NCJ Number
218896
Journal
Criminology Volume: 45 Issue: 2 Dated: May 2007 Pages: 259-272
Date Published
May 2007
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This paper argues for moving choice in crimimal behavior to "center stage" in criminological research, since choice is a foundational premise of the criminal law.
Abstract
The author notes that he is not advancing a comprehensive theory of choice in relation to criminal behavior, since this can only come after the accumulation of a large number of research projects that test specific propositions about the role of choice in specific circumstances and stages of development. Part of the collection of this evidence will require that criminologists look toward research and theorizing on choice and decisionmaking that has been conducted in fields other than criminology. Research on judgment and decisionmaking in domains other than criminal behavior should be a key focus. The paper focuses on three points. First, research on choice in problem domains that apparently have little connection to crime provides guidance for advances in knowledge and understanding of choice in relation to crime. Second, decisionmaking involves more than cognitive deliberation. It also involves emotion. Understanding the interaction between cognition and emotion is critical to understanding crime and how to prevent it. Third, understanding the developmental course of decisionmaking in criminal endeavors is crucial to understanding issues such as the emergence of crime from childhood problem behavior, the chronic choice of crime, and desistance from crime. Examples are provided of the type of research on decisionmaking that will relate to important issues in criminology. 37 references