Contemporary Rational Choice Theory

Rational choice theory was developed by Italian social thinker Cesar Beccaria’s utilitarian approach that influenced the criminal justice system its roots are in classical criminology. In the 1960’s economist Garry Becker applied his views on rational behavior and human capital to criminal behavior. He concluded that except for few mentally ill people, criminals behave in a predictable way when deciding to commit crime. They weigh what they expect to gain against the risk they must undergo and the cost they may incur like jail or prison. Political scientists James Q. Wilson observed that people who are likely to commit crime are unafraid of breaking the law because they value the excitement and thrills of crime and are willing to take grater
Contemporary rational choice assumes that people are self-interested and will be willing to violate the law after considering both personal factors and situational factors. One sub-theory of rational choice is general deterrence it is based on Beccaria’s equation that the grater the severity, the certainty and speed of legal sanctions the less inclined people will be to commit
Trait theorists believe that crime producing interactions involve both personal traits and environmental factors. Contemporary trait theory is the belief that no one biological or psychological trait is responsible for criminality theorists instead believe that everyone is unique and there must be a different reason for people’s behavior. People living in disadvantaged communities may be at higher risk to crime but the risk is significantly increased if they also bear a genetic makeup that makes them vulnerable to crime producing influences. There are two contemporary views as to how crime producing interactions unfold, on is called individual vulnerability model which assumes there is a direct link between traits and crime and that some people are vulnerable to commit crime from birth. The other view is differential susceptibility model which is the belief that there is an indirect association between traits and crime. Biological theories are biochemical, neurological, genetic, and evolutionary. Biochemical states that crime is a function of diet, vitamin intake, hormonal imbalance, or food allergies. Neurological theory is that criminals and delinquents often suffer brain impairments. Genetic is that criminal traits and predispositions are inherited, that the criminality of parents can predict the delinquency of children. Evolutionary says that as humans evolved traits and