Title: An Evaluation of the Rational Choice Theory in Criminology
Abstract: Rational choice theory is an approach used by social scientists to understand human behavior. This approach has long been the dominant paradigm in economics, but in recent decades it has become more widely used in other disciplines. It is basically about how incentives and constraints affect behavior. This article discusses rational choice theory in criminology. This study provides the basic assumptions of the rational choice approach, and then evaluates this approach by giving several examples of its use. The first example is about rational choice model of illegal sales of tobacco products to underage youths, which places a strong emphasis on the situational factors. The second study is about an assessment of rational choice theory applied to corporate crime. The last example is about the study of the rationality of agencies and communities in responding to the law breaking of offenders. These articles qualify as examples of rational choice perspective on different settings. This study emphases the role of rational choice theory in criminology and illustrates how widely the rational choice method has been applied in the field of criminal justice.
Publication Year: 2009
Publication Date: 2009-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 26
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