Evolution of civilization has also increased the need of controlling the crimes in the
society, and the official systems including police, criminologists are trying their best to
understand and solve these issues based on psychological terms. Multiple theories regarding the
criminal minds and internal motivation has been proposed in all the years. Internal motivation
has also played an integral role in a crime committed by a specific person. Choice theory takes
its basis from this statement, and motivation can be of “a variety of reasons, including greed,
revenge, need, anger, lust, jealousy, thrill seeking or variety” (Siegel, Brown, & Hoffman, p. 69).
This theory is based on benefits and consequences of choices made by a person
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If the choice is considered before acting on it then it is called as rational
choice, and “the view of crime is referred to here as choice theory” (Siegel, Brown, & Hoffman,
p. 69). The concept on which rational choice is based is that every person considers their
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72).
Criminals are more likely to have problems with their behavior, because they are choosing a
risky act. This lead to them living a stressful life with a risk of getting caught all the times.
Living a luxury life can also motivate certain criminals to follow this path. Watching other
people living a luxury life can stress some people to persuade criminal activities.
Other important factors that derive people to follow the risky criminal paths are survival,
freedom, power, love, and learning. Some people steal and rob and even murder people to
survive and survival can consist of three basic needs, which are food shelter and clothing. There
are majority of big crimes are also done for freedom in number of armed revolutions around the
world. Major power shifts around the world in the governments are also reasons behind big
massacres. Crimes around the world are also done by personal motivation like revenge from
someone.
Crimes can happen anywhere in the world at any time, but for criminals choosing a place or
location is an important thing. Criminals think and “carefully choose where they will
Crimes are deliberate acts, with the intent of benefiting the offender. 2. Benefiting unsuccessfully in choosing the best decisions because of the risks and uncertainty involved. 3. Decision making significantly varies with the nature of the crime. 4. Involvement decisions are quite different from the commission (event decision) of a specific act. 5. Involvement decisions are divided into three stages: first time involvement (initiation), continued involvement (habituation) and ceasing to offend (desistance), 6. Event decisions include a sequence of choices made at each stage of the criminal act, involvement model, background factors and situational life styles, initiation (of becoming involved in a crime), habituation (deciding to continue with crime), distance (deciding to stop criminal behavior) and event model – criminal even
to their future criminal behavior, they commit the crime because they have been associated by
The study of criminology involves many different theories in which people attempt to explain reasoning behind criminal behavior. Although there are many different theories the focus of this paper is the comparison and contrasting sides of The Differential Association Theory (DAT) of Edwin Sutherland and the Neoclassicism Rational Choice Theory. The Differential Theory falls under Social Process Theories which focuses on sociological perspective of crime. The Rational Choice Theory falls under Neoclassicism which believes that criminal behavior is ultimately a choice.
Criminals are not born; they are created or molded into individuals who participate in criminal behaviors. There are several factors that influence deviance beginning with social structures, generational values and attitudes and social bonding. The concepts of all five theories briefly clarify why criminals partake in deviant activities; however, I believe three learning theories - Social Disorganization, Differential Association and Hirschi’s Social Bonding - best explain how social structures and interactions correlate with the cultivation of criminals.
In history, crimes have been dealt with by the justice system according to its severity as well as the offender: if the crime committed was not very serious and the offender was deemed “non-delinquent”, or “free of any real criminal disposition”, they would be cautioned or fined. However, were the crime a more serious one and the offender appeared to have a “criminal character”, they would receive more severe and more deterrent punishment (Garland, 2001: 42).
The theory of crime I can identify most is the Rational Crime Theory. I came to this conclusion
In regards to rational choice theory, my opinion lies somewhere in between believer and nonbeliever. The research that supports both the theory’s merits and limitations appears to be minimal and lacking true empirical evidence. However, I believe there is reasoning for all we do and all that is done. With that being said, I would have to say that I am a believer of rational choice theory. It is my belief and personal opinion, that even when making choices irrationally, our actions can, to some degree be rationalized.
Rational choice theory, developed by Ronald Clarke and Derek Cornish in 1985, is a revival of Cesare Becca...
It does not consider other factors such as criminal associations, individual traits, and inner strains, which plays significant role in determining punishment for the individuals in committing crimes. It is observed that this theory endeavours to know that whether the activities of crime as well as the victim’s choice, criminals commit the activities on start from rational decisions. The theory also determines that criminals consider different elements before committing crime. They engage in the exchange of ideas before reaching on any final decision. These elements consist of consequences of their crimes, which include revealing their families to problems or death, chances of being arrested, and others elements, which comprises of placement of surveillance systems (Walsh & Hemmens, 2010; Lichbach,
Rational choice theory, also known simply as choice theory, is the assessment of a potential offender committing a crime. Choice theory is the belief that committing a crime is a rational decision, based on cost-benefit analysis. The would-be offender will weigh the costs of committing a particular crime: fines, jail time, and imprisonment versus the benefits: money, status, and heightened adrenaline. Depending on which factors outweigh the other, a criminal will decide to commit or forgo committing a crime. This decision-making process makes committing a crime a rational choice.
Crime exists everywhere. It is exists in our country, in the big cities, the small towns, schools, and even in homes. Crime is defined as “any action that is a violation of law”. These violations may be pending, but in order to at least lower the crime rate, an understanding of why the crimes are committed must first be sought. There are many theories that are able to explain crimes, but three very important ones are rational choice theory, social disorganization theory and strain theory.
... 86). Hence why I believe that criminal behaviour is influenced by mixture of a persons social background, life chances and pathology
In conclusion it is shown through examinations of a average criminals biological makeup is often antagonized by a unsuitable environment can lead a person to crime. Often a criminal posses biological traits that are fertile soil for criminal behavior. Some peoples bodies react irrationally to a abnormal diet, and some people are born with criminal traits. But this alone does not explain their motivation for criminal behavior. It is the environment in which these people live in that release the potential form criminal behavior and make it a reality. There are many environmental factors that lead to a person committing a crime ranging from haw they were raised, what kind of role models they followed, to having a suitable victims almost asking to be victimized. The best way to solve criminal behavior is to find the source of the problem but this is a very complex issue and the cause of a act of crime cannot be put on one source.
Rational choice theory in Criminal Justice focuses on deterrence and how individuals are influenced by some type of factor that makes them engage in crime. This adds to conversation that criminologists started in the 1700’s because they were all about deterring criminals. They wanted the crime to fit the punishment which would deter other criminals from committing that same crime. Rational Choice Theory and Classical criminologists also believed that people committed crimes because they wanted to achieve their desired goals whether it would be for money or their sexual desires. This was based off of free will where people decided if they were going to commit a crime and what the consequences would be if they committed that crime.
The causes of crime seem to be indefinite and ever changing. In the 19th century, slum poverty was blamed; in the 20th century, a childhood without love was blamed (Adams 152). In the era going into the new millennium, most experts and theorists have given up all hope in trying to pinpoint one single aspect that causes crime. Many experts believe some people are natural born criminals who are born with criminal mindsets, and this is unchangeable. However, criminals are not a product of heredity. They are a product of their environment and how they react to it. This may seem like a bogus assumption, but is undoubtedly true.