Kahnerman's Rational Choice Theory

The problem with this application of the theory is that Joan has created an elaborate fraud that carried on for 18 months. Kahnerman, in his research found that those with an addiction problem such as gambling do not possess the ability to properly predict future gains from their current actions (Krstic, 2014). This would mean that she committed her actions because of her addiction and her inability to weight future consequences, and thus reducing her rationality and free will. The theory would then be able to function since Joan was deprived of her rationality and free will. As well, rational choice theory is not a universal explanation, meaning it is simply a tool that can help explain one facet of a phenomenon (Lovett, 2016). As such, it …show more content…
To be precise, the key contributor to criminality is a low self-control so people who possess this trait have a great likelihood of committing a crime versus those with a high level of self- control who are less likely to commit a crime. As well, one's ability to control themselves does not change throughout one's life (McMullen, 1999) so if you are born with low self-control, then that trait will stick with you throughout your life and is a trait that you cannot rid yourself of. Hirschi and Gottfredson also believe that low self-control is a trait built through "ineffective or incomplete socialization" (McMullen, 1999, p.4). This includes isolation, improper parenting, and childhood shaming and because of this, the early years of a child's development are crucial to the development of self- control. These conclusions made by Hirschi and Gottfredson is all based on their research in which they found that although there are many different types of criminals and every crime scenario is unique, there exists a common trait that was found among them, which is low self-control (McMullen, 1999). As such, they concluded that criminality is a by product self-control (McMullen, …show more content…
Low self-control theory believes that the main cause of crime is low self-control, while rational choice theory believes that a free will that is influenced by social, economic, and history may dictate whether the crime will be committed. The response from the criminal justice system in turn will be different. The response to rational choice theory will focus on the severity, the certainty, and the swiftness of a punishment to attempt to deter people from committing a crime (Tibbetts & Hemmens, 2014) whereas the response to low self-control theory may be early childhood programs to attempt to improve their levels of