College alcohol abuse and college academics - Essay Example

The Theory of Rational Action and How It Relates To the Question of “How Does Alcohol College GPA” My study on the question of how alcohol affects college students GPA will be guided by the theory of Rational Action, which will be used to predict the level of effect of alcohol on the GPA. The Rational Action Theory also known as the Rational Choice Theory argues that people choose their actions freely but are driven by evasion of pain and quest for pleasure. This means that people prefer those activities that are rewarding in terms of pleasure and happiness and avoid activities that may cause pain or displeasure (Barron and Meier 70-75).

This theory assumes that alcohol consumption is a personal choice and individual students are responsible for their individual choices. Additionally rational Action Theory suggests that’s students weigh out the consequences associated with alcohol consumption before making a rational choice (Barron and Meier 70-75).Students are rational beings and will thus consider the effect alcohol on their academics, which will guide them on whether to take alcohol or not. If alcohol has no effect on their academics then they will make their choice based on the pleasure or anguish caused by alcohol consumption.

Therefore, students will only consume alcohol if they expect it to give them pleasure without affecting their GPAs. If the college students perceive that the cost of using alcohol is too high in terms of its effects on their academics, they will choose not to consume alcohol. Because people weigh the potential benefits and consequences of any action, the risk of achieving poor grade is high and students will only consume alcohol if the satisfaction associated with alcohol consumption is very high (Barron and Meier 70-75).

Works CitedBarron, Marshall and Robert Meier. Sociology of Deviant Behavior. Stamford: Cengage Learning, 2010. Print.