Rational Choice Theories Of Crime

RATIONAL CHOICE THEORY

There have many studies of why people commit crime. Research has been performed to try to understand and better help out individuals and society as well to make our streets more safer. In this article, I will be discussing one of the Theories of Crime which is Rational Choice Theory. I will be discussing what is Ration Choice Theory (RCT) , Who other scholars have studied this theory, and what are the strengthens and weaknesses of RCT. RCT is also known as rational action theory. This theory helps us understand social and individual behaviour. Thr theory attempts to explain how self-interested individuals make choices under the influences of their own predisposition. Individuals try to maximize their gain and to minimize

They want to understand what is that leads them to commit a crime. Elster (1989) stated the essence of rational choice theory when he said that “ when faced with several courses of action, people usually do what they believe is likely to have the best overall outcome”( Michael I. Ogu 2013). One scholar by the name of Anthony Downs was the first one to apply rational theory to electoral behaviour and studies regarding elections. Another scholar who has used RCT is Abell (2000), who noted assumptions made by rational choice theorists. Some of the assumptions include Optimality, Structures and Self-Regarding Interest. Optimality described by Abel is when one actions is taken into place when no other course of social action is preferred by the individual over the course of action the person has chosen in the first place. According to Abel individuals “ do the best they can, given their circumstances as they see them”. Abell says that structures and standard that only indicate a single course of actions are simply special cases of RCT. Self-Regarding Interest indicates the the action of the individual is concerned entirely with his/her own welfare. Another scholar by the name of Green (2002) outlined steps in the Rational Choice Process. These steps outline what Green thinks the rational choice analysis should follow: First, identify the agents and make assumptions about their objections. Second,

In addition to the critics in the assumption of the approach there have been identified some weakness. One weakness that scholars have approach is that human interactions are complex and each individual have different social interactions. Another weakness scholars have faced is that individuals have gotten wrong and unclear information when making a choice. This leads individuals to have a harder time in making rational decisions. If they don't have clear information to make a rational choice they may rely on other things to make a decision. They may rely on their perspective of the situation at hand. Another problem with RCT that scholars have face is that some individuals lack the capacity to conduct an analysis on alternatives. If the information is complex then the individual's rational choice is