Rational Choice Theory

<p><em>Rational Choice Theory</em> 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. <br>The ciritique focuses on the four assumptions which are the bedrock of rational choice: <br>rationality: the theory's definition of rationality is incomplete and cannot satisfactorily incorporate norms and emotions <br>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 <br>process: the assumption of fixed well-ordered preferences and 'perfect information' makes the theory inadequate for situations of change and uncertainty <br>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. <br>The critique is grounded in discussion of a wide range of social issues including race marriage health and education.</p>