Free Essay on Tito's Story, The Rational Choice Theory and the Trait Theory

According to rational choice theory, people engage in criminal activities such as drug trafficking, car theft and burglary willfully and voluntarily. It is important to note that psychological factors, biological factors, and environmental factors do not influence criminal behaviour. The three factors do not compel an individual to commit crimes instead they do opt to so willfully and intentionally. Besides, people choose not to go to college. Rational choice theory dictates that criminal behaviours are products of choice and not the environment nor biology. Therefore in our case, Tito chose to sell marijuana, K2, and cocaine deliberately and willfully. Trait theory, on the other hand, is concerned with the personal traits that an individual possesses. Chemical dependency has a significant association with the particular characteristics of an individual. This explains why Tito possesses an addictive personality that makes him abuse marijuana.

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Tito's case and Trait theory

According to the trait theory, drug addicts possess some personality traits that make them abuse drugs on a regular basis. In our case, Tito exhibits some pathological characteristics that make him a marijuana addicts. The feature makes him have an addictive personality that forces him to use the marijuana and other drugs at all times. It is important to note that personality traits increase the risk of drug abuse. I believe that Tito had introverted personalities which make him attracted to lesser positive things in life. This trait makes Tito more likely to abuse drugs.it is for this reason that Tito abuses marijuana. Another personal character that makes individual abuse drugs is the tendency to experience negative feelings. In our case, I believe that Tito might have had negative feelings after he found it hard to get a job nor find a woman to marry. This made him resort to abuse and sale of drugs.

Tito's case and rational choice theory

People choose to commit crimes. In this case, Tito chose traffic drugs. He is responsible for his criminal behaviour. In fact, Tito voluntarily and willfully trafficked medications for five years. Another point we can get from Tito's reaction is that some people choose to commit crimes only some of the time. The costs and benefits of engaging in crime and non-crime influences people when they decide to commit crimes. In other words, what comes in thought when an individual chooses to engage in criminal behaviour is whether the offence comes with both costs and benefits. The rational choice theory supports this since it presumes that people consider the related costs when they are thinking of committing drugs. In this case, Tito considered the associated costs and benefits when contemplating about committing the crime. He found the utilities of using and trafficking drugs. One of the benefits that come with trafficking drugs which Tito considered is the generation of income. Tito could raise money from trafficking drugs. It is worth noting that drug sales generate higher revenue than most businesses in the world. Tito could create a lot of money from trafficking marijuana. There are also some costs that are associated with the abuse and trafficking of marijuana which Tito considered while choosing to engage in the criminal behaviour. Drug use can cost the health and life of an individual.

Furthermore, individuals consider the utilities (costs and benefits) of non-crime as well when deciding to engage in criminal behaviour.in our case, Tito had the need for money that he needed to satisfy. There are only two ways that Tito could behave to fulfill that need for money. One of the ways Tito had at hand to fill his need for money was to sell and traffic marijuana. In other words, Tito had to make a deliberate and voluntary decision to sell and traffic marijuana to get the money that he badly needed. However, before deciding to sell and traffic drugs, Tito had to consider the utilities of selling and trafficking marijuana, K2, and cocaine. I tend to believe that Tito had other ways of making money apart from selling and smuggling drugs. Tito could have just driven a taxi or worked a construction site or work in a nearby construction site. These other ways could also have satisfied Tito's need for money. All these different ways of making money involve various costs and benefits. Rational choice theory dictates that Tito should consider the utilities of the crime and the non-crime before deciding whether to commit the crime or not. I believe that the efficiencies of selling and trafficking marijuana were favourable to Tito. Therefore, he chose to engage in criminal behaviour.

According to rational choice theory, the rewards of crime is what makes an individual contemplate committing a crime. There are various costs and benefits of committing a crime that Tito might have considered before deciding to sell drugs. I believe that Tito recognised the utilities of selling and trafficking drugs when thinking about marketing and trafficking drugs to make the dollars that he badly needed. Some of the costs of selling drugs are the risk of being arrested and jailed. It also includes the harm an individual would get if he or she is detained in our case, Tito incurs the costs of selling and trafficking marijuana. He is arrested and convicted for selling marijuana. In fact, he is jailed for five years. Besides, Tito is arrested and convicted again when he starts selling cocaine, K2, and grass. This time, he is imprisoned for more than five years. Some other costs of selling drugs that Tito might have considered is the personal danger that he would encounter such as the high risks of being beaten up, robbed or shot by his rivals. Another cost that Tito might have considered before engaging in drug selling is the shame and embarrassment that he would feel when his parents and relatives found that he had dropped out of school and was selling drugs.

However, in the case of Tito, I believe that the benefits involved with selling marijuana, cocaine, and K2 were much favourable than the costs that were included. The primary Reason that influenced Tito to sell drugs was the possibility of making a lot of dollars. According to rational choice theory, Tito should have determined the utilities of the crime and non-crime before coming up with the best course of action. I believe that Tito must have considered the benefits of non-crime before deciding on selling drugs. For instance, Tito has an alternative to driving a taxi to satisfy his need for money. There are several benefits of making a cab. Tito would be paid a wage which is a steady source of income. However, there are many taxi drivers competing for the same number of customers. Therefore, Tito would not make a lot of money when there are fewer customers. He would also be forced to work on day and night to make more money. Besides, he would have to work far away from his home to make more money. It is a fact that taxi riders make less money since some customers may fail to pay their fare while some may not even tip. Besides, taxi drivers are robbed more efficiently, and taxi drivers are robbed and shot more easily. Taxi driving does not also come with prestige. According to the rational choice theory, it is equally essential for Tito to determine the utilities of the crime and the non-crime. Therefore, I believe that Tito sold marijuana, cocaine, and K2 since it was the best course of action that he had.

However, the rational choice theory does not presume that each person makes his decision perfectly logical. Also, an individual may have wrong information about a particular course of action. Some people may not even consider weighing the consequences of their actions before choosing to engage in a specific work. It is therefore essential to note that Tito might not have determined the utility of the crime nor the non-crime. Furthermore, he might not have committed the consequences of selling marijuana, cocaine, and K2. According to the rational choice theory, people might make poor decisions. In our case, I might tend to believe that Tito might have made a poor decision to sell cocaine, marijuana, and K2. All in all, he was the decision maker.

Conclusion

I believe that the rational choice theory explains Tito's case better than the trait theory. One of the reason is that Tito abused and sold drugs willfully and voluntarily. He deliberately decided to use and sell marijuana and cocaine. Besides any person thinking of committing a crime will always consider the utilities that are involved in engaging in criminal behaviour and not participating in the criminal activity. If the benefits that come with committing crime outweighs the benefits of not committing the crime, then for Tito the offence has more utility than not committing the crime. As much as Tito's personality traits influenced his drug use, I believe that he committed the crime because he saw more utility in selling marijuana, cocaine, and K2 than not selling. The reason is that it is presumed that Tito is a rational person. Therefore, I believe that Tito willfully and voluntarily sold marijuana, cocaine, and K2 and he paid for his actions with jail time.

Reference

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Borgatta, Edgar F, and William W. Lambert. Handbook of Personality Theory and Research. Chicago: Rand McNally, 1968. Print.

Shodhganga.Inflibnet.Ac.In, 2018, http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/165671/5/05_chapter%202.pdf. Accessed 30 May 2018.

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