Rational Choice Theory

Author : Margaret S. Archer,Jonathan Q. Tritter
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 276 pages
File Size : 55,6 Mb
Release : 2013-04-03
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781134546527

Get Book

Rational Choice Theory by Margaret S. Archer,Jonathan Q. Tritter Pdf

Rational Choice Theory is flourishing in sociology and is increasingly influential in other disciplines. Contributors to this volume are convinced that it provides an inadequate conceptualization of all aspects of decision making: of the individuals who make the decisions, of the process by which decisions get made and of the context within which decisions get made. The ciritique focuses on the four assumptions which are the bedrock of rational choice: rationality: the theory's definition of rationality is incomplete, and cannot satisfactorily incorporate norms and emotions individualism: rational choice is based upon atomistic, individual decision makers and cannot account for decisions made by ;couples', 'groups' or other forms of collective action process: the assumption of fixed, well-ordered preferences and 'perfect information' makes the theory inadequate for situations of change and uncertainty aggregation: as methodological individualists, rational choice theorists can only view structure and culture as aggregates and cannot incorporate structural or cultural influences as emergent properties which have an effect upon decision making. The critique is grounded in discussion of a wide range of social issues, including race, marriage, health and education.

Author : Mary Zey
Publisher : SAGE
Page : 156 pages
File Size : 42,9 Mb
Release : 1998
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 0803951361

Get Book

Rational Choice Theory and Organizational Theory by Mary Zey Pdf

Rational Choice Theory and Organizational Theory is written in response to the neo-classical economic rational choice theories and organizational economic theories which have emerged in the past decade and gained center stage in current organizational analysis.

Author : Donald Green,Ian Shapiro
Publisher : Yale University Press
Page : 415 pages
File Size : 46,7 Mb
Release : 1994-09-28
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780300187083

Get Book

Pathologies of Rational Choice Theory by Donald Green,Ian Shapiro Pdf

This is the first comprehensive critical evaluation of the use of rational choice theory in political science. Writing in an accessible and nontechnical style, Donald P. Green and Ian Shapiro assess rational choice theory where it is reputed to be most successful: the study of collective action, the behavior of political parties and politicians, and such phenomena as voting cycles and Prisoner's Dilemmas. In their hard-hitting critique, Green and Shapiro demonstrate that the much heralded achievements of rational choice theory are in fact deeply suspect and that fundamental rethinking is needed if rational choice theorists are to contribute to the understanding of politics. In their final chapters, they anticipate and respond to a variety of possible rational choice responses to their arguments, thereby initiating a dialogue that is bound to continue for some time.

Author : Rafael Wittek,Tom A.B. Snijders,Victor Nee
Publisher : Stanford University Press
Page : 625 pages
File Size : 42,9 Mb
Release : 2013-06-05
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9780804785501

Get Book

The Handbook of Rational Choice Social Research by Rafael Wittek,Tom A.B. Snijders,Victor Nee Pdf

The Handbook of Rational Choice Social Research offers the first comprehensive overview of how the rational choice paradigm can inform empirical research within the social sciences. This landmark collection highlights successful empirical applications across a broad array of disciplines, including sociology, political science, economics, history, and psychology. Taking on issues ranging from financial markets and terrorism to immigration, race relations, and emotions, and a huge variety of other phenomena, rational choice proves a useful tool for theory- driven social research. Each chapter uses a rational choice framework to elaborate on testable hypotheses and then apply this to empirical research, including experimental research, survey studies, ethnographies, and historical investigations. Useful to students and scholars across the social sciences, this handbook will reinvigorate discussions about the utility and versatility of the rational choice approach, its key assumptions, and tools.

Author : Adam Smith
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 522 pages
File Size : 45,9 Mb
Release : 1822
Category : Economics
ISBN : UCAL:$B87540

Get Book

An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith Pdf

Author : James S. Coleman,Thomas J. Farraro
Publisher : SAGE Publications, Incorporated
Page : 264 pages
File Size : 49,7 Mb
Release : 1992-08-11
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : UOM:49015001410431

Get Book

Rational Choice Theory by James S. Coleman,Thomas J. Farraro Pdf

Rational Choice Theory is one of the few general theories of how individuals, groups, organizations and social structures behave - its impact on sociological theorizing has been enormous. In this volume, advocates and critics present their views of the values and limitations of rational choice theory. Whether supporter or sceptic, sociologists and other social scientists will find themselves immersed in a creative discussion of the merits and difficulties of the model and its applicability to both macro and micro level social issues.

Author : Itzhak Gilboa
Publisher : MIT Press
Page : 177 pages
File Size : 43,9 Mb
Release : 2012-08-17
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9780262518055

Get Book

Rational Choice by Itzhak Gilboa Pdf

A nontechnical, concise, and rigorous introduction to the rational choice paradigm, focusing on basic insights applicable in fields ranging from economics to philosophy. This book offers a rigorous, concise, and nontechnical introduction to some of the fundamental insights of rational choice theory. It draws on formal theories of microeconomics, decision making, games, and social choice, and on ideas developed in philosophy, psychology, and sociology. Itzhak Gilboa argues that economic theory has provided a set of powerful models and broad insights that have changed the way we think about everyday life. He focuses on basic insights of the rational choice paradigm—the general conceptualization rather than a particular theory—that survive recent (and well-justified) critiques of economic theory's various failures. Gilboa explains the main concepts in language accessible to the nonspecialist, offering a nonmathematical guide to some of the main ideas developed in economic theory in the second half of the twentieth century. Chapters cover feasibility and desirability, utility maximization, constrained optimization, expected utility, probability and statistics, aggregation of preferences, games and equilibria, free markets, and rationality and emotions. Online appendixes offer additional material, including a survey of relevant mathematical concepts.

Author : Jon Mandle,David A. Reidy
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 897 pages
File Size : 48,6 Mb
Release : 2014-12-03
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 1316190315

Get Book

The Cambridge Rawls Lexicon by Jon Mandle,David A. Reidy Pdf

John Rawls is widely regarded as one of the most influential philosophers of the twentieth century, and his work has permanently shaped the nature and terms of moral and political philosophy, deploying a robust and specialized vocabulary that reaches beyond philosophy to political science, economics, sociology, and law. This volume is a complete and accessible guide to Rawls' vocabulary, with over 200 alphabetical encyclopaedic entries written by the world's leading Rawls scholars. From 'basic structure' to 'burdened society', from 'Sidgwick' to 'strains of commitment', and from 'Nash point' to 'natural duties', the volume covers the entirety of Rawls' central ideas and terminology, with illuminating detail and careful cross-referencing. It will be an essential resource for students and scholars of Rawls, as well as for other readers in political philosophy, ethics, political science, sociology, international relations and law.

Author : S.M. Amadae
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 414 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2003-10-15
Category : History
ISBN : 9780226016542

Get Book

Rationalizing Capitalist Democracy by S.M. Amadae Pdf

Offering a fascinating biography of a foundational theory, Amadae reveals not only how the ideological battles of the Cold War shaped ideas but also how those ideas may today be undermining the very notion of individual liberty they were created to defend.

Author : Karen Schweers Cook,Margaret Levi
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 436 pages
File Size : 42,9 Mb
Release : 2008-10-03
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780226742410

Get Book

The Limits of Rationality by Karen Schweers Cook,Margaret Levi Pdf

Prevailing economic theory presumes that agents act rationally when they make decisions, striving to maximize the efficient use of their resources. Psychology has repeatedly challenged the rational choice paradigm with persuasive evidence that people do not always make the optimal choice. Yet the paradigm has proven so successful a predictor that its use continues to flourish, fueled by debate across the social sciences over why it works so well. Intended to introduce novices to rational choice theory, this accessible, interdisciplinary book collects writings by leading researchers. The Limits of Rationality illuminates the rational choice paradigm of social and political behavior itself, identifies its limitations, clarifies the nature of current controversies, and offers suggestions for improving current models. In the first section of the book, contributors consider the theoretical foundations of rational choice. Models of rational choice play an important role in providing a standard of human action and the bases for constitutional design, but do they also succeed as explanatory models of behavior? Do empirical failures of these explanatory models constitute a telling condemnation of rational choice theory or do they open new avenues of investigation and theorizing? Emphasizing analyses of norms and institutions, the second and third sections of the book investigate areas in which rational choice theory might be extended in order to provide better models. The contributors evaluate the adequacy of analyses based on neoclassical economics, the potential contributions of game theory and cognitive science, and the consequences for the basic framework when unequal bargaining power and hierarchy are introduced.

Author : Lawrence A. Young
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 168 pages
File Size : 41,5 Mb
Release : 2016-04-29
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781134953493

Get Book

Rational Choice Theory and Religion by Lawrence A. Young Pdf

Rational Choice Theory and Religion considers one of the major developments in the social scientific paradigms that promises to foster a greater theoretical unity among the disciplines of sociology, political science, economics and psychology. Applying the theory of rational choice--the theory that each individual will make her choice to maximize gain and minimize cost--to the study of religion, Lawrence Young has brought together a group of internationally renowned scholars to examine this important development within the field of religion for the first time.

Author : Jon Elster
Publisher : NYU Press
Page : 273 pages
File Size : 51,7 Mb
Release : 1986-11
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780814721698

Get Book

Rational Choice by Jon Elster Pdf

This series brings together a carefully edited selection of the most influential and enduring articles on central topics in social and political theory. Each volume contains ten to twelve articles and an introductory essay by the editor.

Author : John Rex,David Mason
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 372 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 1986
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 0521369398

Get Book

Theories of Race and Ethnic Relations by John Rex,David Mason Pdf

This book brings together internationally known scholars from a wide range of disciplines and theoretical traditions, all of whom have made significant contributions to the field of race and ethnic relations. As well as identifying important and persistent points of controversy, the collection reveals a complementary and multifaceted approach to theorisation. The theories represented include contributions from the perspective of sociology. These range from the established perspectives of Marx and Weber through to the more recent interventions of rational choice theory, symbolic interactionism and identity structure analysis.

Author : Hans-peter Blossfeld,Gerald Prein
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 296 pages
File Size : 53,5 Mb
Release : 2019-09-16
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781000308952

Get Book

Rational Choice Theory And Large-Scale Data Analysis by Hans-peter Blossfeld,Gerald Prein Pdf

The relationship between rational choice theory and large-scale data analysis has become an important issue for sociologists. Though rational choice theory is well established in both sociology and economics, its influence on quantitative empirical sociology has been surprisingly limited. This book examines why there is hardly a link between the t

Author : Michael Hechter
Publisher : Edward Elgar Publishing
Page : 375 pages
File Size : 44,8 Mb
Release : 2019-12-27
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781789903256

Get Book

Rational Choice Sociology by Michael Hechter Pdf

Rational Choice Sociology shows that despite the scepticism of many sociologist, rational choice theory indeed can account for a variety of non-market outcomes, including those concerning social norms, family dynamics, crime, rebellion, state formation and social order.