Enduring Individual Differences and Rational Choice Theories of Crime
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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To investigate the effects of justice system contact on future behavior, it is necessary to account for preexisting individual differences that may cause some individuals to have a higher risk of coming into contact with the justice system.
“To investigate the effects of justice system contact on future behavior, it is necessary to account for preexisting individual differences that may cause some individuals to have a higher risk of coming into contact with the justice system in the first place (e.g., see Murray, Farrington, & Eisner, 2009; Nagin & Paternoster, 1993; Piquero, Paternoster, Pogarsky, & Loughran, 2011; Pogarsky, 2002).”
From Does contact with the justice system deter or promote future delinquency? Results from a longitudinal study of British adolescent twins (2020) · cites this paper as Nagin & Paternoster, 1993
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Elaborating the Individual Difference Component in Deterrence Theory
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“…for preexisting individual differences that may cause some individuals to have a higher risk of coming into contact with the justice system in the first place (e.g., see Murray, Farrington, & Eisner, 2009; Nagin & Paternoster, 1993; Piquero, Paternoster, Pogarsky, & Loughran, 2011; Pogarsky, 2002).”
BackgroundScam Compliance and the Psychology of Persuasion
Modic, D., & Lea, S. E. G. (2013) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.2364464 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Virtual Reality for Criminologists: A Road Map
van Gelder, J.-L. (2023) · Crime and Justice · doi:10.1086/726691 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
“Early pioneering work by Nagin and colleagues (Klepper and Nagin 1989; Nagin and Paternoster 1993, 1994) started using vignettes to provide context surrounding (hypothetical) offenses thought to be relevant for people ’ s decisions (van Gelder and Nagin 2023).”
Background
- Authors
- Nagin, D. S., & Paternoster, R.
- Affiliations
- Carnegie Mellon University (US)
- Venue
- Law & Society Review
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 1993
- Volume
- 27
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 467-496
- ISSN
- 0023-9216 (ISSN-L)
- 1540-5893
- OpenAlex
- W2007542374
- Cited by
- 750
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2026: 28 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 25 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 34 · 2020: 23 · 2019: 33 · 2018: 30 · 2017: 24 · 2016: 34 · 2015: 20 · 2014: 20 · 2013: 52 · 2012: 38
- FWCI
- 18.67
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Law & Society Review (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Crime Patterns and Interventions
- Social Sciences › Law › Criminal Justice and Penology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending
- Keywords
- self-control, criminal propensity, drunk driving, theft, sexual assault, target attractiveness, university students
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