Rational Choice Theory Essay

1482 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: History of Criminal justice in america

History Classical Theory, now known as Rational Choice Theory or Choice theory was founded over two hundred years ago in the 18th century by two philosophers, Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham. Both used theories to correlate with criminal justice, to interpret reasoning for actions and a concept on the connection between carrying out illegal actions. Cesare Beccaria & Jeremy Bentham Founder Cesare Beccaria was not only a philosopher but a criminologist as well leading all his theories to be based of human behavior with criminology. Beccaria is best known for “On Crimes and Punishments” which influenced penal systems worldwide. Beccaria was very adamant on having laws and punishments, specifically a system for criminal justice to have a civilized society. His theories were that everyone had a rational freewill and all decisions made are carefully thought about before, actions were choices and had motives. The second founder was Jeremy Bentham, a liberal whose theories were generally the same and involved criminal justice for the law, humans and animals. His idea was that the morality of the act equaled the amount of happiness. Bentham was also a found of utilitarianism. Choice Theory is connected to utilitarianism which in a summary is, all actions are motivated by happiness and prevention of pain. Bentham believes people have the absolute freewill to make decisions and always think before making them and think about the choices benefiting their happiness and avoiding pain for them. The concept of consequentialism was also brought up by Bentham. “Choice Theory suggests that juvenile offenders are rational decision makers who choose to engage in antisocial activity because they believe their actions will be beneficial. (59.Sega... ... middle of paper ... ...from bad sometimes they get involved with the bad influences or learn from others but they have the option to decide if they want to go down a delinquent act. Trait theory I agree with a little less when it comes to adults. Yes, I am aware and know that not everyone can make clear sane decisions but it is not often. But with juveniles it is different at young ages they are highly influenced by everything around them such as other students, family, family home and background, genetics, even the things music they listen to and television they watch. It is more of a problem now with the more technology juveniles are exposed to. Choice theory is connected with Utilitarianism, which I strongly agree with because I consider most people to be selfish not in such a negative way but all choices are for the single purpose of his/her benefit, to accomplish pleasure over pain.

Show More
Related

  • Kody Scott: The Birth of Monster Kody

    1298 Words  | 3 Pages

    Kody Scott, later known as Shanyika Shakur, was born in Los Angeles in 1963. Before last imprisonment he committed various crimes, such as, robbery, assault, and murder. Kody’s childhood was pretty rough. He grew up as the fifth of six children in a broken home. His mother, Birdy Scott, worked odd jobs and long hours to support her children. While his father, Ernest Scott, left the family in 1970 and was completely out of Kody’s life by 1975. Shortly after completing sixth grade at Horace Mann, Kody joined a subgroup of the infamous L.A. Crips on June 15th, 1975. Kody committed his first murder on the night of his initiation. This would be the start of Kody’s descent into becoming “Monster Kody”. It was two years after his initiation that Kody first donned the name Monster. Scott had beaten a robbery victim so bad that the police said it was “The work of a

    Read More

  • Thomas Paine And Thomas Paine's Philosophy Of Justice

    1046 Words  | 3 Pages

    Cesare Beccari was known for the idea that laws are the conditions under which independent and isolated men unite to form a society. He believed in the philosophy of punishment and that the purpose of punishment should be deterrence rather than retribution (Schmalleger, 2012). Beccari felt that punishment should be imposed to prevent offenders from re-offending. He also felt punishment was a means to an end and not an end in itself (Schmalleger, 2012). He felt crime prevention was more important than revenge (Schmalleger, 2012). Beccari argued that punishment should be prompt and swift. However, Beccari felt the punishment should only be as severe as the crime. Beccari felt that treason was the worst type of crime and should be punished

    Read More

  • Rational Choice Case Study

    1054 Words  | 3 Pages

    The second example of when this case study involves the rational choice perspective is when Danny lied to Laura about having the job at GM. Danny used his rational thinking that if he told Laura he had a good job, that she would stay with Danny. Danny was desperate at this point and attempted to make Laura and the children stay. In his mind, he had to lie in order to gain his reward. He believed that the benefit of him saying he had a job would make his marriage

    Read More

  • Prison Reform In America

    1883 Words  | 4 Pages

    Beccaria, a European theorizer, had the most influence on penology. "His work had a profound effect on criminal punishment the world over." Beccaria wrote "the purpose of punishment is not to torment a sensible being, or to undo a crime [but] is none other than to prevent the criminal from doing further injury to society and to prevent others from committing the like offense." This is how...

    Read More

  • Choice Vs Choice Theory Essay

    1335 Words  | 3 Pages

    Understanding addiction is a complicated subject that inspires controversy and debate. Not only do people want to understand addiction because of the curiosity to understand human beings and human nature, but there are factors that go into the defining of addiction such as public policy and health care coverage. There are two theories that are on the opposite spectrum when it comes to addiction which include the “disease concept” and the “choice theory”. One defines addiction as a disease, something that is out of one’s control, while the other thinks of it as a choice or a moral deficiency that resides in a person. The consequence of this gap is the delay in gaining control over drug abuse. While the people who support the choice theory see

    Read More

  • Essay On Criminal Desistance

    1284 Words  | 3 Pages

    While this may help adults desist from crime, it may not be as effective in helping juveniles. Most delinquency occurs during young adulthood and then the individual ages out of crime. When looking at juvenile desistance other explanations exist as to why some juveniles continue a life of crime and others desist. One idea places responsibility on the ability to make conscious decisions. A study, by Haigh, of desistance among juveniles and their transitional period to a law abiding life suggest that most juvenile offenders simply make the decision to stop committing crime. Haigh conducted the study using one on one interviews in order to capture the former offender’s interpretation as to why they stopped committing crime. Through the interviews she found that most juveniles held this preconceived idea that they had to commit crime based on where they lived. Crime was a part of a regular daily routine for many. Participants state things such as, “you have to do crime, if you don’t you get stomped on” or “we didn’t think it as dangerous, we got off on the buzz of doing it” (Haigh, 2009). Some did not have reasons as to why they made the decision to stop committing crime. Others stated that they wanted to stop committing crime because of new found relationships, making their parents happy, or from fear of being sent to jail. For this set of juveniles in the study it can be said that as they

    Read More

  • Utilitarianism, Kant's Deontological Ethics, And Virtue Ethics

    1027 Words  | 3 Pages

    Utilitarianism is a consequentialist theory that was first theorized by Jeremy Bentham, who summed up the fundamental quality of utilitarianism as, “It is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong.” Bentham was not a religious person and did not want to involve

    Read More

  • Rational Choice Theory: Merits and Limitations

    1183 Words  | 3 Pages

    Socioeconomic status, psychological behaviors and of course, the legal aspect are just a few factors criminologists analyze when determining criminal behavior. The next few paragraphs will provide an explanation of rational choice theory and the various factors that are studied to determine how criminologists categorize crime and criminal behavior. Along with an explanation of the theory will be an example of how that theory is utilized in the justice system.

    Read More

  • Deterrence Theory of Crime

    1035 Words  | 3 Pages

    Casare Beccaria, the father of classical criminology, believed that certainty, severity, and celerity (or speed) could prevent crime. He said that as certainty of punishment went up, the less likely someone is to break the law. So if criminal knew that they would be punished, they would be more hesitate to committed crime. He believes that the laws need to be clear and must always be enforced. His second principle of deterrence stated that the faster the punishment is set in the less likely crime will happen. Beccaria believed that the less time between the crime and the punishment, the stronger impact it would have on the individual. His last principle addressed severity of the crime. He believe that this was the least important of the...

    Read More

  • The Dark Knight: Utilitarianism Or Deontology?

    1179 Words  | 3 Pages

    Both Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, had thoughts of the Principle of Utility and what it should be like. Bentham believes that the Principle of Utility depends on pain and pleasure and Mill believes that the Principle of Utility depends on higher pleasures and lower pleasures. Pain meaning evil and pleasure meaning good or greater benefits and higher pleasures meaning that action was good which would lead to a higher level of happiness and lower pleasures meaning bad which would lead to a decreasing level of happiness. Therefore, a normative ethical theory that has come through from this and it is Utilitarianism. The definition of Utilitarianism is a course of action that maximizes the total

    Read More

  • Jeremy Bentham : Father of Utilitarianism

    1451 Words  | 3 Pages

    Jeremy Bentham is widely regarded as the father of utilitarianism. He was born in 1748 into a family of lawyers and was himself, training to join the profession. During this process however, he became disillusioned by the state British law was in and set out to reform the system into a perfect one based on the ‘Greatest Happiness Principle,’ ‘the idea that pleasurable consequences are what qualify an action as being morally good’. Bentham observed that we are all governed by pain and pleasure; we all naturally aim to seek pleasure and avoid pain. He then decided that the best moral principle for governing our lives is one which uses this, the ‘Greatest Happiness Principle.’ This is that the amount of overall happiness or unhappiness that is caused by an action should determine whether an action is right or wrong. He stated,

    Read More

  • Theories Of Rational Choice Theory In Criminal Justice

    707 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cesare Beccaria who was coined the father of criminology, helped form the way our criminal justice system today in the way that we look at deterring criminals and reducing crime. The Rational Choice Theory added to the conversation started by Classical Criminologists as it relates to reducing

    Read More

  • Ceseare Beccaria's Capital Punishment In The 18th Century

    621 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the 18th century there were often severe and extreme punishment for crimes committed. Ceseare Beccaria, who is the founder of the classical movement, offered his theory in which he believed that there should be a rational and fair system for the organization of crime and punishment. He believed that crimes/offenses were attributed to bad laws and not bad people. Beccaria believed all people should be treated equally and what punishment is given to the poor should be given to the rich. He had the opinion it is better to prevent crimes than to punish them, his thoughts can be summed up as follows; certainty of the crime and how likely it is to happen, the swiftness of the crime and how quickly the punishment is inflicted, and the severity of the crime and how much pain is inflicted.

    Read More

  • Positivist School Of Criminology

    2040 Words  | 5 Pages

    5). The classical school of thought focuses on free will as the guiding force behind why people commit crime. Under this theory human beings are all deemed to be free thinking spirits and a bit hedonistic. In order to study and observe the causes of crime the classical theory suggests that criminologist should follow a path of analytic

    Read More

  • Strain Theory And Strain Theory

    995 Words  | 2 Pages

    Juvenile delinquency is a prevalent issue that society faces, regardless if the community is primitive or modern, rich or poor, and so on. Juveniles are juveniles under 18 years of age. Delinquent acts range from something as minor as being out past curfew to more serious acts like physical assaults. Strain Theory suggests juvenile delinquency is at its highest during ages 10-17, because of several factors: desire autonomy, financially dependency upon their guardians, and often experience a lack of social support from family and friends. In the past, there have been multiple theories that examined juvenile delinquency from a biological or social lens. For example, Lombroso’s biological theory claimed that kids resulted in committing acts for

    Read More

More about Rational Choice Theory Essay

Open Document