Identify some of the classical theory's key assumptions about human nature. Do you think that humans generally behave according to these assumptions?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Possible answer: Recall that the classical school's assumptions are: 1) decisions are based on the principles of deterrence, and 2) crime is not a function of spirituality but of free will and rational choice (e.g., cost/benefit analyses). The issue for many criminologists that resist classical theory explanations is that not all people behave according to these assumptions equally. Here are some glaring exceptions: any sort of diminished capacity in modern courts (e.g., ‘excusing' behavior because of mental illness, level of intelligence, or ‘snapping' in the heat of the moment) conflict with classical theory assumptions. Also, think of juvenile offenders and their capacity to apply ‘rational choice' when their brains are not fully developed. What about when offenders are under the influence of alcohol and other psychoactive substances? While it seems true (most of the time) that people tend to engage in behaviors that result in some reward when the odds of punishment are slight and vice versa when the odds of punishment are great, there seems to be many occurrences that cannot be explained by this logic: for example, the Boston Marathon bombers and George Zimmerman.