Rational Choice Flashcards
Why did rationality emerge?
Emerged as a method of inquiry,
insisting that to study social
behaviour we need clearly
stated assumptions and the
use of rigorous logic to derive
predictions about human
what is Harsanyi definition of rational choice Theory?
People choose the best accessible means to achieve a definite goal
What is instrumental rationality?
individuals can generally choose the thing they want directly therefore they use instruments to acheive there goals
What are transitive preferences?
Transitive preferences are ordered choices
What are complete preferences ?
Complete preferences have a single answer from a single choice
What did Downs say in 1957 about RCT and voting?
Rational voters would evaluate each party platform to identify which was closest to their ideal point. They would also figure out how far away opposing parties were so they could calculate the differential benefit of having the preferred candidate win
What is a tragedy of the commons?
A tragedy of the comments is an Economic and environmental science problem where individuals have access to a shared Resource. An example of this is buying SUVs and going on lots of holidays because you believe other people will still do these things if you give them up. This is continued on the international level. People who don’t give these things up would be loan is free riders because they get the benefits without the sacrifice their own interests that expensive other individuals.
give examples of rational choice Theory?
The States deciding to join an international organization will wait a benefits and the costs for example joining about Trade Organization or the UN
The UK and US invasion of Iraq
