Rational Choice Theory and Deterrence Theory

1. Rational Choice Theory2. Deterrence theory3. Quiz # 3

Rational Choice Theory

Has been formulated in economics It assumes that people are

motivated by money and by the possibility of making a profit

This has allowed it to construct formal, and often predictive, models of human behavior

Rational Choice Theory

Apparent success of RCT has led many other social scientists to use RCT

These sociologists and political scientists have tried to build theories around the idea that all action is fundamentally “rational' in character and that people calculate the likely costs and benefits of any action before deciding what to do

Main Assumptions of Rational Choice Theory

Individuals are seen as motivated by the wants or goals that express their 'preferences‘

They act on the basis of the information that they have about the conditions under which they are acting

It is not possible for individuals to achieve all of the various things that they want

Main Assumptions of Rational Choice Theory

They must make choices in relation to both their goals and the means for attaining these goals

Rational choice theories hold that individuals must anticipate the outcomes of alternative courses of action and calculate that which will be best for them

Rational individuals choose the alternative that is likely to give them the greatest satisfaction

Rational Choice Theory "Why do people engage in deviant

and/or criminal acts?“ personal choice An understanding of personal choice

is commonly based in a conception of rationality or rational choice

Early classical theorists, Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham.

Classical School The human being is a rational actor Rationality involves an end/means

calculation People (freely) choose all behavior, both

conforming and deviant, based on their rational calculations

The central element of calculation involves a cost benefit analysis: Pleasure versus Pain

Classical School Choice can be controlled through the perception

and understanding of the potential pain or punishment that will follow an act judged to be in violation of the social good, the social contract

The state is responsible for maintaining order and preserving the common good through a system of laws (this system is the embodiment of the social contract)

The Swiftness, Severity, and Certainty of punishment are the key elements in understanding a law's ability to control human behavior

THE DECISION TO COMMIT A CRIMEAdapted from D. Cornish and R. Clarke (eds.) 1986. The Reasoning Criminal. New York: Springer-Verlag.

Rational choice model Background factors\: psychological

characteristics (intelligence; family background; demographic factors, like what kind of neighborhood the criminal comes from

Situational factors: persuasion by friends, arguments with spouse, or whether the person has consumed alcohol or drugs use,

Rational Choice Model Motive is listed as need for money or

status, but in this classical view of crime, there is really no need to think about motive.

Previous learning and experience refers to the previous success with similar target, criminal's self-perception of his/her own skills, ability to elude law enforcement, and get rid of the stuff afterwards.

Blocked opportunities : the criminal's assessment of what legitimate avenues are available for satisfying needs. The decision to be made is whether the same amount of money, for example, can be made by work, gambling, borrowing, or avenues other than crime

The amount of effort required fits into this as the amount of time spent considering and evaluating whether the rewards (and costs) of crime outweigh alternative avenues for satisfying the same needs.

Rational choice model

Prisoner’s Dilemma Two prisoners committed a crime

together They are both under arrest and

unable to communicate with each other

In order to force a confession, the authorities offer each prisoner separately, the following deal:

Prisoner’s Dilemma

Confess

Doesn’t confess

Confess

Doesn’t confess

PRISONER A

PRISONER B

5 years 9 years

5 years

Goes free

9 years

Goes free

2 years

2 years

Total -10

Total -9

Total -9

Total -4

Paradox of the Prisoner’s Dilemma

Both prisoners end up by defecting even though they both know that they would be better off cooperating

Each of them thinks that non confessing is very risky

If one confesses, he may strike lucky (goes free) or get 5 years , at worst.

Research on RCT

Tunnell (1992) found that repeat property offenders were unable to make reasonable assessment of the risk of arrest, did little planning for crime, and were uninformed about the legal penalties in the state where their crimes were commiteed

Deterrence Theory Rational choice theorists also recognize

that the threat of punishment or the promise of a reward may motivate people just as much as the punishment or reward itself

Rational calculation would lead offenders to avoid committing crime

That is where deterrence theory comes from….

Deterrence Theory

If legal penalties are certain, severe, and swift crime will be deterred

Certainty of punishment is defined as the ration between the number of admissions to the state prisons for a given crime and the number of those crimes known to the police

Deterrence Theory

Severity is defined as the mean number of months served by all persons convicted of a given crime who were in prison for that year

General Deterrence General deterrence theory focuses on reducing the

probability of deviance in the general population Norms and laws are designed to produce and

maintain the image that "negative" and disruptive behaviors will receive attention and punishment

Examples of control activities reflecting the concerns of this concept include: Drunk-driving crackdowns, publication and highly visible notices of laws and policies (Notice: Shoplifters will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law), and the death penalty.

Specific Deterrence

Specific deterrence focuses on punishing known deviants in order to prevent them from ever again violating the specific norms they have broken

Examples: shock sentencing, corporal punishment, mandatory arrests for certain behaviors (domestic violence), etc.

Research on Deterrence Theory Sherman (1990) asked people about their

perception of the risks of being punished for specific offenses and about whether they have actually committed those offenses

Findings: Consistent association b/w offending and the perception of the certainty, but no association b/w offending and the perception of severity

Critique of Sherman’s Study Direction of causation is unclear Either increased perception of risk

leads to reduced criminal behavior or engaging into criminal behavior lead to a decreased perception of risk

Nagin (1990)claimed that repeat offenders are less afraid of imprisonment

The deterrence hypothesis suggests that states with the death penalty should have lower homicide rate

Tittle (1992): states with the death penalty have higher murder rates than states without it

The reason is that death penalty in implemented in those states where the murder rate is higher (unclear causation)

Research on Deterrence Theory

Death Penalty

Bonner, Fessenden (2000) found that death penalty actually increases homicides

Death Penalty has a “brutalization” effect that tends to devalue human life and thereby increase homicide