Quiz Schedule

 

We will have a quiz nearly every week. This schedule of quizzes is subject to change. You can turn your quiz in early. However, you cannot turn them in late. I will assign your quiz, at least, one class period before it is due. You cannot miss a quiz unless you have official documentation. See your syllabus for a further discussion about the quiz requirements. I based the scheduling of your quizzes on your exam schedule. This schedule is tentative. Remember these quizzes are meant to test you on how well you understand the assigned reading. They are not opinion papers.  You must prove (e.g., using quotes, etc.) that you have read and understand every required article.  The highest grade you will earn on a quiz is a 65 if you have not proven (e.g., using quotes, etc.) that you have read and understand every article that you are required to read.  Quizzes must be typed.  I have posted on the World Wide Web an example of an A quiz. Its address is http://www.runet.edu/~junnever/crim/aquiz.html.


Quizzes #1, 2, and 3 are due during the first exam period.

 

Quiz #1

Article: “Why Do White Americans Support the Death Penalty” It is in the online reserve room on the World Wide Web (WebCt).

Question:  Many white Americans state that the reason why they support the death penalty is because they believe in “an eye for eye.”  While on one level this may be true, but on another deeper level there may be other reasons why white Americans support capital punishment.  Describe the individual and contextual factors that shape white America’s attitudes toward punitive correctional policies.

 

Quiz #2

Article: "On the Official Use of Statistics." It is in the online reserve room on the World Wide Web (WebCt). You also must read "Pinto Madness" and "Mitsubishi Madness."  Links to these articles are also in the online reserve room.  Make sure you include some mention of the "infamous" memo.  The link to the memo is on the right side of the first page of the Pinto Madness article.  Click on $11 vs. a Burn Death .

Question: Discuss the first two of the three questions that Kitsuse and Cicourel highlight concerning the use of official statistics.  I have highlighted these three questions in red in the text of the article. You can ignore the third question.  Use the Pinto and Mitsubishi Madness articles as "data" to illustrate your understanding of their first question.  They are not applicable for answering their second question.

 

Quiz #3

Construct and test a research question.  This will be explained in more detail during class.

 

Quizzes #4, 5, and 6 are due during the second exam period.

 

Quiz #4

Article: "Intelligence and Delinquency" Online reserve room,
Article: "The meaning of the IQ Delinquency Relationship" Online reserve room
Article: “Eugenics” Online reserve room

Question: Does low intelligence directly cause criminal behavior?   You must read and cite evidence that you have read both articles to receive a minimal score of 75.  Read the Hirschi and Hindelang article first and then the rejoinder by Simon. For how long did the Commonwealth of Virginia practice forced sterilizations (eugenics).

 

Quiz #5

Article:  “Parental management, ADHD, and delinquent involvement:  Reassessing Gottfredson and Hirschi’s general theory” Online reserve room.

Question: Outline the basic tenets of Gottfredson Hirschi's general theory. What is the principal cause of ADHD? We initially show that there is a correlation between ADHD and juvenile delinquency but go on to argue that it does not directly cause juvenile delinquency? Explain this apparent discrepancy. Does our research support Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory--why or why not?

 

Quiz #6

Article: "Role of Genotype in the Cycle of Violence in Maltreated Children" (Online Reserve Room).

Question: Outline the general argument presented in this research. Are adults who are maltreated more likely to exhibit aggressive behavior? Are adults who have low levels of MAOA more likely to exhibit aggressive behavior? Which adults have the highest probability of engaging in crime? Within the cohort, what percent of the crime do they commit?

 

Quizzes #7, 8, and 9 are due during the third exam period.

Quiz #7

Article: "A Developmental Perspective on Antisocial Behavior" (Online Reserve Room).

Question:  Explain the relationship between coercive parenting and escape-conditioning contingencies? Why do children who are raised ineffectively develop aggressive attitudes and eventually become adult offenders?

Quiz #8

Article: "Discipline and Deviance," "Preface to the American Edition," "Corporal Punishment and Adult Use of Violence," "Reply to Murray Strauss," and "Questioning the Value of Punishment" All of these articles are online.

Question: Present and then thoroughly review Straus' cultural spillover theory paying particular attention to McCord's construct theory (you must use all the authors to critique Straus' argument otherwise the best grade you can get is a 65).

 

Quiz #9

Article: “Why is “bad” parenting criminogenic?  A test of rival theories”

Question:  Outline why social control theory and social learning theories argue that bad parenting causes criminal behavior.  In general, which form of bad parenting is most directly related to delinquency?  What is the relationship between aggressive attitudes and low self-control and delinquent behavior?  Does it make a difference if you are a male or female, black or white?  Who is most likely to become delinquent?  Which theory, if either, was most supported by the data?

 

Quizzes #10, 11, and 12 are due during the fourth exam period.

 

Quiz #10

Articles: "Growing Up in a Class System (Cohen)," "Does Dropping Out of School Enhance Delinquent Involvement (Jarjoura)?" and "Schooling and the Reproduction of Inequality” (Bowles) (in the online reserve room).

Question: Do potential criminals fail at school or do schools fail at preventing potential criminals? 

 

Quiz #11

 Articles: "Urban Black Violence (in the online reserve room)" and "The Production of Black Violence in Chicago," in the online reserve room.

Question: According to these articles, why do Afro-Americans, based on the official statistics, have disproportionately higher rates of index crimes? (You will earn no more than a 65 if you do not extensively include material from the article on Chicago.)

 

Quiz #12

Article: "A Marxian Theory of Crime" in the online reserve room pgs.

Question: Why does Young argue that capitalistic systems generate high rates of all crimes?