DECISION TO COMMIT CRIME: RATIONAL OR NONRATIONAL

Abstract

Objective: to prove the necessity to take into account the influence of emotions on decision making; to describe a combined model of the decision making process which unites rational and irrational components of choice in crime commitment.Methods: dialectic, systemic, historical-legal, formal-juridical methods, summarization.Results: the paper gives a complex analysis of the criminal decision-making process, and reveals the factors increasing the probability of anti- social actions. The value of the combined cognitive-emotive model is that emotions can give more significant information to the decision-maker, than reasoning.Scientific novelty: the author proposes a theory of decision making which says that a person chooses to act or not to act under hedonistic or moral emotions, while the irrelevant emotions are increased and the relevant ones are suppressed by cognitive and situational factors serving as a basis for criminal decision making.Practical significance: studying the role of emotions in the criminal and non-criminal decision making will significantly contribute to the development of criminology. The research results will be useful for researchers and law-enforcement bodies, as well as for all those who are interested in the issues of crime control and prevention.

Keywords

• rational choice theory
• moral emotions
• hedonistic emotions
• proactive criminal thinking
• reactive criminal thinking