It is essential to note that rational choice theory is a concept that explains the rational behavior and choices of individuals in pursuing the opportunities available to them in society. Individuals rank these opportunities according to the degree to which they serve their goals (Blossfeld & Prein, 2019). They follow their life plans, which satisfy a more significant number of desires and have a greater chance of success. Moreover, the theory of rational choice explains the rational behavior of an ordinary person and the irrational behaviors that people accept as irrational (Blossfeld & Prein, 2019). Accordingly, the theory of rational choice is based on the following basic assumptions. First, the theory treats the interests of individuals as given and determined by themselves. The person establishes the order of their preferences, which are discrete, unambiguous, and transitive (Blossfeld & Prein, 2019). Second, people always act rationally; that is, in all sorts of circumstances, they try to maximize their advantage.
Furthermore, the rational choice theory is often used in everyday life by most humans. For example, my neighbor decides every morning which way to go to work to maximize his profit. That is, if he is running late, he can take a shorter route, but then he will not be able to deliver his children to kindergarten. Instead, if he chooses a longer road, he will spend more time detouring, but he will be capable of helping his children. Consequently, just as in rational choice theory, an individual attempts to make the best choice to solve the immediate problem of being late or having to get the children to kindergarten. Thus, my neighbor makes a rational choice every morning to ensure that the consequences are in line with his priority goals.
Rational choice theory is also used in criminology to explain the behavior of potential criminals. According to this approach, crime is calculated and intentional because people act in pursuit of goals that are important to them (Miller & Blumstein, 2020). This implies that all criminals are rational and that decisions to commit specific actions are made rationally. Moreover, the incentive that motivates their actions is the desire to benefit from the situation that will arise after they commit the criminal acts. For instance, when a person commits a domestic assault, they deliberately use various forms of physical, sexual, psychological, or economic violence against a family member (Miller & Blumstein, 2020). Moreover, the result of domestic abuse is bodily injury, emotional trauma, developmental disabilities, or various kinds of damage to a family member.
Hence, one spouse, to obtain the desired economic or sexual benefit from another family member, decides to use violence using rational choice theory. This is because the attacker then evaluates the advantages that he/she receives due to the use of force and the possible risks of lawsuits and imprisonment (Miller & Blumstein, 2020). Based on this, he/she concludes whether the means correspond to the objectives and decides to use domestic assault.
Nevertheless, to reduce the risk of detection of domestic violence, a policy to increase the crime’s punishment can be introduced. Accordingly, I think future perpetrators will assess the risks of their actions in the long run if they know they will receive a prison sentence for the crime. Thus, such a policy will deter potential perpetrators from committing domestic violence because the maximum benefit will not be predictable and obvious (Miller & Blumstein, 2020). As a result, I assume that according to rational choice theory, perpetrators will be capable of assessing the short-term advantage they can obtain from a domestic violence victim and comparing it to the long-term consequences. Consequently, if the penalties for domestic violence are increased and perpetrators are guaranteed to be imprisoned, the level of such crimes will decrease.
References
Blossfeld, H. P., & Prein, G. (2019). Rational choice theory and large-scale data analysis. Routledge.
Miller, J. M., & Blumstein, A. (2020). Crime, justice & the COVID-19 pandemic: Toward a national research agenda. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 45, 515-524. Web.