Theories of Crime Causation: Trait Theory and Rational 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.

This paper summarizes four theories of criminology. Rational choice theory states that criminals act based on a thought process that weighs the pros and cons of criminality. Criminologists who believe in this theory feel that most criminals are people capable of having rational thoughts before committing a crime. Trait theory is the view of criminology that suggests criminality is a product of abnormal biological or psychological traits. Criminologists who believe in this theory feel that criminals choose to commit crime because of a brain anomaly or chemical imbalance. Social structure theory is “a view that disadvantaged economic class position is a primary cause of crime” (Seigel 139). Those who follow this theory often believe social forces can have a great effect on whether or not a person commits a crime. An example would be those who are poor are more being more prone to commit crime. Social process theory is a view that criminality depends on how a person interacts with different organizations and institutions and processes in society. For example, a family would be considered

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

Rational choice theories are among the fastest growing theories in social science today. Many sociologists and political scientists defend the claim that rational choice theory can provide the basis for a unified and comprehensive theory of social behavior. What distinguishes rational choice theory from other forms of theory is that it denies the existence of any kinds of action other than the purely rational and calculative. All social action can be seen as rationally motivated, as instrumental action, however much of it may appear to be irrational or non-rational. I believe that the Rational Choice Theory would be most beneficial in the reduction or control of crime.

As applied to the criminal law, it states that in many situations, the reason that people commit a crime is because they have chosen to which is known as “Rational choice theory”. This where people have the intent to commit a crime, and follow through on that crime. The motive for committing the crime has much to do with the advantages of what one will gain. For example; a suspect breaks into a store to steal food because there kids are starving and there’s no money to feed them. Another example is where you help a spouse, or family member get illegal prescription drugs because they are really sick or in pain and you feel the last resort is to steal it for them, not because you want it for your own personal gain but to help the situation. The

Criminologist study different types of theories of behavior of crime. Criminologist try to analyze human behavior to find theories on who and why people commit the type of crimes they commit. They come up with different theories for human behavior. One of the theories studied is rational choice theory. Rational choice theory of crime” adopts a utilitarian belief that man is a reasoning actor who weighs means and ends, costs and benefits, and makes a rational choice.” (https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=what+is+rational+choice+theory+of+crime&*&spf=938) This theory states that a criminal is just like a normal human being, they weigh the cost of the crime by the benefit of the crime. Once they have weighed both options they then see if the

Gathering knowledge from a first-hand source regarding any topic is intriguing since the experience provides insight into their own perspective professional career. Rational choice theory is one of plenty theories within the field of criminology, that in which has attempted to answer the captivating question “Why do people commit crime”? As I mentioned, society evolves throughout time and location, along with criminal activity. During the Prohibition Area, one crime of concern for criminal justice is the growth of bootleggers selling prohibit alcoholic beverages. For instance, bootleggers made the conscious choice to break the law, to get benefits from the criminal act which in this was likely monetary. The rational choice theory approach

juvenile is to commit that crime. Both theories, place the individuals as rational decision makers who debate the risks with the benefits of law breaking.

However, while the overstimulation of the Id and the failure to acquire and develop the the Ego and SuperEgo leads to criminal tendencies, while aggression may be out of adaptive values, and while genetic studies have pointed towards the influence of genes and criminal behaviour, these theories alone are insufficient to account for crime. Evolutionary theory does not explain or predict for the extreme degrees of aggression in individuals nor has the genetic theory proven for 100% heritability; which raises the need for us to examine the Nurture camp of crime theories as well.

In this essay the author will be drawing up on three different criminological theories and how they can explain crime and criminal behaviour differently. There is no universal definition of crime that gives a simple and straight forward definition. Crime is a constantly changing idea that changes due to the persons perceptions of what they would classify as ‘crime’ and what is regarded as criminal behaviour (crime and criminology). There is also no straightforward way of explaining what criminal behaviour is, as it can be something that breaks the law. However, there may be many reasons or circumstances for this action, which take a criminal act and decriminalises it.

Most, if not all Americans, are familiar with the story of Batman and his alter ego Bruce Wayne. As a small child Bruce 's parents were brutally gunned down in front of him prompting him to don the cape and mask to rid Gotham city of injustice. In the 2005 movie adaptation starring Christian Bale, Batman is asked why he so selflessly protects the city. He replies, “It 's not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me.” I believe this illustrates that the decision to do good, and evil, are rational choices made by people who make carefully weighted decisions to accomplish their goals. This is an example of a belief known as Rational Choice Theory. Today I would like to discuss Rational Choice Theory, its origins in history, its methods to predict and eliminate crime and examples of it from modern cases. I would like to show the reader, beyond reasonable doubt, that Rational Choice Theory is the best way to explain the majority of crimes and criminal activity.

Figuring out why people commit crimes is one of the central concerns of criminology. Do most criminals act rationally after weighing the costs of crime? Is society ever to blame for an individual to commit a crime? Do mental diseases or even genetics factor into whether a person will live a life of crime. Over the years, many people have developed theories to try to answer these questions. In fact, the number of theories of why people commit crimes sometimes seems to equal the number of criminologists. I explore these questions and much more in the paper that follow.

For the most part, biological theories of crime and deviance have had an unsuccessful and undistinguished career among sociologists. The Italian physician Cesare Lombroso suggested that someone who is born criminal possesses atavism or primitive evolutionary characteristics that produced violent, savage, and apelike tendencies in humans (Goode, p. 27). In addition, biological theories of deviance see crime and deviant behavior as a form of illness due to pathological factors to certain individuals. The biological theory is another example of Charles Whitman actions. Smart, strong, and talented, Charles Whitman seemed like a perfect all-American boy stereotype.

The development of Chicago School of sociology and criminology in America was a fundamental step towards pioneering a new area of research within the disciplines of criminology and sociology. Chicago school of criminology began to consider social and physical environment as having a direct impact on human behavior, rather than genetic structure as being the sole causal component leading to crime as understood by the positive school of criminology. The recognition of external factors such as the community, plays a crucial role in acknowledging that human beings are complex creatures who react to their social environment in various manners, as a result this leads to new ways of researching the phenomenon of crime; collection of social data, life histories and an overarching theme of empirical sociology are utilized to understand the criminogenic factors within society. The foundation of Chicago school of criminology was crucial to the field of criminology for the reasons that it gave academics the freedom to propose and perform scientific research as to why crime exists in society? This was actualized by seminal theories of criminology being proposed; differential association theory, anomie theory and subcultural theories of crime.