Enduring Individual Differences and Rational Choice Theories of Crime

TLDR

In explaining crime, some criminological theories emphasize time‑stable individual differences in propensity to offend while others emphasize more proximate and situational factors. Evidence from college undergraduates supports both time‑stable individual differences and situational factors in crime, with poor self‑control linked to offense decisions and crime attractiveness, ease, and cost‑benefit perceptions also significantly influencing 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.