Criminology Theories: The Choice Theory

This essay will outline how crime theories are able to assist in recognizing the causes of criminal activity, as well as demonstrating two criminological theories to two particular crimes. Overviews of trends, dimensions and victim/offenders characteristics of both crime groups will be specified. The two particular crimes that will be demonstrated throughout this essay are; Violent Crime (focusing on Assault) being linked with social learning theory and White Collar crime (focusing on terrorism) being linked to General Strain theory. In criminology, determining the motive of why people commit crimes is crucial. Over the years, many theories have been developed and they continue to be studied as criminologists pursue the best answers in eventually diminishing certain types of crime including assaults and terrorism, which will be focused on.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Kendy Menelas, Department of English, Seminole State College, Sanford, FL 32773.

Most people get killed over what is known as the “Code of The Street.” In the movie it shows that their code of the street was revenge. They killed Ricky Doughboy and his friends killed them. It also shows that violence and crime happens all over something petty. In one scene in the movie they show Ferris walking into Ricky

Glasser’s choice theory explains that all of our decisions are made based on five basic needs, Freedom, Fun, Love and belonging, Power, and Survival. When these needs are not met, we don’t function at our best. Melinda had been impacted from rape and didn’t recover until she got help and learned once again how to be free, have fun, felt love and belonging, that she has power, and ultimately learned how to survive with her rape. One of the five basic needs is

She just wanted some friends to be there for her. But, all because of that, she couldn’t make her American dream a reality. For once she wanted to be what someone wanted. She didn’t want to be a “lady of the night”, She wanted to be herself.

The paranoia and guilt lead to the development of her mental illness, and are also the reasons for her subconscious nightmares. What she means by “what's done cannot be undone”(5.1.71) is that she cannot undo her actions. This is very similar to her realization earlier that there is no way to erase her actions. This shows how easy it is for the guilt to overtake her. This guilt because of her terrible actions leads to her committing suicide at the end.

 There are similar reactions for these two types of criminals that applies to one’s moral self when committing such a perpetration. Modern morals apply to the wrongness of actions. When one is in a situation of crime, he or she often thinks of the outcome and morals of the consequences. This is where the rational choice theory comes into play. A rational choice theory perceives the human as one whose

There are many perspectives in which one can analyze and understand why a person decides to commit a crime. Some perspectives are social learning theory, strain theory, classical and rational choice theory, deterrence theory, biological and psychological positivist theories, among others. However, for the purposes of this paper, the biological and psychological theories will be discussed.

Though ration choice theory does not completely explain why crime takes place, it does have its strengths and provides a thought-provoking point on the occurrences of crime. Rational choice theory is, what is known as offender specific, in other words, criminals make decisions and assess their skills before a committing law-breaking offense. The métier in this is that it promotes responsibility of consequences, you did the crime, therefore, you should do the crime. The thinking here is that because you were careful in your planning on the execution of the crime, you are guilty. Although I do not totally buy into this argument, it is understandable to believe that because individuals who commit robbery, carefully select their target, wait

While she was normally an outgoing friendly woman, she was very careful when talking about her husband. This was due to her husband committing intimate partner violence. After a late night of drinking, Jessica’s husband arrived home and assaulted her. After refusing his unwanted advances, the husband proceeded to break two of Jessica’s ribs, bruised her, and choked her out. Unknowingly, Jessica’s two sons woke up during the altercation and heard everything going on. Jessica proceeded to call the police and her husband was arrested. After the arrest, Jessica could finally start the process of healing all that had been broken both physically and emotionally. This healing was not only for Jessica though, her two boys were exhibiting the same violence and tone her husband had. As Dr. Bessel van der Kolk discussed, psychologically traumatic events can alter how the brain develops through reducing the number of connections neurons make (Side Effects, 2015, para. 5-8). Furthermore, Jessica did not know how important her healing would become as she would later be diagnosed with cancer. Her new found will to fight though would undoubtedly help her fight this devastating

A number of criminological theories have been developed throughout the course of time for the purposes of attempting to understand and pinpoint what motivates individuals to demonstrate criminal behaviors by engaging in criminal acts. The focus of this work will be to apply theories of crime to the offense of burglary. Three criminological theories will be identified, discussed, and then related to the criminal behavior of burglary. The associations between the theories and the criminal behavior will be clearly explained. Additionally, the reliability and validity of each theory will be assessed. Lastly, this writer will offer an opinion as to which theory best explains a burglar’s behavior. This estimation will be supported by one practical example and relevant factors that are described in the most applicable theory.

Some decisions do not have an immediate outcome but are more progressive. Such is the case when it comes to the lifestyle theory. The lifestyle theory says that some people are more at risk than others for becoming victims of crime. One example is if you choose to stay at home on the weekends instead of frequenting the bars in your city late at night you are putting yourself less at risk of losing things like your cellphone or wallet. This theory is not to blame the victim when something happens but to point out that in certain circumstances we are in control of decreasing the chances of something bad happening to

Choice theory was born out of the perspective of crime causation which states that criminality is the result of conscious choice. This theory is also known as the rational choice theory. According to this theory, the choice whether or not to commit a criminal act is the result of a rational thought process that weighs the risks of paying the costs of committing a crime, against the benefits obtained. In other words, if the benefits--monetary or otherwise--outweigh the risks of sustaining the costs, such as fines, imprisonment or execution, then according to this theory the individual would be inclined to commit the crime, all other things being equal. In this calculus, the benefits are known. For example, “this diamond that I want to

The Classical School of Criminology was developed by two utilitarian philosophers, Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham during the early 17th century. The Classical School of Criminology is an important theory in the framework of criminal behavior, with principle themes that include: criminal acts are of individuals free will and rational deliberation, calculating, and hedonistic beings. Criminals make a rational choice and choose criminal acts due to maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain. As well as minimizing crime, the would be offender must be convinced that the likely punishment for the crime would be swift, certain and proportionately (Paternoster & Bachman, 2001, p. 11).

A common theory in criminology and in sociology suggests that class and race are vital roles regional crime rates. Previous research indicates that the distribution of class and race within certain residential areas has a key role in the outcome of certain violent acts. In his study, Income Inequality, Race, and Place: Does the Distribution of Race and Class within Neighborhoods Affect Crime Rates, John R. Hipp states “Specifically, studies have tested how the distribution of economic resources across neighbor-hoods, as measured by income or poverty, affects neighborhood crime rates or the how the distribution of racial/ethnic minority members across neighborhoods, as measured by the percent nonwhite, and so on, affects neighborhood crime rates (Hipp 2007). While one may traditionally assume that minorities neighborhoods yield a more intensive crime rate, this is not necessarily true.