CMY2602 Assignment 1 Study Guide 2025/2026
Accurate Solutions & Correct Answers with Rationales | 100% Guaranteed
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Part 1: Foundations of Victimology
1. Q: What is the primary focus of the field of victimology?
• A: The scientific study of the physical, emotional, and financial harm people
suffer because of criminal activities, the relationship between victims and
offenders, the interaction between victims and the criminal justice system,
and the connections between victims and other societal groups.
• Rationale: Victimology extends beyond just the crime event to include the
victim's entire experience and societal context.
2. Q: Who is often considered the "Father of Victimology"?
• A: Benjamin Mendelsohn.
• Rationale: Mendelsohn was a defense attorney who coined the term
"victimology" in the 1940s and developed one of the first victim typologies.
3. Q: What is the key difference between criminology and victimology?
, • A: Criminology focuses on the crime, the offender, and the causes of
offending. Victimology focuses on the victim, the impact of the crime, and
the victim's experiences, rights, and recovery.
• Rationale: While related, they are distinct fields with different central
subjects of study.
4. Q: The concept of "victim precipitation" was most prominently
explored by which researcher?
• A: Marvin Wolfgang.
• Rationale: In his 1958 study of homicides, Wolfgang found that in many
cases, the victim was the first to use force or provoke the offender.
5. Q: What does the term "penal couple" refer to in victimology?
• A: The functional relationship and interaction between the victim and the
offender.
• Rationale: This concept, introduced by Mendelsohn, suggests that the
victim and offender are often connected and that the victim may play a role
in the dynamic that leads to the crime.
,Part 2: Victim Typologies & Theories
6. Q: Mendelsohn's typology classifies victims based on what?
• A: The degree of the victim's culpability or responsibility in their own
victimization.
• Rationale: His scale ranges from the "completely innocent victim" to the
"simulating victim" who falsely claims victimhood.
7. Q: According to Von Hentig's typology, what is a "depressive" victim?
• A: A person who is easily manipulated and trusting due to a desire for
affection, making them an easy target for exploitation.
• Rationale: Von Hentig focused on psychological and social characteristics
that make individuals more vulnerable.
8. Q: What does "Lifestyle Theory" suggest about victimization?
• A: That individuals whose lifestyle increases their exposure to dangerous
places, times, and people have a higher risk of victimization.
• Rationale: For example, frequently going out late at night in high-crime
areas increases the risk of becoming a victim.
9. Q: What is the central proposition of "Routine Activities Theory"?
, • A: For a direct-contact predatory crime to occur, three elements must
converge in time and space: a motivated offender, a suitable target, and the
absence of a capable guardian.
• Rationale: This theory explains victimization opportunities through
everyday patterns of social interaction.
10. Q: "Victim blaming" is a major criticism of which early victimological
concept?
- A: Victim precipitation theory.
- Rationale: While intended to understand the crime event, it has often been
misused to shift blame from the offender to the victim.
11. Q: What is the primary concern of "Critical Victimology"?
- A: It challenges how the label of "victim" is socially constructed and applied, and
how power structures (like the state) can create or ignore victimization.
- Rationale: It asks who gets to be called a victim and whose suffering is
recognized or hidden.
12. Q: "Victim Defensiveness" is a concept within which theory?
- A: Von Hentig's Victim Typology.
- Rationale: It describes a victim who fights back, which can sometimes escalate
the situation and lead to greater harm.
Accurate Solutions & Correct Answers with Rationales | 100% Guaranteed
Pass <Updated Version>
Part 1: Foundations of Victimology
1. Q: What is the primary focus of the field of victimology?
• A: The scientific study of the physical, emotional, and financial harm people
suffer because of criminal activities, the relationship between victims and
offenders, the interaction between victims and the criminal justice system,
and the connections between victims and other societal groups.
• Rationale: Victimology extends beyond just the crime event to include the
victim's entire experience and societal context.
2. Q: Who is often considered the "Father of Victimology"?
• A: Benjamin Mendelsohn.
• Rationale: Mendelsohn was a defense attorney who coined the term
"victimology" in the 1940s and developed one of the first victim typologies.
3. Q: What is the key difference between criminology and victimology?
, • A: Criminology focuses on the crime, the offender, and the causes of
offending. Victimology focuses on the victim, the impact of the crime, and
the victim's experiences, rights, and recovery.
• Rationale: While related, they are distinct fields with different central
subjects of study.
4. Q: The concept of "victim precipitation" was most prominently
explored by which researcher?
• A: Marvin Wolfgang.
• Rationale: In his 1958 study of homicides, Wolfgang found that in many
cases, the victim was the first to use force or provoke the offender.
5. Q: What does the term "penal couple" refer to in victimology?
• A: The functional relationship and interaction between the victim and the
offender.
• Rationale: This concept, introduced by Mendelsohn, suggests that the
victim and offender are often connected and that the victim may play a role
in the dynamic that leads to the crime.
,Part 2: Victim Typologies & Theories
6. Q: Mendelsohn's typology classifies victims based on what?
• A: The degree of the victim's culpability or responsibility in their own
victimization.
• Rationale: His scale ranges from the "completely innocent victim" to the
"simulating victim" who falsely claims victimhood.
7. Q: According to Von Hentig's typology, what is a "depressive" victim?
• A: A person who is easily manipulated and trusting due to a desire for
affection, making them an easy target for exploitation.
• Rationale: Von Hentig focused on psychological and social characteristics
that make individuals more vulnerable.
8. Q: What does "Lifestyle Theory" suggest about victimization?
• A: That individuals whose lifestyle increases their exposure to dangerous
places, times, and people have a higher risk of victimization.
• Rationale: For example, frequently going out late at night in high-crime
areas increases the risk of becoming a victim.
9. Q: What is the central proposition of "Routine Activities Theory"?
, • A: For a direct-contact predatory crime to occur, three elements must
converge in time and space: a motivated offender, a suitable target, and the
absence of a capable guardian.
• Rationale: This theory explains victimization opportunities through
everyday patterns of social interaction.
10. Q: "Victim blaming" is a major criticism of which early victimological
concept?
- A: Victim precipitation theory.
- Rationale: While intended to understand the crime event, it has often been
misused to shift blame from the offender to the victim.
11. Q: What is the primary concern of "Critical Victimology"?
- A: It challenges how the label of "victim" is socially constructed and applied, and
how power structures (like the state) can create or ignore victimization.
- Rationale: It asks who gets to be called a victim and whose suffering is
recognized or hidden.
12. Q: "Victim Defensiveness" is a concept within which theory?
- A: Von Hentig's Victim Typology.
- Rationale: It describes a victim who fights back, which can sometimes escalate
the situation and lead to greater harm.
