Rational Choice Theory

Improved Essays
According to Davis, Drinan and Gallant (2009), academic cheating is defined as “deceiving or depriving by trickery, defrauding, misleading or fooling another”. Taking a peers work and passing it off as your own, or bringing in cheat sheets with notes or answers for the tests are just a few ways that college students cheat today. A study conducted by Dr. Donald McCabe, found that “about two-thirds of [college] students admit to cheating on tests, homework and assignments” (Novotney, 2011). The big question is why do college students choose to cheat? It was found that a student’s desire to do well in classes, to go on to higher levels of education, and to eventually get a job in their field, is an important factor in the choice to cheat (Novotney, …show more content…
They idea that Cornish and Clarke based rational choice theory on was “that offenders seek to benefit themselves by their criminal behavior; that this involves the making of decisions and of choice… (Cornish and Clarke, 2014). Their view of rational choice focuses on the benefits that the decision will give them. Individuals who believe that the action will strongly benefit them will be more likely to take that action. This theory is also closely related to the deterrence theory, in that they both are both “derived from the same utilitarian tradition” (Akers, 654). The core of these theories is the idea that an individual makes a rational decision when choosing to commit a crime. When making this decision, an individual looks at the “reward/cost balance” (Akers, 655). They look to see what the rewards will be if they commit a crime, and the costs or consequences of committing that crime. Then an individual “takes those actions, criminal or lawful, which maximize payoff and minimize costs” (Akers 654). An individual wants to have as little punishment or consequences as possible when they commit a crime, and if the punishment is considered “too severe” then they will not take that

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    This is where we find the foundations of the Rational Choice Perspective that concerns itself with the offender’s decision-making process. However, the scope of crime and the intentions of the criminal mind behind it, keep evolving continuously. Therefore, the principles underlying this theory will be tested to see if it can…

    • 133 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Theory Of Rational Choice

    • 1707 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The theory of Rational Choice emerged during the year 1200-1400 from Italian criminologist, jurist, philosopher, and politician Cesare Beccaria. The theory of Rational Choice assumes that all criminals and crimes are rationalize when they are committed. It states that people choose to commit crimes after weighing the costs and benefits such as the consequences of their actions; whether their choice brings them pleasure and reduce pain. (Akers L.) For example, in recent U.S. history, James Holmes, the Aurora theater massacre shooter portrays actions that exemplifies rational thought to commit the crime which left 12 dead and injured 70 others on July 20, 2012.…

    • 1707 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    When appealing to higher loyalties, students believe their responsibility to some other entity, usually their peers, is more important than doing what they know to be morally right. Ultimately, a student will lie their way through their grades because they are given the opportunity to. When an instructor does not uphold strict discipline, opportunities arise for students to take advantage of this situation. The instructor must set an stern environment against academic dishonesty, otherwise a pupil will abuse the opportunity, feeling the instructor does not take cheating seriously. The issue of student engaging in academic dishonesty is one that is continually increasing, as students face a great deal of pressure to succeed academically while many succumb to the trap of cheating.…

    • 1328 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham were the founders of the classical theory phenomenon (Piliavin, 1986). The concept was based on several principles, which entailed three main ideologies; free will, where actions are based on one’s own rationality (Burke 2014), more so punishment should apply to the crime as opposed to the criminal, as the theorists believed that a certainty in punishment would deter both the public and criminal (Akers 1999). The perspective adopted throughout will focus on the theories inability to justify the actions of violent homicide offenders, such as Jeffrey Dahmer, and how the high recidivism rates fail to support specific deterrence, even when making the punishment fit the crime. Free will assumes that all individuals…

    • 1622 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The rational choice theory expresses why people make the choice to commit a crime. It is not only a response from how someone was raised or from society pressures to an individual, but how the offender decided to commit a certain crime because it serves a purpose for them. This system of ideas emphases on how a person can measure the benefits of marketing certain decisions or basically what causes a person to come up with a decision to act a certain way. In the first chapters of the book we can see how Sam’s behavior towards Beth changes. It is certainly his choice to treat her the way he does because he doesn't mistreat her all the time.…

    • 416 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The central concepts that are the body of Rational Choice Theory are decision-making, choices, present centeredness and the opportunity for committing crime. Success in offending, therefore, with drive and develop criminal characteristics leading to a life of criminality. Failure in offending, on the other hand, will lead to the reduction of criminal activity and eventually desistance (Stogner, 2015). Based on the above concepts, it is obvious to see the relationship between Rational Choice Theory and the Theory of Deterrence. Both Rational Choice Theory and Deterrence Theory state that individuals are hedonistic and are deterred from crime through the implementation of certain, swift and severe punishments; and both also discuss the experiential and emboldening effects attributed to the success of crime or the ineffectiveness of the punishment.…

    • 2124 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Rational choice theory assumes that offenders respond selectively to characteristics of particular offenses. Rational Choice can be viewed as what philosopher call “folk Psychology”. The main portrayal of rational choice theory essentially anticipates that swift, certain, and severe sanction from different formal systems of social control creates costs that will possibly deter future criminal activity (Fagan & Piquero, 2010). Jeremy Bentham created the theory of rational choice as well as Cesare Beccaria.…

    • 991 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I was taught not to cheat the moment my feet touched the classroom. In grade school, we are told that cheating is a bad thing to do. In high school, cheating was a poorly kept secret among the student population. In college, cheating is a temptation that students must abstain from in order to receive the best possible education that they can. Taking the honest path will ultimately benefit students the most by practicing positive traits like honesty, and integrity.…

    • 938 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Rational Choice

    • 130 Words
    • 1 Pages

    One key conclusion of rational choice is that changing the identities of the people who hold public office will not produce major changes in policy outcomes. Electing better people will not, by itself, lead to much better government. Adopting the assumption that all individuals, be they voters, politicians, or bureaucrats, are motivated more by self-interest than by public interest evokes a Madisonian perspective on the problems of democratic governance. Like that founding father of the American constitutional republic, public choice recognizes that men are not angels and focuses on the importance of the institutional rules under which people pursue their own objectives. Rational choice theory has provoked some of the most contentious and controversial…

    • 130 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Pratt has gained his knowledge through comparisons of recent criminal policies versus research undertaken by criminologists. He highlights the ‘cost-benefit’ analysis that is widely used within rational choice theory when making policies relating to crime control. Pratt argues that this is very limiting when actually analysing criminal behaviour and that research undertaken by Criminologists to reduce crime is often disregarded as it does not fit in with policy-makers ‘cost-benefit’ analysis of a situation. He further argues that policy-makers, to gain political control, often use the language of rational choice theory – that people want to see politicians getting “tougher on crime”, however this does not align with research into the best methods of reducing criminal activity. Therefore, Pratt concludes that Rational Choice Theory is not an effective method of policymaking; rather it is used as a safety blanket for citizens to believe that crime rates are being reduced.…

    • 1144 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In “Rational Choice Theory and Interest in the “Fortune of Others” ”, Ray Paternoster, Chae Mamayek Jaynes, and Theodore Wilson test the relationship between an individual’s regard for others and their willingness to drink and drive, and if this regard affects the effect that threats of punishment have on an individual’s willingness to drink and drive. Rational choice theory has had many reiterations over the years with the most recent being based on self-regarding preference assumption (Paternoster, Jaynes, & Wilson, 2017, p. 849). The goal of this article is to expand the current scope of rational choice theory by arguing that an individual’s regard for others plays a role in criminal behavior (Id, pp. 848-849). Paternoster, Jaynes, and…

    • 1249 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Rational Deterrence Theory

    • 1705 Words
    • 7 Pages

    I feel this way because by us being human beings we all want rewards and greater things in life. By the fact of rational choice being solemnly based on rewards outweighing the risks makes so much sense to me. According to Gary S. Becker offenders are like consumers, a consumer is in charge of how they spend their money and they base it off of benefits as well. Moreover, an individual is more likely to do something they probably should not be doing if they truly believe they will get away with it and so on. But if they feel the risks are higher than the rewards and there is a huge chance of them getting caught, they are less likely to commit the act.…

    • 1705 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The goals can be financial, pleasure, or some other beneficial result. The Rational Choice Theory perspective as presented by Cornish and Clark (1985) is based upon three concepts; (one) criminal offenders are rational and make choices and decisions that benefit themselves; (two) a crime- specific focus is required; and (three) there is a distinction between choices related to criminal involvement and decisions related to criminal events. The theory of rational choice theory examines offender decision making and the factors that affect it such as assessments of risks, rewards, and morality of various behaviors (Clarke, 1983). The balance between likely risks and rewards influences offenders target selection (Clarke, 1983). According to Brantingham and Brantingham (1984), the level of risks is one of the factors that make a target good or bad.…

    • 1180 Words
    • 5 Pages
    • 5 Works Cited
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Summary Criminology studies the reasoning and factors as to why individuals engage in criminal activities. In classical criminology, social philosophers Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham developed a theory of crime that criminologist and theorist still use today (Akers 2017). In classical criminology, an individual commits a crime by making a rational decision. That decision is based off of whether the benefits that one might receive by offending outweighs the consequences such as being caught and cited or sentenced. Individuals base their decision to offend or not offend on what they have seen others suffer, their knowledge of what consequences they may endure and their own personal experiences.…

    • 1142 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There are many factors taken into consideration when individuals commit crimes such as, the punishment one would receive, the success they would receive and who it would benefit. Crime is broken for personal reasons, it is a cost benefit analysis (Hayward, 2007). The offender determines the advantage of criminal behaviour. Rational choice theory assumes that an individual is egotistic (Boudon, 2003). It is perceived that an individual who commits an unlawful act is mainly concerned with only themselves.…

    • 1216 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays