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Reflective Essay On Rational Choice Theory

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In the past five weeks we have learned about many different theories. These theories were either sociological, biological, or psychological. Personally, I do not believe that any one theory can most effectively explain crime as each theory can explain to an extent what was an individual's intent. However, if I had to pinpoint one theory in particular that I thought contributed the most to crime I would pick the rational choice theory. The rational choice theory believes that all individuals freely choose to participate in crime as a result of a rational decision-making process. Essentially, this theory believes that individuals that commit a crime weigh the consequences of the crime and determine that the rewards of the crime being committed outweigh the consequences. They make this determination through rational decision making. Now, I can …show more content…
These theories were either sociological, biological, or psychological. Personally, I do not believe that any one theory can most effectively explain crime as each theory can explain to an extent what was an individual's intent. However, if I had to pinpoint one theory in particular that I thought contributed the most to crime I would pick the rational choice theory. The rational choice theory believes that all individuals freely choose to participate in crime as a result of a rational decision-making process. Essentially, this theory believes that individuals that commit a crime weigh the consequences of the crime and determine that the rewards of the crime being committed outweigh the consequences. They make this determination through rational decision making. Now, I can not in good faith say this theory explains all crime that occurs, but I can say that I feel that at least eighty percent of criminals commit crimes because they made a rational decision to commit a crime. However, this is simply my opinion based on my experience as a correctional

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