MCOLES State Licensing Practice Exam

What term is used to identify an action causing terror through multiple contacts?

1. Assault

2. Stalking

3. Harassment

4. Defamation

The correct answer is: Stalking

The term used to identify an action that causes terror through multiple contacts is stalking. Stalking specifically refers to a pattern of behavior where an individual engages in repeated and unwanted attention or contact with another person, which creates a sense of fear or distress in the victim. This conduct can include following, harassing, or otherwise intimidating the individual over time, leading to emotional or psychological harm. In contrast, while assault can involve threatening behavior, it generally refers to an immediate act of violence or the threat of violence, rather than a series of contacts. Harassment also involves unwanted behavior but is not necessarily characterized by the persistent, targeted nature of stalking that causes severe terror. Defamation relates to damaging someone's reputation through false statements, which does not fit the context of causing terror through repeated contact. Each of these terms has its own legal implications and definitions, but stalking is clearly connected to the specified context of repeated actions causing fear.