Cognitive Theories of Crime: Overview and Features

The Cognitive Theory is a thought process that stores information, so that the information can be interpreted correctly by a criminal. The next part of the process is how criminals can take the appropriate action and so they can make their final decision on their thoughts. According to the way the cognitive theory looks at people and the way information can be process properly. The cognitive theory shows that criminals don’t make proper choices and decision like normal people. The theory shows how people do not make the best judgment of the information gathered to be process correctly. Cognitive theory is built around the process of a criminal’s actions, thoughts, personality, and to some degree the circumstances around them. One of the most controversial part of the cognitive theory is a severe mood disorders can be change by a criminal’s patterns of thinking.
In contrast the cognitive theory looks at a criminal who is prone to commit crimes, to have some sort of cognitive deficit related to the cognitive part of their brain. The deficit keeps people from making the right decisions. The portion of the brain that controls the cognitive part doesn’t allow a criminal to view or make correct decision’s, because they can’t process information correctly. They may view committing a crime for their own personal satisfaction or personal needs. They don’t process emotion well.
They also do their best to avoid all social behavior with people. They will have behaviors that are satisfying to them. This will turn out to be very detrimental and harmful to them. When they are faced with punishment whether it be legal or not it doesn’t deter them, because a person with a cognitive issue just tries to calculate the cost of their action. A person with a cognitive issue can’t process information so they end up committing crimes. People who have cognitive behavior issues are law violator that may seek out satisfaction for their crimes.

People who suffer from this behavior thinks that the world is against them, they think that their control is gone. They may feel that when negative events in their life happen. Control is lost, so they act out. They hold on to their attitudes of breaking rules and some just give up easily on their criminal acts without thinking about their actions on the situation. When criminals suffer from this behavior they find it hard to understand or sympathize with others. When this happens, it leads criminals to blame victims for their problems. Criminals lose their ability for emotions and feelings. This takes them down a path to criminal behavior and to commit crimes against innocent victims. As a result, they feel their behaviors are justified and beneficial to satisfy their needs.
The cognitive theory shows that criminals with this issue just can’t control their emotions, feelings, behaviors, along with their ability to not process information like a normal person does. This theory shows they don’t fear the law or punishment of their actions like others. They have lost all control of processing normal thoughts. A lot of things happen when the cognitive process is broken, it causes a person to have many psychological issues throughout life. People with this problem will need a lot of mental health care throughout their life, this can cause them to have problems in their families with abuse to people or children physical and sexual because they don’t care about their victims. This why many psychologists focus on mental issues with the cognitive theory as well.
The Rational Choice Theory goes over a few various parts. The rational choice theory shows the cost and benefits of a criminal’s actions who is looking to commit a crime. Its shows how some criminal choses to commit crimes and how they make criminal decisions. The Theory goes over their behaviors. The rational choice theory does show how predictable, and how criminals analyze their criminal behavior to commit these acts of violence. This theory is an approach to criminal causation.
According to the concepts of the rational choice theory it looks at the law-violating behavior of a criminal. Is does show their behavior is a part of a careful thought out and planning process when committing their criminal acts. The rational choice theory assumes that criminals will commit crimes, and how they do weigh out the cost and benefits of the potential crime. There are many personal factors like money, revenge, thrills, and entertainment in it for them when committing these criminal acts on their victims. There are situational factors for the rational choice theory like, availability, security measures, and police presence in their area of the crimes. The concept part shows that anyone has the potential to be a criminal, because they calculate how big the risks are also how small the risks are.
Criminals discuss and plan out their crimes along with weighing out the cost of doing it. The theory looks at how a criminal will view and analyze their victims. The criminal will look for the easiest targets to victimize so the risk of getting caught by the police is low. For Example: If you post on Facebook I’m going on vacation and the dates a criminal knows the cost and benefits of robbing you home are in their favor. The criminality of the behavior is the control by increasing the cost of the crime, but by reducing the potential gain from the crime. Most people who commit crimes are not worried about the law or the punishment of there actions. Criminals are not afraid of being sent to jail or prison for the crimes.
The value of their crime is what they see. Criminals enjoy the trill an excitement of breaking the law. They have a low stake in conformity, because they are willing to do what ever it takes to commit their crimes. Some criminals will even commit murder on their victims just to ensure their getaway. The rational choice theory effects both rich and poor people, it’s the trill of getting away with the crime. In contrast the criminal’s decision to commit crimes are reached when a criminal thinks he or she have out weighed the risks of their crimes verse the rewards or their crimes. Criminals stand a good chance of being caught and being punished at the same time they have no fear of consequences, they risk losing their families, respect, reputation, and feelings about their actions.
When the risk of being caught out weights the profit and pleasure of the crime. Rational choice theory shows the offense-specific and offender specific view of the crimes. Someone who decides they want to steal something goes and evaluate their targets, look at their surrounds, how often the police patrol the area, entry and exit points, and what is the like hood of being captured by someone. Criminals most likely have antisocial behavior when around people. The rational choice theory shows how structing criminality works on offenders, and how someone decides to choose crime and deviance.
Criminals commit crimes for the excitement and trills of their actions. One of the factors are economic needs and the opportunity to commit their criminal actions on victims. That is the most crucial decision that criminals make before they commit crimes. The rational choice theory looks at personal traits, the structing of crime, choosing the place of their crime, and choosing the victims for the criminal act. Therefor criminals us many ways and thoughts and choices before going and caring out their criminal act against their victims.
When we look to compare the two theory’s it is interesting how the two compares to each other and what similarities that the rational choice and cognitive theories have. The rational choice theory shows how criminals weigh out the cost of there crimes they are planning to commit on victims. They will also look at the benefit of their crimes. In both theories it shows how criminals don’t fear punishment for their criminal acts along with antisocial issues. The cognitive and rational theory shows how criminals like the excitement of committing a crime on their victims. The both like to pick easy targets to go victimize. This way they can take what they want a don’t fear being caught or being punished for their actions. It shows in both theories that offenders don’t care about the victims in their crimes.
When you compare the two theories you can see the simulates between cognitive theory and the rational choice theory. The criminals in the cognitive theory are the same as the rational theory both are willing to commit crimes for personal satisfaction of their crimes they commit. In both theories the criminals seem to like the trill of committing and getting away with their crimes. It does show that in both theories the criminals cognitive portion of their brain to process information on what they do does not work right for them as well. In the rational choice and cognitive theory criminals look at how to calculate the risk and cost of committing their crimes and how to get away with it as well.
The comparison of both theories shows how they are both law violators in each theory. It appears to show how both are offense-specific and offender-specific. The criminals in both theories don’t care about their victims only how the can benefit from the criminal acts. The criminals in each theory feels that they are justified in the actions and crimes they have committed so no laws or punishment scares them. These criminal acts effect both the wealthy and poor people of the world therefore show how anyone can be a victim of a criminal act. In the theories it shows that criminal use a certain process in committing crimes and how they do it weather it is choice or a want.
Criminals in these two theories will lose their close family members, friends, co-workers, image, and reputation when they commit criminal acts in their life. This effects how the world views criminals. The biggest comparison and contrast of the two are the cost and benefit of there crimes the commit against victims. Also, how they view and commit these criminal acts against their victims and how they choose the victims. So, when comparing the rational choice and cognitive theory you can see how much they favor on certain parts of the theories.