Cocooning and the Rational Choice Theory
Cocooning involves the decision to stay indoors under the insulation against harm. The decision could be motivated by several factors including fear, laziness, or even instructions. Cocooning could involve engaging in indoor activities such as video-gaming, watching, and reading. Cocooning has been believed as a strategy to protect individuals from residential burglary either by keeping individuals away from crime scenes or keeping criminals from accessing individuals from inside their houses. Residential burglary involves the theft of household items and thus cocooning ensures that house owners are in a position to protect their items, or that houses are not left open to burglars. The rational choice theory supports the use of cocooning as an effective strategy to fight residential burglary.
Decisions made by individuals can cause or prevent certain events. The common belief among the humankind is that a person who has reached a certain age is free to make decisions without requiring the opinions of other people (Boterman & Musterd, 2016). However, every decision made by an individual is subject to a particular outcome. The type of outcome associated with a particular decision depends on the caution taken before such a decision is made. For example, the decision to remain cocooned inside a house could have both positive and negative impacts. The rational choice theory defines the nature of human beings and the way they rely on rational calculations to meet their set objectives (Wells & Xenias, 2015). The decisions that individuals make are always geared toward meeting self-interest and satisfaction. The assumption behind the rational choice theory is that in any event, a person aims to maximize their position in any opinion and that the opinion of others comes last. The rational choice theory is however mistaken for selfishness although it gives the true nature of humankind.
The rational choice theory can be used to give a better understanding of cocooning. With or without any danger, an individual is at liberty to choose cocooning as an option (Simpson & Paternoster, 2017). The primary motivation behind an individual’s choice of cocooning as an option is the protection against the typical social structure. Therefore, cocooning is more of a deliberate choice that is driven by circumstances. Also, an individual could decide to choose cocooning due to current security concerns. Cocooning has been made easier by the advancement in technology, and thus many people find themselves deciding to go for cocooning as the first option when circumstances dictate. For example in the case of insecurity, cocooning could provide a safe location of contacting security agencies to deal with the situation while staying out of danger. Cocooning can be used as a protective measure against residential burglary.
Residential burglary involves the stealing of household property. Theft could involve violence where burglars can break inside buildings, or sneaking into buildings that have been left open. Cocooning can be used to deal with different forms of burglary (Pegram et al. 2018). One, forced burglary I can be avoided if individuals close all the possible entrances and stay inside their houses while asking for help from the outside. Second, cocooning ensures that mistakes cannot be made such as leaving houses open for burglars.
In sum, the decisions made by individuals can affect their daily lives. The rational choice theory explains how individuals behave around events that require them to make decisions. Cocooning is a personal decision that can be made deliberately, or as the only option due to circumstances. Cocooning is a successful strategy in dealing with residential burglary.
References
Blain, A. E., Lewis, M., Banerjee, E., Kudish, K., Liko, J., McGuire, S., … & Skoff, T. H. (2016). An assessment of the cocooning strategy for preventing infant pertussis—United States, 2011. Clinical infectious diseases, 63(suppl_4), S221-S226.
Boterman, W. R., & Musterd, S. (2016). Cocooning urban life: Exposure to diversity in neighbourhoods, workplaces and transport. Cities, 59, 139-147.
Pegram, R., Barnes, G. C., Slothower, M., & Strang, H. (2018). Implementing a Burglary Prevention Program with Evidence-Based Tracking: a Case Study. Cambridge Journal of Evidence-Based Policing, 2(3-4), 181-191.
Simpson, S., & Paternoster, R. (2017). A rational choice theory of corporate crime. In Routine activity and rational choice (pp. 37-58). Routledge.
Stokes, N., & Clare, J. (2019). Preventing near-repeat residential burglary through cocooning: post hoc evaluation of a targeted police-led pilot intervention. Security Journal, 32(1), 45-62.
Wells, P., & Xenias, D. (2015). From ‘freedom of the open road’to ‘cocooning’: Understanding resistance to change in personal private automobility. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 16, 106-119.