RT Article
T1 The decision to commit crime: rational or nonrational?
JF Criminology, criminal justice, law & society
VO 16
IS 3
SP 1
OP 18
A1 Walters, Glenn D. 1954-
LA English
YR 2015
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1580318320
AB Rational choice theory has received a fair amount of attention from criminal justice scholars and societal policy makers looking for an alternative to traditional deterministic theories of criminal behavior and is a core feature of several major criminological theories. In an effort to provide a more comprehensive perspective on criminal decision making, the current paper highlights the role of emotion in the choice process and reviews factors that increase the likelihood of antisocial outcomes. The result is a theory of decision-making in which the individual is believed to act on the hedonistic and moral emotions that guide moral decision-making and where irrelevant emotions are enhanced and relevant emotions dampened by cognitive and situational factors that, in the end, serve as the foundation for criminal choice.
K1 Rational choice theory
K1 Moral emotions
K1 Hedonistic emotions
K1 Proactive criminal thinking
K1 Reactive criminal thinking