Difficulty Level: Medium

48. Ethics of withholding information from a client, the court, or police, is an example of an ethical problem ______.

a. resulting from policing policies

b. in information sharing

c. dealing with human rights issues in the criminal justice system

d. in the media reporting of crime

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethical Problems In Information Sharing
Difficulty Level: Medium

49. Crime and public opinion is an example of an ethical issue ______.

a. resulting from policing policies

b. in information sharing

c. dealing with human rights issues in the criminal justice system

d. in the media reporting of crime

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethical Issues in the Media Reporting of Crime
Difficulty Level: Medium

50. The politicization of crime is an example of an ethical issue ______.

a. resulting from policing policies

b. in information sharing

c. dealing with human rights issues in the criminal justice system

d. in the media reporting of crime

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethical Issues in the Media Reporting of Crime
Difficulty Level: Medium

True/False

1. Ethical pluralism and ethical relativism are similar in that both tend to reject moral or ethical absolutes.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Ethical Relativism | Ethical Pluralism
Difficulty Level: Hard

2. The principles of normative ethics help us decide which government policies are best.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Normative Ethics
Difficulty Level: Medium

3. Cultural and ethical relativism are similar approaches to ethics.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Ethical Relativism
Difficulty Level: Medium

4. Police gratuities do not raise ethical issues.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethical Problems in the Use of Authority
Difficulty Level: Easy

5. An ethical or cultural relativist will not condemn practices in other cultures that are required by that culture.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Ethical Relativism
Difficulty Level: Medium

6. The field of ethics is a branch of the field of philosophy.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Meaning of Ethics
Difficulty Level: Easy

7. The study of ethics decreases sensitivity to issues of right and wrong.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Value of Ethics
Difficulty Level: Medium

8. The study of ethics is important for criminal justice personnel in that it can provide tools and perspectives on how to properly exercise discretion.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Value of Ethics
Difficulty Level: Easy

9. Hare argues that we initially use an intuitive level of moral thinking when we consider ethical dilemmas.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethical Dilemmas
Difficulty Level: Medium

10. Values do not include what individuals care about and what they think are important.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethical Dilemmas
Difficulty Level: Easy

Short Answer

1. What is the purpose of normative ethics?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Normative Ethics
Difficulty Level: Hard

2. What is the basic argument of ethical relativism?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Ethical Relativism
Difficulty Level: Medium

3. What is the basic argument of moral absolutism?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Ethical Absolutism
Difficulty Level: Medium

4. What is “natural law?”

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethics and Natural Law
Difficulty Level: Easy

5. Give a brief exampGive a brief example of an ethical dilemma in the use of authority.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Ethical Problems in the Use of Authority

Difficulty Level: Medium

Essay

1. Discuss, describe, compare and contrast ethical and cultural relativism with ethical absolutism. Please be sure to provide examples.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Ethical Relativism | Cultural Relativism | Ethical Absolutism
Difficulty Level: Hard

2. How does the theory of ethical pluralism help one steer a course between ethical relativism and ethical absolutism? Please be sure to provide examples.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Ethical Relativism | Cultural Relativism | Ethical Absolutism | Ethical Pluralism
Difficulty Level: Hard

3. Summarize the six steps in analyzing/solving an ethical dilemma. Give an example at each step.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Ethical Dilemmas
Difficulty Level: Hard

4. Does ethical pluralism succeed in providing serious guidance to ethical problems? Do the four principles provide true guides, or do they incorporate their own relativism? Please be sure to explain your position and provide examples.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Ethical Pluralism
Difficulty Level: Hard