Rational Choice Theory Essay

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This paper explains how rational choice theory occurs in the television series “Orange is the New Black.” The series, based on Piper Kerman 's memoir Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women 's Prison written in 2010. The character that I will have more focus on in this paper is Piper Chapman. Piper receives a sentence of 15 months for a crime she committed ten years before she was sentenced. There are four examples of when Piper uses rational choice theory. One is when Piper first arrives in prison, she offends Red by talking about the food made in the kitchen, so Red decides to serve Piper a bloody tampon and starve her. The second time where Piper displays rational choice theory is when she returns to her cell with a screwdriver …show more content…

The series started with a 13-episode season, July 11th 2013 on Netflix. The second season had 13 episodes. The third season, 13. On April 15, 2015, the series allegedly is having a fourth season, scheduled to premiere in 2016. The show has received a numerous amount of award nominations. Rational choice theory discusses the selfish choices that society makes in order to commit crime. For example, someone may commit theft because they want to sell the stolen goods so that they can gain access to drugs. It is the choice that seems logical to them during whatever situation they are in. Lots of times there are moral choices that criminals can choose from but they decide to go with their own selfish needs. Rational choice theory is something that occurs with people of all ages and both genders, but mostly youth whenever they have few options to choose from.There are four instances when Piper Chapman, the main character of Orange is the New Black exhibits rational choice …show more content…

Piper brings the screwdriver (which is contraband) into her cube even though the prison guards are going to punish whoever has it. She is willing to lose a friend in Claudette and suffer the punishment of either more time or being put in solitary confinement. Worth Reading” talks about a study done with both college students briefly staying in intake facilities and inmates that were temporarily held in a correctional facility. Stacey Calhoun asserts, “Both groups were asked to fill out a brief survey that included a hypothetical drunk-driving scenario and questions that assessed the likelihood that the participant would drive while under the influence, in addition to questions that asked about the perceived costs and benefits of engaging in risky driving behavior” (Calhoun 10). Risky behavior that in turn causes someone to break the law can be committed by anyone, whether they are well-educated or not. Piper when making the decision to take the screwdriver was thinking about the likelihood that she would actually bring this in her cube and the likelihood of her getting in trouble for

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