Enduring Individual Differences and Rational Choice Theories of Crime

Daniel S. Nagin · Raymond Paternoster

750 citations0/0 files storedLaw & Society Review

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Crime Patterns and Interventions Criminal Justice and Penology Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending

Abstract

In explaining crime, some criminological theories emphasize time-stable individual differences in propensity to offend while others emphasize more proximate and situational factors. Using scenario data from a sample of college undergraduates we have found evidence to support both positions. A measure of criminal propensity (poor self-control) was found to be significantly related to self-reported decisions to commit three offenses (drunk driving, theft, and sexual assault). Even after considering differences in self-control, there was evidence to suggest that the attractiveness of the crime target, the ease of committing the crime with minimum risk, and perceptions of the costs and benefits of committing the crime were all significantly related to offending decisions. Our results suggest that theories of criminal offending should include notions pertaining to persistent individual differences in criminal propensity and choice-relevant variables.

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References

1990A General Theory of Crime 1979Social Change and Crime Rate Trends: A Routine Activity Approach 1982Judgment under Uncertainty 2010Social Change and Crime Rate Trends: A Routine Activity Approach (1979)1970Causes of Delinquency 1989Crime, Shame and Reintegration 1981The Psychology of Literacy 1993Crime in the Making

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