Rational Choice, Agency And Thoughtfully Reflective Decision-Making

Rational choice theory is generally considered as thoughtful and reflective decision-making. Someone’s rationality, or decision-making “skills”, is based on of factors such as environment, interaction, family life, etc. Those factors, as well as others, help us gain a better understanding of why someone would act on them, why someone would commit a crime, and more. One of the immediate questions would be why would someone commit a crime despite the obvious potential consequences. Two criminologists and university professors, Ray Paternoster and Greg Pogarksy, in their journal “Rational Choice, Agency and Thoughtfully Reflective Decision Making: The Short and Long-Term Consequences of Making Good Choices”, suggest that “rational offending behavior

Environment affects rationality because “it encompasses a full range of behavioral inhibitors and facilitators [such as] rewards/costs…” (Akers, 1990, p. 655). The environment an individual grows up in could limit the learning of skills necessary to cope with certain situations, thus giving the individual the wrong ideas on how to proceed in confusing situations. In such cases, one could be punished with a consequence from one’s environment, or conversely, be gifted with many rewards and therefore not know how to act rationally when a complicated situation presents itself. Looking more into the personal lives of individuals, “…the primary concepts…of rational choice are subsumable under general social learning or behavioral principles” (Akers, 1990, p. 655). The most important factor in a person’s environment is their social circle and social communication. Humans require communicating with others daily. As a result, most of people’s choices, and how a person thinks, is shaped by their social learning, and mainly related to their environment. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that the presence or absence of a positive influence in one’s social circle directly affects the likelihood of that person committing a

An individual’s family life could affect their rationality by lack of support and love from their family, and/or being abused emotionally and/or physically. Lack of support and love from a parent, or parents, can result in a child developing low self-esteem, low levels of confidence, anxiety, depression, insecurity, and many more problems. Studies have shown that “conforming behavior is successively shaped over time (socialization) and becomes largely self-controlled…” (Akers, 1990, p. 659). Physical and emotional abuse can result in a child being emotionally immature, feeling worthless, depressed, developing anxiety, and many more issues that are all linked to the social aspect of their family life. All of these factors can make an individual to relive their troubled life in their minds, and in order to feel better about themselves or to get back at whoever hurt them, encourage the individual to turn to violence to exact revenge. In his journal “Rational Choice, Deterrence, and Social Learning Theory in Criminology: The Path Not Taken”, Ronald L. Akers support this conclusion, and suggests that “…rational choice is a special case of general behavioral exchange or learning principles” (Akers, 1990, p. 656). Learning principles can also be translated to nurturing aspects of family life, or in other words, translated into how an individual’s family influences them and their actions. For example, if a child’s parents