CMY3701: THE EXPLANATION OF CRIME EXAM READY - VERIFIED
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS - COMPREHENSIVE LATEST VERSION
UNISA Department of Criminology and Security Science
Q1. What is criminology?
Answer: Criminology is the scientific study of crime, criminals, criminal
behaviour, and society's response to crime. It examines the nature, extent,
causes, and control of criminal behaviour.
Q2. What does CMY3701 specifically focus on?
Answer: CMY3701 focuses on the explanation of crime — the various
theories and models used to explain why crime occurs, why people commit
crimes, and what factors contribute to criminal behaviour.
Q3. What is the difference between crime and deviance?
Answer: Crime refers to behaviour that violates the criminal law and is subject
to formal sanctions. Deviance refers to behaviour that violates social norms
but may not necessarily be illegal. All crime is deviant, but not all deviance is
criminal.
Q4. What are the three main models used to explain criminal behaviour?
Answer: The three main models are: (1) The Predestined Actor Model
(positivism), (2) The Rational Choice Model (classicism), and (3) The
Victimised Actor Model (critical/conflict criminology).
Q5. What is the purpose of criminological theory?
Answer: Criminological theory aims to explain why crime occurs, identify
factors that contribute to criminal behaviour, guide crime prevention strategies,
and inform criminal justice policy.
Q6. What is the Classical School of Criminology?
Answer: The Classical School (18th century), associated with Beccaria and
Bentham, argues that humans are rational beings who make free choices.
Crime results from a rational calculation of pleasure versus pain. Punishment
should be proportional to deter crime.
Q7. Who is Cesare Beccaria and what is his contribution to criminology?
, Answer: Cesare Beccaria (1738–1794) is considered the founder of classical
criminology. He argued in 'On Crimes and Punishments' (1764) that
punishment should be swift, certain, and proportionate to the crime to act as
an effective deterrent.
Q8. What is Jeremy Bentham's contribution to criminological thought?
Answer: Jeremy Bentham developed the concept of the 'felicity calculus' or
hedonistic calculus — the idea that people rationally weigh the pleasure of an
act against its pain (punishment). He also designed the Panopticon prison.
Q9. What is hedonism in the context of criminology?
Answer: Hedonism is the principle that humans seek pleasure and avoid
pain. In criminological terms, offenders calculate the risks and rewards of
criminal behaviour. If the pleasure outweighs the pain (punishment), they will
commit crime.
Q10. What is the Positivist School of Criminology?
Answer: The Positivist School (19th century) argues that criminal behaviour is
determined by biological, psychological, or social factors beyond the
individual's full control. Positivists use scientific methods to study crime
causation.
THEME 2: THE PREDESTINED ACTOR MODEL (POSITIVISM)
Q11. What is the Predestined Actor Model?
Answer: The Predestined Actor Model is based on positivism and argues that
criminal behaviour is determined by factors outside the individual's control —
biological, psychological, or social. The offender is 'predestined' to commit
crime.
Q12. What are the key assumptions of biological positivism?
Answer: Biological positivism assumes that: (1) criminal behaviour has
biological causes, (2) criminals are physically different from non-criminals, (3)
heredity plays a role in criminality, and (4) scientific methods can identify
biological determinants of crime.
Q13. Who is Cesare Lombroso and what is his theory?
Answer: Cesare Lombroso (1835–1909) is known as the 'father of
criminology.' He proposed that criminals are 'born criminals' — biological
throwbacks (atavists) who display physical stigmata such as large jaws, low
foreheads, and asymmetrical faces.
,Q14. What does the term 'atavism' mean in Lombroso's theory?
Answer: Atavism refers to Lombroso's idea that born criminals are biological
throwbacks to a more primitive stage of human evolution. They display
physical and mental characteristics of primitive ancestors, making them
predisposed to criminal behaviour.
Q15. What are 'stigmata' in Lombroso's theory?
Answer: Stigmata are the physical characteristics that Lombroso believed
distinguished born criminals from non-criminals. These included a sloping
forehead, large ears, prominent jaw, and other physical anomalies.
Q16. What is Enrico Ferri's contribution to positivist criminology?
Answer: Enrico Ferri was a student of Lombroso who expanded positivist
criminology to include social and economic factors alongside biological ones.
He identified five types of criminals: born, insane, habitual, occasional, and
passionate criminals.
Q17. What is Raffaele Garofalo's contribution to criminology?
Answer: Garofalo developed the concept of 'natural crime' — acts that offend
the basic moral sentiments of society (probity and pity). He argued that
criminals lack these moral instincts and cannot be reformed.
Q18. What is the XYY chromosome theory?
Answer: The XYY chromosome theory suggests that men with an extra Y
chromosome (XYY) are more aggressive and prone to criminal behaviour.
Research has not conclusively supported this theory, as most XYY males do
not engage in criminal behaviour.
Q19. What is the role of heredity in explaining crime according to biological
positivism?
Answer: Biological positivism suggests that criminal tendencies can be
inherited. Studies such as twin studies, adoption studies, and family tree
studies (e.g., Dugdale's Jukes family) were used to support the hereditary
basis of crime.
Q20. What did twin studies contribute to criminological theory?
Answer: Twin studies compared concordance rates (both twins committing
crime) in identical (MZ) vs fraternal (DZ) twins. Higher concordance in MZ
twins was used to support genetic influences on crime. However, critics note
environmental factors cannot be excluded.
Q21. What is somatotyping in criminology?
, Answer: Somatotyping, developed by William Sheldon, classifies people by
body type (endomorph, mesomorph, ectomorph). Sheldon linked the
mesomorph body type (muscular, athletic) to delinquency and criminal
behaviour.
Q22. What are the three body types in Sheldon's somatotype theory?
Answer: The three body types are: (1) Endomorph — soft, round, fat,
associated with sociability; (2) Mesomorph — muscular, athletic, associated
with aggression and delinquency; (3) Ectomorph — thin, fragile, associated
with introversion.
Q23. What is the role of testosterone in biological explanations of crime?
Answer: Some researchers link elevated testosterone levels to aggression
and criminal behaviour, particularly violent crime. Studies show correlations
between testosterone and aggressive behaviour, but causality has not been
definitively established.
Q24. What is the significance of brain abnormalities in biological
criminology?
Answer: Research suggests that damage to the prefrontal cortex (which
regulates impulse control) or abnormalities in the limbic system (which
regulates emotion) may increase the likelihood of violent or impulsive criminal
behaviour.
Q25. What are the main criticisms of biological positivism?
Answer: Criticisms include: (1) overemphasis on biological determinism, (2)
ignoring social and environmental factors, (3) methodological flaws in early
research, (4) potential for misuse to justify discrimination and eugenics, and
(5) inability to explain white-collar crime.
Q26. What is psychological positivism?
Answer: Psychological positivism explains criminal behaviour through
psychological factors such as personality traits, mental disorders, intelligence,
conditioning, and cognitive processes. It focuses on the mind rather than the
body.
Q27. What is Freud's psychoanalytic theory of crime?
Answer: Freud's psychoanalytic theory suggests that crime results from
unresolved unconscious conflicts. A weak superego (conscience) fails to
control the id's (instinctual drives') impulses, leading to criminal behaviour.
Crime may also be an unconscious expression of guilt.
Q28. What are the three components of Freud's personality structure?
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS - COMPREHENSIVE LATEST VERSION
UNISA Department of Criminology and Security Science
Q1. What is criminology?
Answer: Criminology is the scientific study of crime, criminals, criminal
behaviour, and society's response to crime. It examines the nature, extent,
causes, and control of criminal behaviour.
Q2. What does CMY3701 specifically focus on?
Answer: CMY3701 focuses on the explanation of crime — the various
theories and models used to explain why crime occurs, why people commit
crimes, and what factors contribute to criminal behaviour.
Q3. What is the difference between crime and deviance?
Answer: Crime refers to behaviour that violates the criminal law and is subject
to formal sanctions. Deviance refers to behaviour that violates social norms
but may not necessarily be illegal. All crime is deviant, but not all deviance is
criminal.
Q4. What are the three main models used to explain criminal behaviour?
Answer: The three main models are: (1) The Predestined Actor Model
(positivism), (2) The Rational Choice Model (classicism), and (3) The
Victimised Actor Model (critical/conflict criminology).
Q5. What is the purpose of criminological theory?
Answer: Criminological theory aims to explain why crime occurs, identify
factors that contribute to criminal behaviour, guide crime prevention strategies,
and inform criminal justice policy.
Q6. What is the Classical School of Criminology?
Answer: The Classical School (18th century), associated with Beccaria and
Bentham, argues that humans are rational beings who make free choices.
Crime results from a rational calculation of pleasure versus pain. Punishment
should be proportional to deter crime.
Q7. Who is Cesare Beccaria and what is his contribution to criminology?
, Answer: Cesare Beccaria (1738–1794) is considered the founder of classical
criminology. He argued in 'On Crimes and Punishments' (1764) that
punishment should be swift, certain, and proportionate to the crime to act as
an effective deterrent.
Q8. What is Jeremy Bentham's contribution to criminological thought?
Answer: Jeremy Bentham developed the concept of the 'felicity calculus' or
hedonistic calculus — the idea that people rationally weigh the pleasure of an
act against its pain (punishment). He also designed the Panopticon prison.
Q9. What is hedonism in the context of criminology?
Answer: Hedonism is the principle that humans seek pleasure and avoid
pain. In criminological terms, offenders calculate the risks and rewards of
criminal behaviour. If the pleasure outweighs the pain (punishment), they will
commit crime.
Q10. What is the Positivist School of Criminology?
Answer: The Positivist School (19th century) argues that criminal behaviour is
determined by biological, psychological, or social factors beyond the
individual's full control. Positivists use scientific methods to study crime
causation.
THEME 2: THE PREDESTINED ACTOR MODEL (POSITIVISM)
Q11. What is the Predestined Actor Model?
Answer: The Predestined Actor Model is based on positivism and argues that
criminal behaviour is determined by factors outside the individual's control —
biological, psychological, or social. The offender is 'predestined' to commit
crime.
Q12. What are the key assumptions of biological positivism?
Answer: Biological positivism assumes that: (1) criminal behaviour has
biological causes, (2) criminals are physically different from non-criminals, (3)
heredity plays a role in criminality, and (4) scientific methods can identify
biological determinants of crime.
Q13. Who is Cesare Lombroso and what is his theory?
Answer: Cesare Lombroso (1835–1909) is known as the 'father of
criminology.' He proposed that criminals are 'born criminals' — biological
throwbacks (atavists) who display physical stigmata such as large jaws, low
foreheads, and asymmetrical faces.
,Q14. What does the term 'atavism' mean in Lombroso's theory?
Answer: Atavism refers to Lombroso's idea that born criminals are biological
throwbacks to a more primitive stage of human evolution. They display
physical and mental characteristics of primitive ancestors, making them
predisposed to criminal behaviour.
Q15. What are 'stigmata' in Lombroso's theory?
Answer: Stigmata are the physical characteristics that Lombroso believed
distinguished born criminals from non-criminals. These included a sloping
forehead, large ears, prominent jaw, and other physical anomalies.
Q16. What is Enrico Ferri's contribution to positivist criminology?
Answer: Enrico Ferri was a student of Lombroso who expanded positivist
criminology to include social and economic factors alongside biological ones.
He identified five types of criminals: born, insane, habitual, occasional, and
passionate criminals.
Q17. What is Raffaele Garofalo's contribution to criminology?
Answer: Garofalo developed the concept of 'natural crime' — acts that offend
the basic moral sentiments of society (probity and pity). He argued that
criminals lack these moral instincts and cannot be reformed.
Q18. What is the XYY chromosome theory?
Answer: The XYY chromosome theory suggests that men with an extra Y
chromosome (XYY) are more aggressive and prone to criminal behaviour.
Research has not conclusively supported this theory, as most XYY males do
not engage in criminal behaviour.
Q19. What is the role of heredity in explaining crime according to biological
positivism?
Answer: Biological positivism suggests that criminal tendencies can be
inherited. Studies such as twin studies, adoption studies, and family tree
studies (e.g., Dugdale's Jukes family) were used to support the hereditary
basis of crime.
Q20. What did twin studies contribute to criminological theory?
Answer: Twin studies compared concordance rates (both twins committing
crime) in identical (MZ) vs fraternal (DZ) twins. Higher concordance in MZ
twins was used to support genetic influences on crime. However, critics note
environmental factors cannot be excluded.
Q21. What is somatotyping in criminology?
, Answer: Somatotyping, developed by William Sheldon, classifies people by
body type (endomorph, mesomorph, ectomorph). Sheldon linked the
mesomorph body type (muscular, athletic) to delinquency and criminal
behaviour.
Q22. What are the three body types in Sheldon's somatotype theory?
Answer: The three body types are: (1) Endomorph — soft, round, fat,
associated with sociability; (2) Mesomorph — muscular, athletic, associated
with aggression and delinquency; (3) Ectomorph — thin, fragile, associated
with introversion.
Q23. What is the role of testosterone in biological explanations of crime?
Answer: Some researchers link elevated testosterone levels to aggression
and criminal behaviour, particularly violent crime. Studies show correlations
between testosterone and aggressive behaviour, but causality has not been
definitively established.
Q24. What is the significance of brain abnormalities in biological
criminology?
Answer: Research suggests that damage to the prefrontal cortex (which
regulates impulse control) or abnormalities in the limbic system (which
regulates emotion) may increase the likelihood of violent or impulsive criminal
behaviour.
Q25. What are the main criticisms of biological positivism?
Answer: Criticisms include: (1) overemphasis on biological determinism, (2)
ignoring social and environmental factors, (3) methodological flaws in early
research, (4) potential for misuse to justify discrimination and eugenics, and
(5) inability to explain white-collar crime.
Q26. What is psychological positivism?
Answer: Psychological positivism explains criminal behaviour through
psychological factors such as personality traits, mental disorders, intelligence,
conditioning, and cognitive processes. It focuses on the mind rather than the
body.
Q27. What is Freud's psychoanalytic theory of crime?
Answer: Freud's psychoanalytic theory suggests that crime results from
unresolved unconscious conflicts. A weak superego (conscience) fails to
control the id's (instinctual drives') impulses, leading to criminal behaviour.
Crime may also be an unconscious expression of guilt.
Q28. What are the three components of Freud's personality structure?
