Rational Choice Theory

Rational Choice Theory

Sheila Camargo

Criminal behavior has been looked at as being explained, because when a person is on trial for a crime they tend to bring up that they had a period in their lives to where they were deprived or abused and that is the reason why they commit the crimes. I on the other hand do not believe that to be so in many cases. Attempts to explain all, conforming and deviant social behavior, in terms of how self-interested individuals make choices under the influence of their preferences. Some people commit crimes if they believe it will provide immediate benefits without the long-term threats. It treats social exchange as similar to economic exchange where all parties try to maximize their advantage or gain, and to minimize their disadvantage or loss. One theory that explores this is rational choice, which is the view that people behave as they do because they believe that performing their chosen actions has more benefits than costs. That is, people make rational choices based on their goals, and those choices govern their behavior. Rational Choice Theory is a principle of criminology that views man as a reasoning actor who weighs means and ends, costs and benefits, and makes a rational choice. According to this theory, behavioral choices, including the choice to engage in criminal activity, are based on purposeful decisions that the potential benefits outweigh the risks. Going back to classical era, the concept of Rational Choice was developed, and rooted in the early classical theory approach. (Brown, Esbensen, & Geis, 2010) This approach was refined by Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham which looks at the criminal event as opposed to the individual criminal, data rather than individuals, and explains crime as the rational choice between pro's and con's. According to Beccaria, criminal decisions are based on a few simple factors. That by being human, you have free will, that you have the power to act upon their own accord and...